The Sarajevo Haggadah is one of the oldest Jewish illuminated manuscripts in the world, having survived the Spanish Inquisition and World War II.
The museum complex was designed by architect Karel Pařík, who was responsible for many of Sarajevo's most iconic Austro-Hungarian era buildings.
The central botanical garden serves as a living museum, preserving rare and endangered endemic plant species native to the Balkan Peninsula.
During the 1992–1995 Siege of Sarajevo, the museum remained open and operational despite sustaining heavy structural damage and being on the front lines.
The museum library holds over 300,000 volumes, including rare editions and manuscripts crucial to Balkan studies.
The archaeological collection includes prehistoric remnants of the Butmir culture, a Neolithic site discovered in the Sarajevo suburbs.
The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country's oldest cultural and scientific institution, established in 1888. The complex consists of four pavilions—Archaeology, Ethnology, Natural History, and the library—arranged around a central botanical garden. It houses the Sarajevo Haggadah, a 14th-century illuminated Sephardic manuscript of exceptional historical significance. The architecture follows a Neo-Renaissance style, purposefully designed as a museum complex in the late 19th century. Its archaeological collection spans from the Paleolithic era to the medieval period in Bosnia. The Ethnological department documents the diverse traditional lifestyles and folk arts of the region's ethnic groups. Natural history displays feature indigenous flora and fauna, including rare geological specimens. The institution is the primary repository for the nation's tangible cultural heritage.
The symmetrical central courtyard featuring the botanical garden and the neoclassical façades of the four pavilions.
Visit the central botanical garden during spring or early summer when the endemic plants are in full bloom.
Check the museum's official website specifically for the exhibition schedule of the Sarajevo Haggadah, as it is occasionally kept in a high-security environment.
Allocate extra time to explore the courtyard, as it often features temporary sculptural or historical exhibits.
Do not mistake the museum for the smaller, separate galleries located in the Old Town (Baščaršija).
Closed on Mondays.
