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Sarajevo

Capital of Bosnia and HerzegovinaIn a valley along the Miljacka River, Sarajevo is ringed by mountains of the Dinaric Alps such as Trebević, Igman, Jahorina and Bjelašnica. It lies close to the centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Why it's the capital

The Ottoman Empire founded the city after conquering the region, and 1461 is used as its founding date; the first Ottoman governor, Isa-Beg Ishaković, turned a cluster of villages into a city. In Yugoslavia it was the capital of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it stayed the capital after independence in 1992.

Fun facts

  1. The name Sarajevo comes from the Turkish word saray, which means "palace".
  2. On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot near the Latin Bridge, a murder that sparked the First World War.
  3. Because of its long history of different religions living side by side, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe".

Finding it on the globe

Picture Bosnia and Herzegovina as a triangle and tap near its middle, in the mountains. Belgrade is about 200 km to the north-east.

Sources: Wikipedia: Sarajevo