Sarajevo

Sarajevo Сарајево
Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
City of Sarajevo
From top, left to right: Sarajevo panorama, Emperor's Mosque, Sarajevo Cathedral, Orthodox Cathedral, Sarajevo Library, Latin Bridge, and Sebilj.
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Jerusalem of Europe, Jerusalem of the Balkans, Šeher, Rajvosa
Location in Europe and Bosnia and Herzegovina (dark blue)
Coordinates: 43°52′N 18°25′E / 43.867°N 18.417°E / 43.867; 18.417Coordinates: 43°52′N 18°25′E / 43.867°N 18.417°E / 43.867; 18.417
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canton	Sarajevo Canton
Municipalities	4
Founded	1461
Government
• Mayor	Ivo Komšić (SDP)
Area
• Urban	141.5 km2 (54.3 sq mi)
Elevation	518 m (1,699 ft)
Population (Census 2013.)
• Urban	395,133
• Metro	688,384
• City proper	275,524
• Demonym	Sarajevan
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	71000
Area code(s)	+387 (33)
Website	City of Sarajevo

Sarajevo (names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its current administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area, including Sarajevo Canton and East Sarajevo is home to 688,384 inhabitants. Nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans.

Sarajevo is the leading political, social and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a prominent center of culture in the Balkans, with its region-wide influence in entertainment, media, fashion, and the arts.

Due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural variety, Sarajevo was sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of the Balkans". It is the only major European city to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighbourhood. A regional center in education, the city is also home to the Balkans' first institution of tertiary education in the form of an Islamic polytechnic called the Saraybosna Osmanlı Medrese, today part of the University of Sarajevo.

Although settlement in the area stretches back to prehistoric times, the modern city arose as an Ottoman stronghold in the 15th century. Sarajevo has attracted international attention several times throughout its history. In 1885, Sarajevo was the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time electric tram network running through the city, following San Francisco. In 1914, it was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria that sparked World War I, after which the city experienced a period of stagnation as part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The establishment of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Second Yugoslavia led to a massive expansion of Sarajevo, the constituent republic's capital, which hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. For nearly four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare (1,425 days long) during the Bosnian War and the breakup of Yugoslavia.