EU funds the final phase of the restoration of the National Library in Sarajevo

Photo: Christian Bickel

Sarajevo - The European Union will finance nearly five million euros for the final reconstruction work on the famous National Library in Sarajevo, which became a symbol of destruction during the Bosnian War of 1992-1995.
    "The last part of the work should be completed by April 2014," said Sarajevo's mayor Alija Behmen, who signed an agreement this week with the European Union representative in Bosnia, Peter Sorensen.
    "Sarajevo will have its jewel back, built during the time when Bosnia was part of Austria-Hungary (1878-1914)," said Behmen about the library, which is considered one of the most valuable cultural institutions of its kind in the entire Balkans.
    Before the war, the library housed nearly three million books, many of which were very valuable, various periodicals, official archives, computers, and a small printing press. The building was designed in the late 19th century by Czech architect Karel Pařík, who was active in Bosnia, as the then seat of the municipal administration. The monumental structure, inspired by the famous Cairo mosque of Kemal II., began to operate as a library in the late 1940s.
    In August 1992, at a time when negotiations about the Bosnian War were taking place in London, Serbian artillery, which kept the city under siege, shelled this building with more than 200 shells. The heroic efforts of firefighters and civilians who tried to extinguish the fire and save the burning books were then hindered by hidden snipers. The flames consumed more than 300,000 books and several hundred unique manuscripts.
    The reconstruction of the impressive building began in 1996 with financial support from several European countries.