I am not normally a visitor to capital cities. I find them too large, too overwhelming and too crowded. Sarajevo though, seemed doable, and I’m glad I chose to visit this city. One of the perks of being in the capital is having access to the countries biggest and best facilities. The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one such place, although I’m not sure it was worth the cost of admission.
Brief History
I am a frugal traveller, on a strict budget. I will visit a museum if I think it is going to be amazing. After doing some research, and reading about other people’s experiences of the museums in town, this one seemed like it was perhaps the only one worthy of my limited means.
The Museum Society was founded in 1884 and the first rendition of an actual museum appeared in 1888, located near the Cathedral in Old Town. In 1913 this new location opened its doors and here it remains to this day. There are four departments, three of which are open to the public. These include Archaeology, Ethnology and Natural History. Closed is the library.
Archaeology
This largest side of the main building consists of two floors and is home to over 105,000 treasures from prehistory, classical antiquities and the Middle Ages.
Items are displayed in standard glass cases, however the glass is extremely reflective. In many instances, I was not able to see what was in the case from reflections off the surface.
There are numerous prehistory artifacts such as pottery, weapons and jewellery, which are wonderful to see, gathered from all parts of the country.
The classical antiquities are not as numerous and normally my favourite part of any museum, here they felt lacking.
Upstairs in the Middle Ages, I simply had to turn tail and leave. A staff member, who has his office located at the back of one main room, was actively smoking. The smell was nauseating and even with a few windows open, had permeated everything as only second-hand smoke can.
Ethnology
Always a type of museum I am leery of, because of the mannequins. These life like artificial people make me feel uneasy. In every case, I don’t look at them but instead focus on the furniture, walls, paintings and décor.
Here the woodwork was overwhelmingly beautiful. So intricate, especially the doors and ceilings. There were many pieces of embroidery as well, that were interesting to study.
Natural History
I cannot remember the last time I was in a natural history museum. Probably a decade ago. This was by far my favourite part. But visitors might need to be prepared. It looks like most of these items have been on display for a century.
You will see all sorts of animals, many of which are not behind glass cases, you can simply reach out and pet them. There are no signs saying not to touch. Visitors might notice, elephant feet, tail and tusks, a giraffe skeleton, zebra pelt, rhinoceros head, whole Bengal tiger, camel, lion, various large deer and other creatures.
If you are squirmy or don’t like viewing deceased creatures, you might have some trouble here. Equally fascinating is the herpetological collection consisting of over 10,000 specimens in old glass jars. See dissected turtles, snakes and eggs and so many other animals.
I cannot neglect the geological specimens and insects either. The old antique wooden cases and display shelves in the Geology rooms were absolutely beautiful! And the room filled with bugs?? Extensive and marvellous entomology collection! Like I said, this was my favourite part of the museum.
Botanical Garden
I’m hoping this area looks a little better in the spring, but now, in the heart of the hot summer, it is sorely lacking. There are virtually no flowers, except for the odd rose that has found shade under a tree. The pond at the centre is pretty with the small spray of water.
To one side is a fascinating collection of medieval tombstones, which I was very curious to see and study. They are extraordinary and if there were not diggers and maintenance men in the area, I would have been able to spend a little longer.
All in all, this museum does contain a large number of things to see. At one time there was a café, that I was really sad to see is closed. For now, all that is available is a vending machine. It would have been such a nice treat to have a coffee in the gardens, no matter how sparse. Cost to enter was 20KM or $15.50 CAD. While this may not be a lot of money to some, for me it was considerable for what I found.
