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Explore · Stories · Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo: Where the Ottoman and Habsburg Cities Meet

In Sarajevo you can walk from a 15th-century Ottoman bazaar into Austro-Hungarian streets in a few minutes, past the corner where a 1914 assassination helped set off the First World War.

November 7, 2026 · 3 min read · Sources

The driveBosnia: Sarajevo to Mostar Through the Mountains1:11:17 · Daytime · Drive page

The old bazaar

Sarajevo grew up around Baščaršija, the old bazaar. Isa-beg Isaković, the Ottoman governor who founded the city, built an inn and the first shops here around 1462.

In the 16th century Gazi Husrev-beg added the mosque that still bears his name, built around 1530, along with a covered market and other buildings that still stand.

A stone bridge over the Miljacka River in Sarajevo
A stone bridge over the Miljacka River in Sarajevo. Photo: Somewhere Drive.

The Latin Bridge and 1914

The Miljacka River runs through the center, crossed by a string of bridges. The best known is the Latin Bridge, an Ottoman stone bridge from 1798.

On June 28, 1914, near the bridge, Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie. The assassination helped trigger the First World War.

The Jerusalem of Europe

An evening street in Sarajevo's center, lined with cafes
Evening in Sarajevo's center, a few minutes' walk from the old bazaar.Photo: Somewhere Drive

For centuries, mosques, churches and synagogues have stood within a few streets of each other here, which earned Sarajevo the nickname the Jerusalem of Europe.

The city hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in the mountains around it. During the siege of the 1990s, shells scarred its streets, and some of those scars were later filled with red resin. They are known as Sarajevo Roses.

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Sarajevo’s Abandoned Olympic Bobsled Track | BosniaFull drive nearby
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The Magical Streets and Bridges of Mostar, BosniaFull drive nearby

See it for yourself

  • Getting around. The old town is compact and walkable, and a cable car climbs Mount Trebević from its edge.
  • Money. The local currency is the convertible mark; carry some cash for small shops.
  • Driving on. Our drive runs from Sarajevo through the mountains to Mostar and back.

Worth booking

Plan a trip to Sarajevo and Mostar

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Sources

History is checked against the sources above. Where accounts differ, we say so. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

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