Resisting Reconstruction in Post-War Sarajevo

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"From almost any point along the road that connects the old and new poles of Sarajevo’s historic and commercial centres, the Jajce Barracks can be seen up among the north-eastern hills. From a distance, the national monument’s domed towers and intricate molding are reminders of the city’s fin de siècle boom years under the Austro-Hungarian empire. But as you approach, the grandeur of the relatively well-preserved front façade gives way to the sight of the caved roof and toppled walls, abandoned since they were damaged during the 1992-95 Bosnian War.

The vantage point that invested the building with strategic importance when it was built in 1914 now ensures that it’s a conspicuous blot on a skyline that otherwise seems to have recovered well from its wounds. The 17-year restoration of the neo-moorish National Library, which became a symbol of the conflict after 90 per cent of its two million volumes were lost to Serb incendiary shells, is approaching completion, and new skyscrapers have sprung up around the business district of Marin Dvor. But the barracks have meanwhile lain empty for almost twenty years, the entire right wing collapsed, the left barely holding."

read more at http://failedarchitecture.com

The Jajce Barracks on the hill behind Sarajevo’s National Library

The Jajce Barracks with Sarajevo in the background

The Jajce Barracks Interior Now. Photo by Ka Wing Chang.

The Jajce Barracks Interior Now. Photo by Ka Wing Chang.