Balkan Roadtrip – Miljacka River Bank and the Sarajevo Assassination

The Miljacka River flows through the capital, dividing Sarajevo into 2 parts, the southern side and the northern side.

The Seher-Cehaja Bridge near Vijecnica.

Vijecnica and Kovaci neighbourhood.

The northern side part is the where Bascarsija, the historical old city center is located, as well as the neighbourhoods of Kovaci and Vratnik and many others. The latter is home to Sarajevoâ€™s old city walls, stone gates, and fortress. A must visit if one is looking for panoramic views. Sarajevo is nestled in a basin and the houses on the hills have a great vantage point of the city. The southern side to the river is the suburb called Bistrik.

Miljacka river bank is joined by 11 bridges in Sarajevo and these bridges have their own distinct designs. The river is quite shallow so you can see the sand formation in certain parts. We strolled on here on a morning, just after we have visited Sarajevoâ€™s City Hall aka Vijecnica. We were also in search of the famous Latin Bridge, the site of the Sarajevo Assassination. I think the river bank is a great place to walk on late in the afternoon just before twilight.

The Bentbasa Dam.

MILJACKA RIVER BANK SIGHTS

Miljacka River is a tributary river of the Bosna River, which is one of the 3 longest and important internal rivers in the country. The other 2 rivers are Neretva and Vrbas Rivers. Other important rivers which are shared with its neighbours are Una, Sava and Drina Rivers.

I believe there is an undergoing treatment of the Miljacka River so it’s not a river that is safe to swim (well, not yet), and because it is shallow, no small boats can pass by here as well.

Bistrik neighbourhood in the southern side of Sarajevo.

Inat Kuca (House of Spite), a popular traditional restaurant on the river bank serving Bosnian cuisine. There is an interesting history about this house, read here: Inat Kuca history

Bistrik neighbourhood.

This is the Careva Cuprija / Careva Bridge. On the right side is Bascarsija old town.

Beautiful Bosnian buildings on the Bistrik side of the river bank.

These stunning buildings on the Bistik-side river bank need some proper restoration.

There is a pedestrian pavement on both sides of the river bank for easy strolling. Some parts are also shaded with trees and there are benches.

The Emperor’s Mosque in Bistrik, built between 1457â€“1565 in classical Ottoman style. This mosque is Sarajevo’s oldest place of worship.

The view from Bistrik across the river to Bascasija old town and to Vratnik.

Isa Begov Hamam Hotel used to be an old Turkish bathing place built in 1890. The special thing about this hammam is that it was built upon a building called Waqf that was constructed in 1462 during the time when Sarajevo was under Ottoman Empire.

SARAJEVO ASSASSINATION

Below picture is the famous Latin Bridge. It is the nearby sight (on the corner) of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophie, heir presumptive to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire / Habsburg Dynasty. The murder took place on June 28, 1914. The goal of the assassination was to send the Austro-Hungarian Empire packing out of Bosnia & Hercegovina.

The crime, in fact, was the catalyst that catapulted a series of historical events, namely, the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the beginning of the First World War and the forming of the Republic of Yugoslavia.

The assassin Gavrilo Princip, a member of the revolutionary organization, the Young Bosnia was put on trial and sent to prison. However, he has been hailed locally by many as a hero. A few weeks before the centenary of the Sarajevo Assassination (June 2014), Bosnian Serbs unveil a statue of the WWI Assassin in the city center of East Sarajevo, a city in Bosniaâ€™s Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, just adjacent to the capital. Read here the full story: Bosnia Serbs unveil the statue of WWI assassin

Serbia also created a monument in his honour. Go here for the story: Gavrilo Princip, the assassin who sparked WWI, gets statue in Belgrade

Everyone wants freedom and someone always has to pay the price.

The Latin Bridge is made famous because of the Sarajevo Assassination. The exact site of the assassination is at the end part of the bridge where you can see the building with the MUSEUM (which is the Museum of the Sarajevo Assassination.

There used to be a huge commemoration to the assassination monument here (see the glass with the drawing of the monument) but it was removed a few years after it was placed.

Bosnia – Hercegovina was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the World War 1, the empire collapsed and Bosnia – Hercegovina and the rest of the Slavic states formed the Republic of Yugoslavia.