A Concrete Utopia – Bosnia and Herzegovina Brutalist Architecture Photo Tour (7 days)

Destination: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Airport transfer | Walking Tour of Sarajevo Old Town
Driving Time: 0.30hrs | Private Vehicle

On arrival at Sarajevo International Airport, a private transfer is arranged, followed by the hotel check-in. An afternoon walking tour of Sarajevo’s old town and city center will be conducted, followed by a traditional Bosnian dinner and itinerary briefing.

A walking tour of Sarajevo is an introductory 2 to 3-hour activity meant to unravel the origins of Sarajevo as an urban identity from the mid-15th century until the late 19th century, during the Ottoman era.

The unmissable part of the tour is focused on Sarajevo’s heritage during the Austria-Hungarian period and the pre-war and post-war period of Yugoslavia, followed by the story of Sarajevo during the independent era of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Destination: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Breakfast | Full Day Tour of exploring Sarajevo
Driving Time: 1.15hrs | Private Vehicle

On this day, we shall start early in the morning and aim to visit some of the most critical places in Sarajevo from the Yugoslavian period, focusing on brutalist buildings.

To properly comprehend Sarajevo’s urban development and the importance of architecture during the Yugoslavian post-WW2 period, we first have to unravel the position of Yugoslavia compared to the rest of the world.

To understand the Yugoslavian position about the Soviet socialist East and capitalism-dominated West, we have to politically disentangle the processes that took place in the years immediately after WW2 and especially the period after the Tito-Stalin split in 1948, known as the revival of modernist architecture in the rapid urban development of Yugoslavia.

Architectural “wonderwork” of Bosnian modernist architects such as Juraj Neidhardt, Dusan Grabrijan, and Ivan Štraus, who were influenced by the schools of Bauhaus and Le Corbusier, and others such as the Kadić brothers, Živorad Janković, Zlatko Ugljen, etc., are must-see examples of healthy functionalism which advocated synthesis of content and form, especially in the culture of housing.

Additionally, on this day, the story of Yugoslavia can’t be investigated adequately without understanding the reasons behind the fall of Yugoslavia, the Siege of Sarajevo, and the positive consequences of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo.

Visiting places like the Sarajevo War Tunnel and learning about the story of the Siege of Sarajevo, the Olympic Bobsled, Igman Hotel, and others will further improve understanding of Sarajevo and its modernist architecture during Yugoslavia.

Destination: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Breakfast | Full Day Tour of exploring Herzegovina
Driving Time: 1.15hrs | Private Vehicle

The following day is reserved for explorations of socialist Yugoslavian architectural heritage in Herzegovina.

The morning ride will take us to Konjic, where we will explore the most intriguing wonder of Yugoslavian military architecture – Tito’s Bunker. It is one of the most expensive military objects ever to be built in Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1979, costing 4.7 billion US dollars.

Among other modernist buildings, the House of Culture in Konjic, built in 1957, is an excellent insight into the overall life of Konjic in the period after its construction and the era of the glorious 60ties and 70ties, the golden period of Yugoslavia. Once the epicenter of public life in Konjic, the national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina still partially serves its original purpose today.

At Jablanica, we will stop and explore the memorial to one of the most famous battles during WW2 – the Battle of Neretva. The destroyed bridge and the Museum of the Battle for the Wounded are great ways to get insight into the importance of these regions during the anti-fascist battles in the period of WW2.

Once we arrive at Mostar, the Old Bridge and Mostar old town, being the most critical parts of the city, will be part of our two-hour walking tour of Mostar. Once finished in Mostar’s old town, the “brutalist architecture trail” will take us towards west Mostar, to the part of the city that saw the most urban development during Yugoslavian modernism.

The Partisan Cemetery of Cenotaphs (symbolic graves), a masterwork of renowned Yugoslavian architect Bogdan Bogdanovic, finished in 1965, as a memorial to the partisan victims of WW2 in Mostar, beautifully displays all features of complex architectural, aesthetic, and landscape design. Being a unique monument of the urban scale of the city of Mostar, with great ambient value, this cemetery serves as a monument of Yugoslav solidarity.

Destination: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Breakfast | Full Day Tour of exploring Herzegovina
Driving Time: 4.30hrs | Private Vehicle

Probably the most famous Yugoslavian memorial architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the Memorial complex for the battle of Sutjeska.

The battle took place in the valley of Sutjeska River between the 15th of May and the 16th of June, in which 7,500 Partisan fighters of the Main Operational Group of the Yugoslavian National-Liberation Army were killed. This battle was a turning point in the war in Yugoslavia. From that point onwards, the partisan movement became more muscular and moved towards the complete liberation of Yugoslavia.

Finished in 1972, the monument was designed by Yugoslavian sculptor Miodrag Živković and, together with the ossuary Memorial House, today represents the pinnacle of sculptural memorials in Yugoslav space.

Located two and half hours from Sarajevo, a visit to the Tjentište memorial is a must for anyone visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and interested in the Yugoslavian post-WW2 style of memorial sculpture.

This day combines beautifully with stunning hiking at Sutjeska National Park and Trnovačko Lake.

An additional stop of the day is the infamous Hotel Emos in Miljevina. Initially built in 1980 in a typical brutalist style, today standing as a ruin, this hotel, during the period of aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 until 1995, served as a command center of Republic of Srpska army forces and as a planning headquarters for a wide range of atrocities and war crimes committed by Serbian forces against the Bosniak civilian population of Foča municipality.

Destination: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Breakfast | Full Day Tour of exploring Central and North Bosnia
Driving Time: 4.30hrs | Private Vehicle

The day’s first stop is visiting Visoko and its pearl of modernist architecture, Sherefudin’s White Mosque.

The mosque was built in 1980 based on a design by famous Bosnian architect Zlatko Ugljen. In 1983, the mosque design was rewarded with the architecture award Aga Khan when the jury praised the mosque for its boldness, creativity, and brilliance, as well as for its originality and innovation. Also, in 2007, the Hungarian architects awarded this mosque as one of Europe’s three best-designed places of worship.

After exploring the architectural wonders of Visoko, we continue our journey to Zenica – probably the most critical “massif” of Yugoslavian modernist architecture.

The urban planning of Zenica after the Second World War had the perfect characteristics of socialist urbanization, which made Zenica today a city with the wealthiest and most significant examples of modern architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the Tito-Stalin split in 1948, the decision was made to turn this city into a metallurgical center of utmost Yugoslav significance. In the following decades, this transformed Zenica from a dormant Ottoman town of local energy into an important industrial center of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and beyond.

Our walking tour of Zenica will cover the most important buildings of the Yugoslav socialist era. Additionally, we will focus primarily on Juraj Neidhardt and his pioneering work on the development of an authentic Bosnian style of architecture. This style successfully synthesized traditional and modern elements within his objects’ aesthetic and functional design.

The town of Jajce and its beautiful surroundings will be an additional stop of the day. This medieval capital of the Bosnian kingdom, with a beautiful waterfall in the city center, watermills, and stunning lakes on the Pliva River, is a perfect plunge into a thousand years of Bosnian history revealed in front of your eyes.

Arrival in Banjaluka is afternoon, followed by dinner and free time.

Destination: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accommodation: Hotel Colors inn 4* or similar
Inclusions: Breakfast | Explore Banja Luka and Kozara National Park | Return to Sarajevo
Driving Time: 3.30hrs | Private Vehicle

The morning walking tour of Banja Luka will focus on the heritage of this city, starting from the medieval days to the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian periods, the Yugoslavian era, and present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Locations like Kastel Fort, Ferhadija mosque, and church of the Christ the Saviour are must-see the heritage of the past times in Banja Luka.

Particular focus will be made on the heritage modernist Yugoslavian architecture in Banja Luka and a visit to Boska Mall, Cathedral of St.Bonaventure, Borik neighborhood, and many other locations important for brutalist insights into the Yugoslavian architecture of Banja Luka.

After lunch and free time in Banjaluka, we shall visit the most famous Yugoslavian memorials in this region of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Monument to the Revolution at Mrakovica at Kozara National Park.

It is estimated that between 1970 and 1980, well over 3 million visitors came to the Kozara memorial complex, stressing the importance of the site for all generations of the Yugoslavian era. During the days of Yugoslavia, it was said that nearly everyone in the entire country had visited Kozara at least once in their life.

The memorial was designed by Dušanj Džamonja in 1971. The sculpture is a memorial to partisan and civilian victims who died in the Kozara offensive during the spring of 1942 and other tens of thousands who were deported to Ustaše concentration camps.

The monument of Kozara is a monument to the suffering of the people of Kozara and its surroundings,  making it one of the most connotative and one of the most known monuments in all Yugoslav space.

The return to Sarajevo is planned in the later evening hours.

Inclusions: Breakfast | Airport Transfer
Driving Time: 0.30hrs | Private Vehicle

The program ended the previous nights, and the last day of the itinerary in Sarajevo is free time until airport departure.