Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, Republic of Srpska entity as well as the center of the Sarajevo Canton. Nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.

Although settlement in the area stretches back to prehistoric times, the modern city arose as an Ottoman stronghold in the 15th century. In 1914, it was the site of the assassination of the Archduke of Austria that sparked World War I. For nearly four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare during the Bosnian War for independence.

Quotes

 * When you go to Sarajevo what you experience... is life.
 * Mike Leigh, as quoted in "Sarajevo opens 10th film festival" in BBC News (20 August 2004)


 * In Sarajevo, I ate a lot of sweets, drank plenty of water and read Nero Wolfe.
 * Richard Burton, as quoted in


 * The people of Bosnia -- meaning Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs -- could each say they're speaking their own, individual language. They say that it's their national language, and that it's not for Europe, Belgrade, or Zagreb to decide differently... The same is true for Montenegrins. If they think Montenegrin is a distinct language, then basically it is. If on the other hand they decide to share a language with Serbs or Croats, that would work just as well. But the tendency here is to see each of these languages as special and distinct.
 * August Kovacec, as quoted in "Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Or Montenegrin? Or Just 'Our Language'?" (21 February 2009), by Ljudmila Cvetkovic and Goran Vezic, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty


 * Sarajevo had the best organized Winter Games in Olympic history ... Goodbye dear Sarajevo.
 * Juan Antonio Samaranch, as quoted at the Closing Ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo []