BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's historical Vijecnica Library on Thursday marked 127 years of serving citizens of the capital Sarajevo.
Located in the heart of the capital where the old town meets the Miljacka River, the library has become one of the most important symbols of the city.
It was built in the Andalusian architectural style during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Vijecnica, was put into service on April 20, 1896, as the town hall. It was used for the purpose until the end of World War II. After the war, the historic building was converted into a national library in 1945.
The construction of Vijecnica started in 1892 after the architect Aleksandar Witek was influenced by the mosques and madrasas in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
- Nearly 2 million artifacts were destroyed in the war
However, Balkan's cultural heritage Vijecnica was heavily damaged in the fire that broke out as a result of the artillery fire of the Serb forces during the besieging of Sarajevo on Aug. 25, 1992.
The strong fire continued for three days in the library and, approximately 2 million works, including the national archives of the country, as well as 155,000 manuscripts, were destroyed.
Before the demolition, the library was the memory of the country with approximately 6 million books and archive documents, including manuscripts of Bosnian, Serb, Croat, and Jews.
A year later the Bosnian War ended. Restoration of the library started and it was born from the ashes on May 9, 2014, after 18 years of work.
Currently operating as a museum, Vijecnica sheds light on the history of Sarajevo and hosts many important programs, exhibitions, invitations, and organizations in the city.
Today, the library, which has become one of the places frequented by local and foreign tourists in the city, continues to exist as one of the signs of the liberation of a city from tyranny.
Due to its location, Vijecnica has become the favorite place for photography enthusiasts.