Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coffee here is a two-hour social contract, not a drink
Population
3.2m people
Currency
Convertible Mark
Main Language
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian
best time to visit
May – June and September-October
Climate
Continental inland, Mediterranean in the south, snowy winters
Visa
Visa free for up to 90 days in any 180 day period for UK, EU and most Western visitors
Country overview
Sarajevo is a city where you can stand on one spot and see an Orthodox church, a Catholic cathedral, a mosque and a synagogue, which is why it was called the Jerusalem of Europe long before the 1990s made it famous for other reasons. The Ottoman quarter, the Austro-Hungarian boulevards and the socialist blocks are stacked up against each other in a valley.
The war is present but not overwhelming. There are still shell scars on buildings, the Tunnel of Hope museum is genuinely affecting, and the roses in the pavement mark where shells landed. Bosnians are generally happy to talk about it if asked respectfully and equally happy not to. Coming here only for the war history misses most of the country.
Mostar and its rebuilt bridge is the other stop, best seen after the day trippers from Croatia leave. Beyond that there is serious rafting on the Tara and Neretva, mountains from the 1984 Winter Olympics, and a coffee culture so unhurried it functions as a form of social infrastructure.
Annual events and festivals
- Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug) — founded during the siege and now the most important film festival in southeast Europe.
- Old Bridge Diving, Mostar (Jul) — a competition running since 1968. Divers jump 24 metres into cold water.
- Bascarsija Nights, Sarajevo (Jul) — a month of free concerts and performance in the old quarter.
- Sarajevo Winter Festival (Feb-Mar) — running since 1984, continuing right through the siege.
- Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (varies) — public holidays, with the old town at its most atmospheric.
- Kupres Strljanica (Jul) — traditional mountain games including tug of war and stone throwing.
- Jazz Fest Sarajevo (Nov) — a well-regarded international jazz festival.
- Ajvar season (Sep-Oct) — families make vast quantities of red pepper relish. Not a festival, but unmissable if you are there.
- Statehood Day (25 Nov) — marks the 1943 founding of the modern state.
- Orthodox and Catholic Christmas (Dec-Jan) — both are marked, in different parts of the country.