SARAJEVO CENTRAL POST OFFICE

This 1913 building (Glavna Pošta) is one of the most significant buildings of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo. Designed by Josip Vancaš, it was inspired by the headquarters of the Postal Savings Bank in Vienna (1912), a masterpiece of the Austrian Secession style. It is distinguished by its bas-reliefs of flowers, its large interior proportions and its glass roof that allows natural lighting of the vast main hall. Originally intended for military communications, the building was to be inaugurated by Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. But it was from there that the telegraph announced the news of his assassination to the whole world. In April 1992, the Central Post Office was the first public building to be targeted by Bosnian Serb troops in order to cut off communications from Sarajevo. The building was later destroyed by fire. During the siege, the ruins served as an exhibition space for the new generation of artists born of the war. Symbols of the suffering endured, The Balancing Act by Enes Sivac (born 1966 in Sarajevo), made a particular impression in 1993. These sculptures are again installed since 2019, just next to the Central Post Office, above the Miljacka. As for the building, it was completely rebuilt according to the original plans between 1996 and 2001 to become the central office of the country's "Bosnian" postal company, BH Pošta, the other two being Hrvatska Pošta Mostar (Bosnian-Croat) and Pošte Srpske (Bosnian-Serb).