Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and serves as its administrative, economic, university and cultural center. The largest area of town lies at the foot of Mt. Trebević and the Miljacka River flows through the city.
“Destination Sarajevo” encompasses the city of Sarajevo and the wider Sarajevo Canton (which is located in the Federation of BiH, one of BiH’s entities), as well as the municipalities which are part of the neighboring parts of town and East Sarajevo (which is located in the Republic of Srpska, another BiH entity).
Many archaeological finds testify to the fact that the area taken in by Sarajevo was inhabited even during the Neolithic period. There is also evidence that the Illyrians were here and the medieval town of Hodidjed was located in what is now part of “Destination Sarajevo”. Nonetheless, the name Sarajevo comes from the Turkish words, saray = palace and ovasi = field, and this certainly points to the fact that it was founded by the Ottomans, when the Turkish governor, Isa Bey Ishaković, founded Sarajevo in the 15th century as the seat of Ottoman power for this region.
Those who take a stroll through Sarajevo will notice four distinct types of architecture, which reflect the city’s different historical periods.