SARAJEVO STARI GRAD guide

What, a slightly different template? John, you fiend! There is a lot of Sarajevo in these guides, with each neighbourhood getting a focus (eventually), so it seems excessive to rewrite all the attractions, restaurants, cafes and whatnot. So, for the municipalities in Sarajevo itself, we’ll just run through the basics and then give an overview of the neighbourhoods. I hope that is okay, by which I mean ‘that is okay’.

So, Stari Grad. Old City, for those among you who don’t speak Bosnian. As the name suggests, this is the oldest part of town, the area around which Sarajevo developed under the watchful eye of Isa-beg Ishaković and the centuries of successors that followed. Stari Grad is where most of the tourist action takes place, a sentence that can probably be narrowed down to the Baščaršija and Ferhadija area. A lot of presumptions here, Johnny Boy. Stari Grad is architecturally different to the rest of the city, focusing more on traditional and heritage structures than the functional brutalism of newer areas. It is small but perfectly formed, with the eyes of the world facing it.

Baščaršija

For most visitors, the Baščaršija is Sarajevo. In fact, most videos you see on Instagram that promise to ‘show you the beauty of Sarajevo’ pretty much mean ‘show you the beauty of the Baščaršija’. It isn’t surprising, as this quaint little market quarter is the historical heart of town, where Sarajevo developed and its main driver of tourism today. The word itself tells you what to expect, loosely translating as ‘main market’, and its medieval streets are jam-packed with shops, restaurants, cafes and some of the city’s most important landmarks. It isn’t technically a neighbourhood, but what can I do. The Baščaršija is basically the old cultural-historical core of Sarajevo.

The Baščaršija story begins in 1452, but it really kicks into gear in the 16th century with the influence of Gazi Husrev-beg, an Ottoman governor who committed to developing Sarajevo into a city of prominence. In terms of aesthetics, the market didn’t really change from its founding to the end of Yugoslavia, so what you see is pretty close to what people saw in those centuries. Yugoslav officials tried demolishing it to make room for modernity, but it didn’t happen. Visitors to Sarajevo are the beneficiaries, and there are plenty of them. It can get pretty packed here in summer and, as a result, can be a little too much, but quieter days in the Baščaršija are among the best experiences you can find in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Centre

This part of the city centre isn’t Baščaršija, it isn’t Bistrik, it isn’t Marijindvor, and it isn’t Mejtaš, so what is it? Centre, I’m calling it centre. Ferhadija is the main street, a pedestrian walkway that eventually joins up with Titova and the traffic. The street (named after 16th-century governor Ferhad-bey Vuković-Desisalić, if you were wondering) is packed with shops, cafes, attractions, parks and plenty of shade. I actually live in this part of the city at the time of writing, so hooray for me.

Bistrik

Bistrik is an old neighbourhood on the left bank of the Miljačka, stretching from the river up to the old railway station, with Megara and its eponymous street acting as its east and west borders. I think, anyway. Bistrik pre-dates the Ottomans but, as with many central areas, thrived once they arrived and set about building the city. The street that gives it its name is a sloping bugger, and your enjoyment of walking up it will depend on your fitness levels. The views are worth every curse word you expend on the way up. Hey, it could be worse; it could be Vratnik. Bistrik is largely residential, with several sophisticated mosques and a few significant sights. In a way, it is central Sarajevo at its most ‘Sarajevo’, but I feel like I say that about everywhere. Long story short, I like it.

Marijin Dvor

The story of Marijin Dvor (or Marindvor, if we’re talking and not reading) is really the story of August Braun, or at least the Austrian industrialist’s desire to build a palace for his wife. Legend has it that August turned up in Sarajevo with a suitcase in one hand and his wife Mary in the other. If you put aside somewhat humorous images of Mary being small enough to fit in one hand, the story-setter brings up all sorts of other questions about what he was doing here, why, how, and all the rest. Still, he opened a construction company (with what funds, I hear you ask), was the biggest brick manufacturer in the city, and eventually built Mary a palace in a field. Everyone thought he was mad.

If you haven’t worked it out, Marijin Dvor means ‘Mary’s Palace’, and it was around that structure that this part of the city grew. It is Sarajevo’s commercial and administrative centre, a strange hodge-podge of elegant Austro-Hungarian-era architecture and modern buildings that leave much to be desired. It is the start of New Sarajevo, where the city began to stretch out towards Ilidža. It has many important financial buildings, impressive museums, some seriously good cafes and a fabulous pub quiz.

Vratnik

One of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city, Vratnik is also where many of my first Sarajevo memories were formed. I used to curse the slopes as I trundled up to Haris Youth Hostel, but the views more than made up for it. Centuries of life and love had passed in Vratnik before this four-eyed Welshman arrived, with the low hum of Ottoman life prevalent from the 16th century onwards. As with many other parts of the country, Prince Eugene of Savoy burned it down in 1697, and Vratnik was subsequently reconfigured as a walled city, a protective network constructed around Sarajevo’s people. That explains the gates and fortresses, although many of these were built before Eugene’s terroristic violence. Today, Vratnik is arguably the most “Sarajevo” of the city’s neighbourhoods. In some way, it is what Baščaršija advertises itself as, namely a time machine to Ottoman Sarajevo, with narrow streets, steep hills, community spirit and minarets in every direction.

Kovači

Maybe I’m dense, but Kovači confuses me. It sort of snakes around Vratnik, and the lines between the two can be a bit blurry, so I apologise profusely if anyone is irritated to see a Vratnik institution here and vice-versa. On the other hand, if you’re irritated by a neighbourhood guide, I’d suggest a walk. There isn’t a whole lot to say about Kovači, other than it exists as a small neighbourhood on the right bank of the Miljacka, bridging the divide between Baščaršija and Vratnik. The short slope is one of the most popular tourist spots in the city, with increasingly famous cafes serving suspiciously Instagram-friendly beverages. The area is arguably best known for being the final resting place of Alija Izetbegović and its immense martyr’s cemetery and monument.

Mejtaš

Mejtaš is technically split between Stari Grad and Sarajevo Centar, but I’m putting it in the Stari Grad section. Why? Well, my website, as mentioned, and also because it is bloody old. After the pandemic, I lived in Mejtaš for a while, and the old area is packed with grand buildings. It is a good postcode; let’s leave it at that. Also, sushi, if you are into that sort of thing.

Alifakovac

Alifakovac is as old as the hills. There’s a joke in there somewhere; I’m just not intelligent enough to make it. Alifakovac was one of the first urban settlements in these parts, and it takes its name from an old guy (as in, from old times) called Ali-Ufak, a lawyer who was supposedly a witness at the founding of the city. There are many large cemeteries in Sarajevo, but few are as integral to the development of the neighbourhood as Alifakovac. In fact, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to call it a neighbourhood that was built around the cemetery, and Alifakovac was the final resting place for everyone from travellers to local officers to ordinary folks. Today, it is a charming residential area on the slopes of Trebević, where every house supposedly has access to a view and sunlight.

SARAJEVO STARI GRAD