Sarajevo's symbol
A wooden fountain with a green dome.
Fred Romero from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Stechshotme — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fred Romero from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Fred Romero from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Hibasi — CC BY-SA 4.0
Sarajevo's best-known symbol, a wooden public fountain with a green dome in Pigeon Square at the heart of the Ottoman Baščaršija bazaar. First built in 1753 by order of the governor Mehmed Pasha Kukavica, it was rebuilt in its present Moorish-revival form in 1891 by the Czech architect Alexander Wittek, becoming the city's emblem and the picture on every postcard of it. The many-sided wooden kiosk stands in the middle of the cobbled square, surrounded by flocks of pigeons, coppersmiths' shops and old cafés, with the minaret of the Baščaršija mosque close by. Sarajevo legend says whoever drinks from the Sebilj will one day return to the city, so visitors queue to drink from it. The fountain is always open and free, and its water is drinkable. The square is crowded in the evenings and on holidays, so mind your belongings. Around it are Bosnian ćevapi and burek restaurants, mostly halal, and cafés serving Bosnian coffee in copper pots. Make it the starting point for a walk through Baščaršija and the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque; it is loveliest early in the morning before the crowds, or in the evening when it is lit.
A wooden fountain with a green dome.
Drink and you will come back.
In the Ottoman bazaar.
Pigeon Square, the heart of Baščaršija, Sarajevo
Baščaršija and the SebiljSarajevo's old bazaar and the historic and cultural heart of the city, on the no1 minute walk4.9
Morića HanAn Ottoman caravanserai built in 1551 and the only one of Sarajevo's old hans st1 minute walk4.4
Gazi Husrev-beg MosqueThe largest historic mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the finest Otto2 minutes walk4.7
Sarajevo City Hall (Vijećnica)The finest building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo and its largest w2 minutes walk4.6
Emperor's Mosque, SarajevoThe first mosque built in Bosnia after the Ottoman conquest, completed in 1457 o3 minutes walk4.8Yes, and legend says whoever drinks from it will one day return to Sarajevo.