On the night of 25/26 August 1992, Sarajevo’s Vijećnica (Town Hall), which had served as the main building of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 42 years, was set ablaze and largely destroyed, together with a significant part of its collections. The 14-hour burning of Vijećnica was the result of deliberate shelling from the hills surrounding Sarajevo.

Since August 1992, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been forced to relocate its main premises six times.

To mark the 33rd anniversary of this tragic event, the Library organised an exhibition entitled The Flame of Remembrance. It was first displayed at Vijećnica on 25 August 2025 for three hours, and then relocated to the Library’s current temporary premises at the University of Sarajevo Campus. The exhibition, accompanied by a video overview of the Library’s 80-year history, was dedicated to the memory of our colleagues who lost their lives during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina while on their way to or from work at the Library: Ms Aida Buturović, Ms Adela Leota, Mr Ante-Slavko Kovačić, and Mr Mirko Azinović.

The commemoration at Vijećnica was broadcast live by TVSA Canton TV and can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/R9v_ddCaS9g”

Read more (in Bosnian): https://nub.ba/33-godisnjica-spaljivanja-nacionalne-i-univerzitetske-biblioteke-bosne-i-hercegovine/