Name | Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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Local name | Bosna i Hercegovina |
Capital | Sarajevo |
Area | 51 233 km² |
Religions | Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jew |
Population | 3 365 727 Bosnians |
Today, Bosnia-Herzegovina suffers and has still not yet cured all its wounds. Indeed, more than one third of the historic buildings was destroyed by the Serbs of Bosnia (memoricide) during the 92-95 war, like the National Library of Sarajevo (Austro-Hungarian architecture) or the famous mosque of Foca (XVth centuruy), which was one of the most beautiful in the country. Most of the muslim religious inheritance (2 000 monuments) was methodically destroyed not to leave any trace of this civilization. Today UNESCO tries to index the places which can still be saved.
Do you remember Dolly Bell ? and When father was away on business, of course, occur mostly in Sarajevo, thus in Bosnia. But more recently, Life is a miracle is set in the Serbian part of Bosnia, near the Serbian border, even though if the film was completely shot in Serbia.
The best example of Bosnia-Herzegovina's “reconstruction” is certainly the bridge of Mostar (Stari Most), architectural masterpiece, designed by the ottoman architect Mimar Hayruddin, and completed in 1566 after nine years of work, the bridge rose formerly above emerald water of the Neretva. Only half an hour was necessary, on November 9, 1993, so that the Croatian artillery destroys it. In 1997, the UNESCO started a program for its rebuilding. Under the direction of French architect Gilles Pequeux, work lasts from 1998 to 2004. The new bridge will be inaugurated on July 23, 2004, it was rebuilt with the same plans, of course, with to the same techniques, with the stones coming from the same career, and - irony of the history - by a Turkish building entreprise !
Republics of ex-Yugoslavia
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia - Macedonia - Montenegro - Serbia - Slovenia