44. Local Town hall

Each community needs its own physical town hall which forms the nucleus of its political activity. It should be located near the busiest intersection in the community and be a place where people can gather.

Sarajevo city hall

Sarajevo, Bosnia

The building was first opened in 1896 and was converted into a national library in 1949. It was destroyed by shelling during the siege of the city in 1992 destroying almost 2 million books. The most noteworthy thing about Sarajevo is it resilience.

​After the worlds longest siege from 1992-1995 the survivors have a great sense of hope for the future and also a sick humour they acclaimed got them through the war. "The collective miseries keep you sane" our tour guide says, as she laughs about eating stale war food, full of worms. As she talks about the burning of their books she says "it is what it is, no reason to cry about it. We will write new ones", proves the optimism and resilience of the Bosnian people.

The renovation took 18 years and finally opened as a City Hall in 2014. The City Hall is now a symbol of the victory over Fascism, and declared a national monument.

1992 - Burning of the National Library

2018 - Now a City Hall and National monument