Vijećnica
Encyclopedia
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
(Vijećnica), the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, was purpose-built as the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of the city and authority.
The initial design was composed in 1891 by the Czech architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Karel Pařík, but criticisms by the minister, Baron Benjamin Kallay, caused him to stop working on the project.
Alexander Wittek
Alexander Wittek
Alexander Wittek was an Austrian architect and chess master.As an architect Wittek worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, who worked on the project in 1892 and 1893, fell ill and died in 1894 in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, and the work was completed by Ćiril Iveković. The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical electism, predominantly in the pseudo-Moorish expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the Islamic art
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Building works began in 1892 and were completed in 1894, at a cost of 984,000 crowns
Austro-Hungarian krone
The Krone or korona was the official currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1892 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918...
, with 32,000 crowns provided for fixtures and fittings. It was formally opened 20 April 1896, and handed over to the City Authority, which occupied the property until 1949, when it was handed over to the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the national library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the city of Sarajevo....
.
On the night of 25 to 26 August 1992, during the Siege of Sarajevo
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
, the City Hall was hit by quantities of heavy artillery and incendiary bombs, burned out and largely destroyed, causing incalculable damage to the physical structure of the building and to the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
holdings.
The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames. The structural repair of the City Hall will be carried out in four stages: 1996-1997 (financed by a donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
from the Republic of Austria), and 2000-2004 (financed by a donation from the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
). The third stage is predicted to end on 31 May 2012, with an estimated cost of KM
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
The Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 fenings...
4.6 million (about €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2.37 million) and will return the city hall to its former grace. The fourth stage is slated to begin following the completion of the third stage and will last about 20 months, with a predicted finish at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23 million) which are secured through the IPA
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance
The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, or simply IPA, is a new funding mechanism of the European Union. As of 2007, it replaced previous programmes such as the PHARE programme and CARDS...
. In this stage the whole interior will be built and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), meaning the building will be brought back to function. Everything that was possible to restore has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restore process is predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million).
After it is repaired, the city hall, now a national monument
National monument
A National monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of national importance such as a war or the country's founding. The term may also refer to a specific monument status, such as a National Heritage Site, which most national monuments are by reason of their cultural...
, will be used for variety of events. The national and university library of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be placed in it, as well will be the City Council session hall. Its space will be also used for various protocol events for all levels of government, concerts and exhibitions.