The City Hall[1] (Vijećnica),[2] the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo, was purpose-built as the headquarters of the city and authority. The initial design was composed in 1891 by the Czech architect Karel Pařík, but criticisms by the minister, Baron Benjamin Kallay, caused him to stop working on the project.
Alexander Wittek, who worked on the project in 1892 and 1893, fell ill and died in 1894 in Graz, and the work was completed by Ćiril Iveković. The edifice was built in a stylistic blend of historical electism, predominantly in the pseudo-Moorish expression, for which the stylistic sources were found in the Islamic art of Spain and North Africa.
Building works began in 1892 and were completed in 1894, at a cost of 984,000 crowns, with 32,000 crowns provided for fixtures and fittings. It was formally opened 20 April 1896, and handed over to the City Authority, which occupied the property until 1949, when it was handed over to the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the night of 25 to 26 August 1992, during the Siege of Sarajevo, the City Hall was hit by quantities of heavy artillery and incendiary bombs, burned out and largely destroyed, causing incalculable damage to the physical structure of the building and to the library holdings.
The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames. The structural repair of the City Hall will be carried out in four stages: 1996-1997 (financed by a donation from the Republic of Austria), and 2000-2004 (financed by a donation from the European Commission). The third stage is predicted to end on 31 May 2012, with an estimated cost of KM 4.6 million (about €2.37 million) and will return the city hall to its former grace. The fourth stage is slated to begin following the completion of the third stage and will last about 20 months, with a predicted finish at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23 million) which are secured through the IPA. In this stage the whole interior will be built and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), meaning the building will be brought back to function. Everything that was possible to restore has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restore process is predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million).
After it is repaired, the city hall, now a national monument, will be used for variety of events. The national and university library of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be placed in it, as well will be the City Council session hall. Its space will be also used for various protocol events for all levels of government, concerts and exhibitions.[3]