SARAJEVO: BEAUTY BESTS BATTLES

Surrounded by the Dinaric Alps, Sarajevo, the capital of the tiny Balkan nation Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a small city on the banks of the Miljacka River. It is where World War I began, when 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip shot Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on a bridge. Sarajevo was again in the headlines during the Balkan War in 1990s after disintegration of Yugoslavia. But beyond its war-torn past, Sarajevo is also a meeting point of East and West, where the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the harmony of different religions still thrive.

- DIKSHAA PURI

It was a quiet morning on June 28, 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife, Sophie, were visiting Sarajevo, a historic city in the Balkans. They had no idea that one wrong turn would change not just their fate but the course of history itself.

As their car mistakenly turned onto a side street, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip stood waiting. Without hesitation, he raised his pistol and fired at point-blank range, killing the royal couple instantly. In a single moment, the world shifted. Who knew that shot would set off a chain reaction, dragging Europe into the deadliest conflict it had ever seen, the war to end all wars, World War I. It all happened in Sarajevo, the capital of current Bosnia and Herzegovina.

If being the centre of World War I was not enough, Sarajevo later found itself at the heart of the Bosnian War, enduring a devastating siege that lasted for four years. From the assassination that ignited a global conflict to the brutal battles that ravaged the city decades later, Sarajevo has witnessed the full spectrum of history’s darkest moments. This city has truly stood at the crossroads of war, its streets forever scarred by the weight of its past. Despite the scars of war, Sarajevo stands resilient, thriving in its rich tapestry of multiculturalism. A city where Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Slavic influences blend seamlessly, Sarajevo has earned the title of “European Jerusalem” for its remarkable coexistence of religions and cultures.

Mosques, Catholic churches, Eastern Orthodox churches and synagogues share the same streets, creating a harmonious mosaic of faiths. Nestled along the Miljacka river and cradled by the towering Dinaric Alps, this compact city lies at the eastern edge of a flat alluvial valley, where the rugged mountains stretching north and south, offer a breathtaking backdrop to a city that has endured and evolved.

War and peace