Ubermensch Vijecnica by KEVIN ROSS

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA
bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o
the Ashes
by KEVIN ROSS LIKINS BFA, M.Arch, LFPLC

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA, 2015.
LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA, 2015.
Collective Rights Reserved by , 2015.
, 2015.
This document is free for public reference as long as proper citation of publisher and author are given.

It was and has remained the largest book burning of
modern history, a planned act of vandalism, the
destruction of a common past to prevent a common
future. On the night of August 24, 1992 during
shelling by the besieging forces from the hills
surrounding Sarajevo, osnia s National Library a
repository of 1.5 million volumes, including over
,
Vije ica The National Library of

Bosnia and Herzegovina
rare books and manuscripts, the country s
national archives, copies of all newspapers, periodicals, and books published in Bosnia,
and the collections of the University of Sarajevo was set ablaze. Across the river, a piece
of shrapnel punched through Kanita Focak s living-room wall and struck her husband
Goldshmied in the stomach. The Faruks, Kanita and Goldshmied had met in the Sarajevo
Library. They were later married, and now were
seeing the library in a ball of flames from the
windows of their home.
up, he told Kanita.
You ll see our son grow
Goldshmied struggled with
death for four days. He died in her arms at the

Sarajevo Hospital, they had been married for four
years.
The National Library was completely
destroyed in the fire, along with 80 percent of its

contents. Some three million books went up in
Vije i a s Wood Paneled Reading Room
flames, along with hundreds of original documents

from the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian
1 | bermensch Vije ica
a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes


monarchy. Cohabitation of Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics, and Jews has existed for
centuries in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
When Darwin said that every living thing evolves

through conflict, he was referring to gene evolution.
Goethe and Hegel 1 touched on the subject of the
philosophical struggle too before Marx and Engels
then adapted it into their economic theory that was
published in The Communist Manifesto. When Marx
and Engels applied their concept socially in the
Vije ica Burning during the Siege of

Sarajevo
mid-19th century they began great debates over the idea of the class struggle.
Contemporary analysis on the creative destruction cycle of the bermensch evolves
even further; Nietzsche expanded on this idea in Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-85),
stressing that an ideal future society would need creators who were unafraid of
constructing a world amid the ashes of the former one.
In Nietzsche s concept of the
bermensch, the creator and the destructor are working in a constant cycle. Whatever,
or whoever started this idea of creative-destruction, what has happened to the Vijenica
is summed up best by this concept of the bermensch, in that the library has overcame
many conflicts and out of the ashes of war and ethnic intolerance it has emerged stronger
and more resilient than ever before. The translation of Nietzsche s bermensch simply
Creative Destruction in Economics: Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter. Hugo Reinert, Cambridge University & Erik
S. Reinert. Forthcoming in Backhaus, Jrgen and Wolfgang Drechsler (editors): Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-2000:
Economy and Society, Series The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences, Boston, Kluwer.
2
IN PRINT: On Sherman and Creative Destruction in Atlanta by Nick Kahler. September 23, 2014
http://burnaway.org/sherman-creative-destruction-atlanta/


means over-man or superman , an ideal form of man both as an enlightened intellect
and as a strong ideal physical specimen. It is possible to apply these concepts to other
things besides man himself, like cities or buildings. In the case of both the city of Sarajevo
and her libraries, the term applies. The use of a Geman word is also notable here because
throughout the history of Bosnia, the Germans would prove to be involved in many of
the vital interests of Sarajevo be it through the Hapsburg Empire, the Nazi occupation, or
the European Union financing to reconstruct the library during its most recent endeavors
of restoration. Additionally, the buildings official website also uses the German word for
City Hall. Vijenica Rathaus in Sarajevo is featured as the heading on its homepage.3
After the war, Kanita Focak, now an architect, worked to

rebuild Sarajevo. She helped to restore mosques, churches,
and houses, ensuring Sarajevo was once again one of the most
beautiful cities of the alkans. The outstanding experiences of
my life, she says, are all bound up with the Vijenica.
Kanita Focak A Bosnian
Widow turned Architect
lived across the River from
Vije i a
Very
early in life, Focak came to love languages, literature, painting

and architecture.
At sixteen she devoured books on the
architecture of the Renaissance and the works of Boccaccio and

Dante in the library s wood-paneled reading room. Kanita
Focak, a Catholic, was in the library when she met Goldschmied Faruk, a Muslim ten
years her senior who became her lover. When it rained, they met in the reading room;
when the sun shone, they met in the resplendent marble entranceway. Both their families
http://www.vijecnica.ba/
Impossible to turn the page SDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG MUNICH BY FLORIAN HASSEL. TRANSLATED FROM GERMAN
BY ANTON BAER.
4


were against their relationship, but the lovers inevitably married at the end of the 1980s.
They moved into the Faruk family house, right across from the library where they met.
Also directly across the Miljacka River from the

library is the famous restaurant known as Inat Kua.
After the Austro-Hungarian monarchy occupied
Bosnia and Herzegovina, they began to build
beautiful and important buildings. The Post Office,
The National Museum, The Faculty of Law, and
various residential structures; but when they tried to
I at Kua (the Spite House) Restaurant.

Former Home of Old Man Benderija.
build the City Hall Vijenica they experienced what is called lightly, osnian
stubbornness . Such an enormous building had never been before seen in Sarajevo.
Neither had such power of a ruling monarchy ever expressed itself in such prominent
architecture. And the building site was in the exact location of the property of an old man
called Benderija. Old Man Benderija was a resident citizen of Sarajevo and had built his
home on the banks of the Miljacka River some years earlier. He did not want to allow the
builders to demolish his house and take his land away from him for any reason. The
house was his internal peace, he would not let his home go. The pleading took months,
the architects and the mayor bargained with Benderija, He still would not budge, and the
pressure from Vienna was building. After long negotiations, the stubborn man said that
he would give up his property only if he was compensated with a bag of golden coins,
and secondly, his house was to be moved brick by brick to the other side of the river. The
Mayor and the builders had no choice. They did exactly what the old man requested


and the house that is known today as Inat Kua
The Spite House 5 was moved and
reassembled brick by brick, timber by timber, tile by tile in 1895 to make way for the
construction of the Vijenica. In 1997 Inat Kua was turned into a lovely traditional
Bosnian restaurant.
The Spite House is still there defying all governments and
symbolizing the stubbornness of Bosnian Man.
At least one of the architects of

Vijenica agreed with Old
Man
Benderija
that
the
building should not be very

large
his name was Karel
Pak, he was the first of three

Karel Pak
1857 - 1942.
Austrian Architect
and Chess Master
architects in total who were

responsible for the design of
the building over the course of
its construction.
Karl Pak, a Czech architect
erijatska sudaka kola. Sarajevo.

Designed by Ka el Pak. 1887.
submitted the preliminary design in 1891. Pak also had previously worked on other
buildings of great significance in Sarajevo, one being erijatska sudaka kola The Sharia
School) in the same pseudo-Moorish style of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Pak did not
want to accept the request of Minister Benjamin Kalaj to make the City Hall a very large
http://www.inatkuca.ba/

Vije ica. Original Faade Elevation designed by Karl Pak. 1887. Later Modified by Alexander Wittek.
building because of the contextual site in which the building was to be built. Nevertheless
Pak came up with the triangular plan of the building, it s massing, it s central atrium,
and a wonderfully embellished faade and elevation drawings. However, his plan for
Vijenica was initially rejected after he refused to modify the intricate details of the
ornamentation to suit Kalaj. Construction was then turned over to Alexander Wittek, an
Austrian who acted as the primary architect during building and who was largely
responsible for decorative elements that we see today, he took over the plans that were
made by Pak and redesigned the ornamentation and made minor modifications to the
corner towers. In essence, the building went on to be constructed in the manner initially
conceived by Karl Pak. Under the watch of Alexander Wittek, the Vijenica began to
really take shape. His designs were inspired by the Cairo Mosque of Sultan Hasan II,
taking many cues from its red and yellow striped polychromy, the ornamented parapet,
and elaborate stone carved moldings.
Wittek is also noted as having worked on



Sarajevo s Sebilj Fountain.
It is
said that when tourists come to the

city, if they drink from both sides
of the fountain it is guaranteed that
they
will
return
to
Sarajevo.
Additionally, Wittek was also a

chess master. He tied for 5-6th at
the
International
Chess
Tournament, Berlin 1881 and was

in 9th place at Vienna, 1882. That
same year in 1882 he was ranked
Alexander Wittek (1852 1894) was Austrian architect

and chess master. His obituary above is printed in German
from the Grazer TAGBLATT May 13, 1894 after he committed
suicide at the age of 42.
9th in the world.6 But, in spite of

all his successes and his elite position amongst architects and chess masters, Wittek s days
too were numbered. He had been diagnosed in
with paralytic mental disorder . It
is not a surprising fate for an architect to be driven to madness by a building; Wittek died
in a lunatic asylum in Graz in 1894
he had committed suicide.
fter Wittek s untimely death the Vijenica

construction was completed in 1896 under the
supervision of the project s third architect, a
Croatian, iril Metod Ivekovi.
Sebilj Fountain. Sarajevo. Erected in
Pigeo ua e
Ale a de Wittek.
1891.
6
iril was the
younger brother of Otto Ivekovi, a prominent
http://dbpedia.org/page/Alexander_Wittek


Croatian painter.
dditional notoriety among iril s family
included two of Croatia s greatest lexicographers
iril s uncle
Dr. Francis Ivekovi and cousin Dr. John Broz were the creators of
the Croatian dictionaries. 7 iril finished elementary school and
secondary school in Varazdin and Zagreb, respectively. His uncle
iril Metod Ivekovi
1864 - 1933.
Croatian Architect.
Dr. Francis Ivekovi sent him to study at the Higher Trade School
in Vienna. In 1896 he was appointed rchitect of Divine Worship
and later designed the Dalmatian governor's office in Zadar . This
was the beginning of his most productive period when he spent a quarter century acting
as an architect, conservator, archaeologist, restorer, and finally as a photographer. In
1899 iril became a corresponding member of the Central Commission for the Study and
Maintenance of Historical and Artistic Monuments in Vienna. After the First World War and
the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Zadar came under Venetian rule and in
1920 the architect moved to Zagreb. There he became a professor of architecture at the
Technical University. Ivekovi was the final architect to work on Vijenica and saw it
through to completion. He also designed the City
Hall in rko, a town in northern BosniaHerzegovina that sits on the southern banks of the
Sava River. The town hall in rko has striking
similarities to the Vijenica, giving an architectural
gesture to its capitol. iril Metod Ivekovi lived
Brko City Hall. Desig ed

Ivekovi .
iril Metod
nearly 40 more years after the completion of the
Ivekovic, Broz, Dictionary Croatian language, Zagreb, 1901.

http://vijesti.hrt.hr/umro-ivan-broz


Sarajevo Vijenica and never retired from his life s work. He died suddenly in 1933 just
before going into new archaeological excavations in Biograd na Moru.
Little did the architects know while building the

City Hall, their beautiful building in Sarajevo
would become one of the major centerpieces of two
major wars.
The Vijenica was the very last
building Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were inside before
their assassination upon leaving the library in 1914.
Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a
ball in Prague in 1894. To be eligible to marry a
Franz Ferdinand, Heir to the throne of
Austro Hungarian Empire and his wife
Sophie of Hohenburg
member of the Imperial House of Habsburg, one

had to be a member of one of the reigning or
formerly reigning dynasties of Europe.
The
Choteks, though noble in their own right, were not one of these families. Although
Sophie was a lady-in-waiting to the Archduchess Isabella, Duchess of Teschen, this did
not put her in dynastic rank to meet the approval of Franz Joseph. Deeply in love, Franz
Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else and had to seek endorsements to be
able to legally marry his Bohemian bride. Pope Leo XIII, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and
the German Emperor Wilhelm II all made representations on his behalf to Emperor Franz
Joseph of Austria, arguing that the disagreement between Franz Joseph and Franz
Ferdinand was undermining the stability of the monarchy. The two were married in the


year
1900
Zkupy
at
Reichstadt,
now
in Bohemia, the Czech
Republic. This is another enduring

tale of Love that surrounds the
intricate history of Vijenica. Years
later in 1914, Archduke Franz
Ferdinand was invited by General
Oskar Potiorek, Governor of the
Austro-Hungarian
province
of
F a z a d ophie leavi g the Vije i a just o e ts efo e

thei t agi assassi atio as depi ted i the fil The Da that
Shook the Wo ld .
Bosnia and Herzegovina, to watch

troop maneuvers in Sarajevo. Sophie was not allowed, according to Habsburg rule, to
accompany her husband publicly because of her lesser dynastic status, but on this
occasion Franz Ferdinand had been invited as a military commander rather than a royal
personage. The archduke therefore eagerly arranged for his wife to join him. It was a
rare occasion. The couple s Sarajevo itinerary included the troop review, a visit to the
Vijenica on parade route, and a dedication of a new museum before their return to
Vienna. While inside the City Hall after being warned by their procession of the looming
threats of possible assassination attempts, Sophie said vehemently, "As long as the
Archduke shows himself in public today I will not leave him." They left Vijenica to
commence the parade route and just moments later the two gunshots that started WW1
were fired.
The assassin, a Serb nationalist, stepped forward out of the crowd of
spectators, drew his pistol, and at a distance of about five feet, fired twice into the open
car. Franz Ferdinand was hit in the neck and Sophie in the abdomen. Sophie said to her
http://www.zakupy.cz/


husband, "For God's sake, what has happened to you?!", then she layed over bleeding.
Before losing consciousness he pleaded, "Sopher! Sopher! Don't die! Stay alive for our
children! , using his pet name for the duchess. They were both dead within an hour.
Thus began a series of fast-escalating events that within six weeks would have Europe
embroiled in a war its leaders had long been gunning for while fooling themselves that it
would never actually break out. That
war
would
last
four-and-a-half
agonizing years, involve
million
soldiers, and cost at least
million
lives. It would see the map of Europe

redrawn,
violent
revolution
in
Russia, and the emergence of a new

global power in the United States.
World War I begins just a month after
Artist s Rendering. Franz and Sophie Assassination.
Franz Ferdinand strode his final path

down the front steps of Vijenica to climb aboard a black 1910 Grf & Stift in the
motorcade. Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia in supposed direct response to
what happened next; the assassination of Franz and Sophie is considered the most
immediate cause of World War I.


Long before the architects of the
Austro Hungarian Empire built the
Vijenica there were other primary
figures from the Ottoman Empire who
greatly influenced the development of
the libraries and the architecture of
Sarajevo. In 1521 Gazi Husrev-Beg laid
the Ottoman foundations on to which
the Hapsburg Monarchy would later
Habsburg Delegation. Joseph Freiherr von Lamberg,
Nikola Jurii, a d Be edikt Kuripei, officers of
Ferdinand I of Habsburg's troops deployed to negotiate
for peace with Ottoman Rulers in front of Gazi Husrevbeg. Circa 1530.
expand. Gazi Husrev-Beg became the

provincial governor of Ottoman Bosnia
and would keep his post through the
first half of the 16th century. He was
the Ottoman Sultan that was known as the Great Builder of Sarajevo. He founded many
institutions including the Madrassa, many Mosques including the one that would later
become the Gazi Husrev-Beg Library, the Bezistan, and many bridges that cross the
Miljacka River. Gazi Husrev-Beg was also known as the greatest benefactor of Sarajevo
through what he bequeathed, his patronage, and his endowment. He devoted his entire
life and legacy to the building and urbanization of the city. Filled with noble love for the
common good and progress of the people he was entrusted with, and from whom he
descended, he unselfishly sacrificed his enormous wealth on the building of magnificent
structures for various purposes which transformed Sarajevo into the largest trading, craft,
cultural, educational, and military center at the crossroads of East and West. Before Gazi
Husrev-Beg there were no Christian Churches in Sarajevo.
With his architectural



undertakings Gazi Husrev-Beg achieved lasting
merit. A generous endowment was given by him to
found the library that bears his name. Over time it
grew to house thousands of manuscripts, old books,
maps, and journals covering a period of six
centuries, written in Latin, English, Turkish, Arabic,
Russian, Persian, German, and Italian.
Over
100,000 items from over 1,000 years from places

across the Arabic, Turkish, and Farsi speaking
Dr. Mustafa Jahic - Director of the Gazi
Husrev Beg Library
worlds are housed at GAZI. There are original

documents and manuscripts from Iraq, Istanbul,
and Bosnia. Some for example were written by

Arabs in places like Fez or Baghdad, then later
translated or copied by a Turk living in a Caucasian
Republic, and then later purchased by Bosnians.
Numerous concerts and exhibitions are organized
here in this library as a reflection of this multi-ethnic
Bosnia. In his last will and testament, Gazi HusrevBeg said:
Good deeds drive away evil, and one of
the most worthy of good deeds is the act of charity,

and the most worthy act of charity is one which lasts
forever. Of all charitable deeds, the most beautiful
is one that continually renews itself. And so, in the
spirit of Gazi Hursev-Beg, the library has of late
Gazi Husrev-Begova Bibliotheka. The

Renovation of the Library was funded by
the Government of Qatar.


undergone an extreme make-over, having been
rehabilitated,
restored,
and
renovated
with
financial assistance donated by the government of

Qatar. Many of the manuscripts in the new Gazi
Husrev-Beg collection are still to be catalogued.
Donations
and
acquisitions
stretching
back
Dr. La ija Hadios a ovi - Professor

Emeritus, University of Sarajevo
centuries are still being discovered. One of such

priceless manuscripts is the four volume History of Bosnia by Salih Sidki Hadzihuseinovic
Muvekkit. This unique work, written more than 120 years ago in Osmanli Dili or
Ottoman-Turkish language, was the first written history of Bosnia under the Ottoman
rule. The manuscript was hand written in Turkish in the 19th century and has been held
at the Gazi Husrev-Beg Library for over a hundred years having never been translated
until Dr. Lamija Hadiosmanovi from the University of Sarajevo began translating the
work into Bosnian in the early nineties. Shortly before the siege began, Dr. Lamija and
the team at the Library were deep into the midst of translating the manuscripts. The
professor borrowed the four volumes from the director of the library, Dr. Mustafa Jahic,
and took the manuscripts home to work with them. In the spring of 1992, warned by her
Serbian neighbor in the middle of the night that she was on a list for liquidation, she fled
her home, taking with her only a few personal belongings. The manuscript was left in
her flat in the Grbavica. This district of Sarajevo soon fell to the Serb nationalist army.
The History of osnias fate hung in the balance.


Muvekkit was a Turkish Historian born in Sarajevo
and enthralled with Bosnia. In his manuscripts he
keeps prose and poetry in the margins and records
an erudite compilation of accounts taking The History
of Bosnia in the first book from prehistory to the
Bogomils of Bulgaria in Medieval Roman times,
through the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, and on to the
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 where the Ottoman
Empire came to occupy Bosnia. In the subsequent
Muvekithana.
Clock Tower at the
Campus of the Gazi Hursev-Beg Library in
Sarajevo.
volumes Muvekkit describes the history of the

Turkish conquest of Bosnia onwards, until the
Austrian occupation in 1878.
Muvekkit is cited as
using a rational approach, using various sources for instance, in oriental languages,
which up until now has been largely unheard of in the academia of osnia s past as most
records were of western accounts. Muvekkit published works in Zagreb, Belgrade, and
Sarajevo in his time and created a compendium that has not until recently received the
recognition it deserves. He even is writing in Turkish and refers to the Ottoman Empire
in his manuscripts as Occupied osnia , giving credence to his connectedness to his
homeland and its historical record. His account of events throughout the Balkans are
priceless and immeasurable. He scribes his accounts in the History of Bosnia through an
entire slew of battles, invasions, and peace treaties giving detailed accounts from an
objective eye. He ends in the late 18th century in the 4th and final volume, following with
a glossary, index, and references.9 Aside from his love of history and of Bosnia, Muvekkit
9
The chronicle of Muvekkit, Tari-I Bosna. Enveri Kadic. editor of Muvekkit Manuscripts. 1999
https://www.scribd.com/doc/123057171/Muvekkit-prikaz-knjige


was also a lover of Geography and an Astronomer.
He composed two globes that are in the library
today, and in 1859 he established the Muvekithana
at the Gazi Husrev-Beg campus as another part of
Gazi Husrev-Beg endowment.
A Muvekithana,
named for its commissioner, the great historian, is a

clock tower, timing room, and scientific observatory
Books from the Gazi Hursev-Beg Library

and the National Library of Sarajevo are
among some of the oldest and most
valuable books in all of Europe.
used to study the skies and lunar activity in order to

keep the most accurate measurement of time.
Dr. Lamija Hadiosmanovi left Sarajevo and the

Manuscripts spent the Bosnian war in Serbian
occupied territory. During the time that she was
gone, many other heroes of this story did stay in the
city and their accounts of what happened are among
the most timeless of tales from Sarajevo s history.
Abbas Lutumba Husein. Library Night

Watchman.
The library night watchman, the firefighters, the

library staff, and a microfilm technician are just a few of the dedicated people whose
stories are told in the film The Love of ooks produced by Oxford Film and Television.
When the National Library came under attack firefighters and neighbors rallied together
to help save the books. Abbas Lutumba Husein, the night watchman at the Library says
he came all the way from the Congo to clean and protect these books so that others can
be able to see them. He knows the importance of books. He recalls the treacherous act
of saving the books over the five year siege moving them from safe house to safe house


in banana crates, risking his life, My Duty was to save the treasures of osniaof course
it was worth risking my life for.
10
One day a shell lands in a bread line and kills

twenty-two people as a cellist watches from a
window in his flat.
He vows to sit in the hollow
where the mortar fell and play lbinoni s dagio

once a day for each of the twenty-two victims. The
Adagio, symbolic of the bermensch in and of
itself, had been re-created from a fragment after the
only extant score was firebombed in the Dresden
Music Library, but the fact that it had been
recomposed
by
different
orchestrators
into
something new and beautiful gives the cellist hope.
Vedran Smajlovic. The Cellist of Sarajevo

Plays amongst the Ruins of the National
Library
The Vijecnica was badly damaged during the ethnic conflict that tore apart Yugoslavia
following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The musical score became associated with the
building and together they both gained notoriety as icons of survival. A 1992 picture
shows Vedran Smajlovic - The Cellist of Sarajevo - playing his instrument amid the
blackened ruins in tie and tail became a symbol of the tragedy of conflict. 11 The cellist
stayed in Sarajevo for the same reason as the night watchman from the Congo did, he
10
Oxford Film and Television Production: The Love of Books
NBC News.com - Two Decades After Being Shelled, Sarajevo's Vijecnica Is Reborn. BY ALASTAIR
JAMIESON
11


said, I didn t want to leave, I felt I had a duty to fulfil. It would not have been fair to
abandon the city that had accepted me as a guest. I wanted to share in the destiny of the
city.
On that hot August day in 1992, printed pages were flying around in flames, crossing the
Miljacka River and landing as ash in people s gardens.
As Nietzsche said,
Live
Dangerously! Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius! Send your ships into uncharted
seas! Live at war with your peers and yourselves! Be robbers and conquerors as long as
you cannot be rulers and possessors, you seekers of knowledge!
12
The Sarajevo National
Library is indeed one great seeker of knowledge and has seen, lived through, and
survived war. Dr. Jahic s niece wrote him letters during the siege, she recalls,
My favorite letters were those I wrote to my uncle Mustafa. part from being one of the
rare family members from Bosnia who I really remembered, his stories were also unlike the
others; they werent strictly about the details, the pure water/milk/heating/shelter concerns
of those who were just surviving. From my grandmother, I would learn that he was saving
books old ones, ones written in unreadable Arabic letters. He and his wife, a doctor,
would leave their two infant children in the house (located at the first line of defense
between the Army of Bosnia and the Serbian army) to go about their duties. One saved
lives, or hoped to do so; the other went around the city carrying books and manuscripts
from one location to the other.
13
12
Nietzsche. The Gay Science: With a Prelude in German Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs. Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
13
KOSOVO 2.0 - LOST & FOUND: THE RESCUE OF SARAJEVOS OLDEST LIBRARY
BY SUMEJA TULIC - JANUARY 20, 2014

The Firefighter Ismet Tucak tells his story, The

cigarette factory was left without paper so they
rolled the packs with old booksthe shells came,
and the library was a huge fireballWe used one
eye to extinguish the fire, the other eye to avoid
getting killed. I tried to save the books, what else
could I do?
14
The firefighters could only approach
Shelves upon Shelves of Burning Books in

the National Library could not be saved.
the building from the North side, or they would be

in direct line of fire, they too were being targeted.
Low water pressure made
extinguishing the flames impossible, but braving a hail of sniper fire, librarians and a
dozen citizen volunteers formed a human chain to pass books out of the burning
building. Together, they carried some 100,000 books from the burning building, in spite
of 90% of the libraries archives being lost, this was
a
huge
accomplishment.
Bombarded
with
incendiary grenades from Serbian nationalist

positions across the river, the library burned for
three days. It was reduced to ashes, along with all
of its contents, except for what had been heroically
Ismet Tucak Sarajevo Firefighter
saved.
14



They realized very quickly, in the midst of horror that if they
wanted to truly save the books at the Gazi Husrev-Beg
Library just down river, the risk was too big to worry about
saving the books alone, they needed to setup the
Microfilming.
The Microfilm technician Mohamed Mui
was implemental in smuggling a microfilming system from

Vienna through a network of tunnels beneath the Sarajevo
airport.
Artists Interpretation of
Nietzsche as the bermensch
The Microfilm equipment is not a simple copy
machine, it is very complex, requiring both electricity, water,

chemicals, and solvents. The Librarians knew they would
not have access to electricity and water all day, every day. The war was still ongoing.
They rigged up the machine to be able to run on two car batteries in the event of a power
outage. The Library cleaning staff would
run to the river constantly to bring back
water for the holding tanks attached to the
machine. When Mohamed arrived, they
asked his professional opinion how long
it would take to copy the books all 15,000
of them?
His response was simply,
Twenty Years . They moved ahead. Dr.
Sarajevo Diary. Mustafa Baseskija. 1746
Lamija Hadiosmanovi recalls that as

they risked their life to go fetch water from the river to use for the microfilming that
there was not a single woman who wasn t nicely dressed, who had her hair done, and


makeup on. We wanted to prove that we were alive.
15
The Microfilm technician recalls
reading many of the books as he was working with them. In a Diary of Mustarfa Baseskja
in an entry from 1801, he remembers reading, I am going to tell you some things about
the city of Sarajevo, for as we know, what has been written endures and what has been
remembered fades.
In December of 1995 ill Clinton s voice came across the airwaves in Sarajevo saying,
Whatever their ethnic groups, the overwhelming majority of Bosnian citizens, and the
citizens of Croatia and Serbia want the same thing. They want to stop the slaughter, they
want to put an end to the violence and war, they want to give their children and
grandchildren the chance to lead a normal life. Today, Thank God, the voices of those people
have been heardfter nearly four years of two hundred fifty thousand people killed, two
million refugees, the Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia have reached a peace
agreement to end the war in Bosnia.
16
With the siege over, Dr. Hadiosmanovi returned to her home to find it had been
wrecked by Serbian soldiers. Her favorite dress was riddled with bullet holes. Almost
nothing remained intact. And yet, in a heap of books, she found the manuscript. The
very next day she returned Muvekkit's History of Bosnia to the Gazi Husrev-Beg Library
and presented it to Dr. Jehic. He was overwhelmed. 10,000 manuscripts and rare books
belonging to the Gazi Husrev-Beg library were saved during the siege of Sarajevo
15
16
Speech by President Bill Clinton on the Dayton Peace Agreement signed in Paris on December 14, 1995.


through the heroic actions of Dr. Jahic and his team Jahic had succeeded in bringing the
whole collection safely through the war, now including Muvekkit. He was overcome
with emotion at the sight of the four Manuscripts and at his dear colleague s return; the
volumes were finally translated and published in 1999. Many timeless and invaluable
books survived the siege.
Another of
osnia s greatest cultural treasures, the
th
Century Sarajevo Haggadah tells the story of

the Book of Exodus. This rare type of
illuminated manuscript is not common
among Jewish Hebrew records because the
imagery it contains depicts the human
figure. Nevertheless, this work of Jewish
calligraphers and illuminators has remained
one of the most beloved and illusive books in
all of Europe. It was originally recorded in
Islamic Spain and the manuscript was
brought to Sarajevo 500 years ago by Jews
Sarajevo Haggadah. Moses at Mount Sinai in
Egypt. Illuminated Manuscript.
fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. It was

concealed from the Nazis by a courageous
museum curator during World War II and even spent some time in Vienna for an expert
assessment.17 The book is under a tight lock and key somewhere in Sarajevo but no one
is privy to its real whereabouts except when it is revealed on rare occasions from time to
time only to prove its existence. An ABC correspondent did just that in a Sarajevo Special
17
http://www.haggadah.ba/


from 1996 confirming on a Nightline segment anchored by Ted Koppel that the Sarajevo
Haggadah Survived. 18 It maintains its ranks among Europe s most enduring books
including Muvekkit and many other timeless tales.
It s worth noting also that Nietzsche s bermensch

represented the creative-destruction of modernity
through the mythical figure of Dionysus, the God of
Wine, and a figure whom he saw as at one and the
same time destructively creative and creatively
Wine Serving at a Vije i a Eve t
destructive".
Nietzsche argues for a universal
principle of a cycle of creation allowing for
destruction and destruction allowing for creativity. During the rise of the Vejinica from
the ashes as it was being restored, the building hosted
many open houses and exhibitions in which the
library became full of contemporary art, music and
wine.
It rises out the ash as a Phoenix for all who
seek truth and resiliency for the people of Bosnia and

all of the alkans . On the flip side of that coin
Nietzsche poses the question, have you ever asked
yourselves sufficiently how much the erection of
every ideal on earth has cost? If a temple is to be
erected a temple must be destroyed: that is the law.19
18
19
Concert in the At iu
of Vije i a
ABC News. Nightline. Searching For Hope: The Sarajevo Haggadah. 1996.
On the Genealogy of Morality, or On the Genealogy of Morals, subtitled "A Polemic" 1887


Even during the war, a certain
understanding arose out of the ashes
of the National Library that Bosnia's
multiethnic
legacy
is
worth
protecting. It seems the bermensch

creative-destruction cycle is never
ending in Sarajevo but this temple
Vijenica inevitably cannot be held
down.
This concept is further
Edo Murti. C oatia Pai te . WA . E hi itio i side the

Vije i a eadi g oo . 2009
invigorated by the beautiful art and music installations that were exhibited against the
backdrop of the war-torn architecture. Upon completion The Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra gave a concert at the Vijenica s Grand Opening in 2014. French President
Franois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Austrian President Heinz
Fischer were in all attendance. Franz Welser-Mst conducted the orchestra playing
Emperor Quartet by Haydn and the Fate Song by rahms.20 Angela Merkel said that
the international community, after the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will
encourage the political process and that in light of the Berlin Conference, the Western
Balkans will be supported with assistance by the German government. There is still much
work to be carried out.
20
Altes Rathaus in neuem Glanz

ADELHEID WLFL FROM SARAJEVO. 10 January 2014
http://derstandard.at/


The reconstruction took 18 years, from
destruction to recreation
nine times
longer than the building's original

construction 120 years ago.
Mulaomerovi
is
one
of
Smajo
the
key
architects on the reconstruction project.

He explains,
Construction. Steel Beams being installed by workers
a ove the Vije i a eadi g oo .
City Hall has been
restored Such an accomplishment is

not easy, especially when it comes to an
iconic building, one of the most important objects from the legacy of the AustroHungarian period in our region."21 The architects said it took them time to hunt down
documents, photos, and details of the building in order to copy the original 19th century
pseudo-Moorish construction.
The search was lengthy, but it paid off
the building is
back, exactly the way it was before the Serb shelling destroyed it in 1992.
22
Smajo s
partner on the project, Ferhad Mulabegovi, has over 40 years of experience in

conservation and reconstruction of cultural and historical buildings. Ferhad was the lead
architect in the project of reconstruction of Sarajevo City Hall from 2007-2014. Also, he
was the winner of the Grand Prix Collegium Artisticum award in 2001 for reconstruction
of Sarajevo Post Office and is author of the book Old Cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina
21
http://www.sarajevotimes.com/
The first Monograph on the Sarajevo City Hall Presented. DECEMBER 20, 2014
22
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Reconstruction of Sarajevo Library nearing end By ASSOCIATED PRESS


published in 2012.
Smajo Mulaomerovi had previously
worked at the Institute for Architecture and Urbanism and the

Sarajevo School of Architecture before founding URBING
Studio.
He has completed numerous reconstruction and
conservation projects, Sarajevo City Hall being one of the most

significant ones.
He too was a winner of Collegium
Artisticum Award in 1979 for the est rchitecture Idea and

he was also engaged as a United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) consultant.
The two architects were
invisible during the time when the City Hall stood in ruins.
They were working hard
to reconstruct the intricate
details of all the fine
moldings and carvings of
the
library s
intricate
capitals and arches. The

ornamentation
phenomenal.
is
"For three
years it took to finish the

architectural
restoration
and painting decorations,

a baseline established at
Beautiful Stained Glass Ceiling above
the Vijecnica Atrium.
the outset of the project

was very scarce and we
Exploded Floor Plan. The

Li a s
p og a
is
highlighted by the various
colors designating areas.

Nearly every piece of carved stone was damaged to some degree. Architects used electronic modeling to assist
in restoring the intricate details.
had to explore and search for this grandeur that you see."23 The pair worked continuously
from 1996 to 2008 to develop the entire project of City Hall. They collaborated during the
implementation phase of the project and both participated as supervisors.
One of the City Halls most recent achievements has been the first ever monograph,
published in 2014 by the Vijenica architects themselves, studio URBING. In cooperation
with the administration of the City of Sarajevo, URBING compiled the stunning work
Vijenica , signed by the authors closely related to the project of reconstruction of the
23
http://sarajevo2014.com
This years inners of recognitions and City of Saraje o of a ards - 06.04.2014.


City Hall. Protection of
cultural and historical
heritage was the main
preoccupation of these
two
architects
during
their extremely fertile

and creative professional
activity.
We visited a
lot of cities in Europe

North-South Section. Vije i a. UBING tudio.
connection to Sarajevo, Bosnia
that
have
some
Herzegovina and the City Hall, collecting photos and
documents, and finally we managed to find the original project of the construction of the
City Hall, from the period 1892 till 1896. The original three architects alone represented
Austria, Croatia, and the Chzech Republic; the original construction was adminstered
from Vienna which commissioned artisans and craftsman from numeerous additional
cities. The architects discovered that much of the origianal marble of the atrium detailing
was quarried in Macedonia. Thus, we were in possession of that vast and exclusive
material that says a lot about this building, and it was logical that put it all in a
monograph.
24
The editor of the book is Valerijan ujo.
Just previously to publishing the monograph, Valerijan also put together a

lexicographical reference: Leksikon Sarajeva. ujo is an author of poetry, prose, drama,
24
http://www.sarajevotimes.com/
This years inners of recognitions and City of Sarajevo of awards. DECEMBER 20, 2014


film
screenplay,
journals.
and
travel
His works have been
translated into English, Greek,

Turkish, Japanese, and Slovakian.
Around 100,000 facts that are
relevant to the capital of Bosnia
and Herzegovina are carefully
collected and catalogued in this
two volume set of over 1,000 pages.
Commenting
on
the
VALERIJAN UJO. Author, Editor, and Lexicographer with his

publication Leksikon Sarajeva.
accomplishments Valerijan says in an interview, "Most of these things are judged by

people who had never even written two postcards, you know? This morning a friend
asked, So is it finally over? - As if this was some kind of child's play and some simple
work. It s hard work and I am happy that this has given me a gentlemanly return to
literature; to work at publishing - that is really my true vocation."25 In addition to the
family ties of the creators of the Croatian Dictionary, Ivekovi & Broz the publication of
ujo is another instance that highlights the interconnectedness of architecture and
lexicography.
VALERIJAN UJO: LEKSIKON SARAJEVA

http://sarajevo.co.ba/valerijan-zujo-leksikon-sarajeva/
25


All three authors, which included the
two architects and the lexicographer
were awarded Sarajevo's prestigious
6th of April Award
in 2014.
pivotal role in two wars might seem

an unlikely basis for celebration, but
in acknowledging the city s history,
Sarajevo s leaders are promoting a
message
of
Conferences
diplomacy
reconciliation.
on
international
and lectures on
the
region s troubled history are taking

place.
The $16 million, 18-year
Vije ica Sarajevo. Monograph. VALERIJAN UJO. FERHAD

MULABEGOVIC. SMAJO MULAOMEROVIC. 2014.
restoration was funded half by the

European Union with Germany at the economic core, and many other heritage groups,
government bodies, and councils across Europe
th of pril ward
and also USAID. Sadly, the collective
was presented posthumously to honor the architect Smajo
Mulaomerovi. The award was received by Smajo s son Nedad who said, My Father
left behind a beautifully restored City Hall and many other valuable works of
architecture . Smajo Mulaomerovi died in 2011. Stressing satisfaction obtaining this
award, architect Ferhad Mulabegovi emphasized the fact that, unfortunately, during the
18 years of rebuilding Vijenica, many experts did not anticipate a happy ending. He
underlined that the construction of the City Hall was one of the most expensive and the
most monumental undertakings since the Austro-Hungarian rule. "We are pleased with

Vije ica Faade Elevatio . URBING Studio
the City Administration and 18 years of work, and if we managed to revive from ruins
the [genius loci] - spirit of that time using modern techniques, then we are all happy,"26
The destruction of the National Library was not an

isolated casualty of war. All over Bosnia, books
became the target of nationalist armies. In Sarajevo,
15,000 manuscripts from the Oriental Institute were
also destroyed, along with 50,000 books in the
Franciscan Theological Seminary Library. In each
case, the library alone was targeted; adjacent
buildings stand intact to this day. The Librarians
are still waiting for justice.
26
Nedad Mulamerovic and Ferhad

Mulabegovic accepting the Sarajevo April
6th Awards from the Mayor of Sarajevo.
2014
With their rescued
Sarajevo2014.com - This years inners of recognitions and City of Saraje o of a ards. 6.04.2014


books and manuscripts, shuffled from the vaults of a lottery firm in a fallout shelter, to
the cellar of the Ministry of Education, and to their current refuge in a former barracks of
the Yugoslav army, they are rebuilding the holdings of the National Library of BosniaHerzegovina. The librarians have covered entire walls with copies of letters they have
been sending to osnia s politicians for years, begging them to reinstate their library and,
above all, to finance it. But today, the library still remains housed in its emergency
accommodations.
Although the Vijenica has been fully restored, it is only being used
for its original purpose, as a City Hall. None of the National Library s holdings are there,
only politicians. Amra Resitbegovic is a Librarian employed by the National Library of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, which no longer exists. She says she continues to go to work every
day because she too has a duty to fulfil. She is not getting paid. She laments, We lost
colleagues in the war and we lost our status as the
National Library.
We were always a National
Library, now we don t even have the title. She

recals the events of the war and the peoples
sacrifice, We are very proud that we saved [the
books] in the war.
She continues, Culture always
mirrors the country.
Amra Resitbegovic. Librarian. National

Library of Bosnia Herzegovina.
Our politicians need to
understand that. If they don t accept how important culture is for the next generation
and for normal life, the state of our library will remain as bad as the state of our
country.
27
27
Deutsche Welles. Bosnia-Herzegovina: The rescued books of Sarajevo | European Journal production


Restoration of the city s iconic symbol of national identity required tremendous effort
and thorough research. Through the work of the architects and the help they received
through international and local collaboration, the response to the task has returned the
icon to authenticity.
The architectural marvel is not only an essential detail of most
panoramic views of the city of Sarajevo, but also a symbol. This bermensch restoration
of the Vijenica Rathaus is perhaps the most important project in the post-war period in
Sarajevo and the Bosnian state.
It is a cultural, historical, national, and academic
monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. For some it is a symbol of suffering but also of
the rise of the indestructibility of Sarajevo. And regarding the books
the ones that
survived will forever be a momentum and provide a lasting legacy that will forever
endure. The books that perished will truly be lamented, but they are survived by a great
many others that have an even greater story waiting to be told. Perhaps a statement by
the night watchman Abbas Lutumba Husein sums it up best when he said, No matter
how you approach a book, the book accepts you.
Site Section. KEVIN ROSS LIKINS. Thesis Presentation of Balkan Reconciliation Centers that inspired this follow-up article. SCAD. 2011.

Recognition and Index of Notable Figures

1.
Old Man Banderija Owne of I at Kua the pite House Pg. 4
2.
Mula Mustafa Baeskija (1731 1809) Bosnian chronicler, diarist, poet, calligrapher, janissary..Pg. 21
3.
Gazi Husrev-Beg (1480 1541), Provincial Ottoman Governor of Bosnia, Patron, and
Great Builder of Sarajevo.Pg. 12
4.
Bill Clinton American President.Pg. 21
5.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863 1914), Heir to the throne of Austro Hungarian Empire.........Pg. 9
6.
Kanita Focak A Bosnian widow turned Architect, wife of Goldschmied Faruk..Pg. 1
7.
Dr. La ija Hadios a ovi - Professor Emeritus, University of Sarajevo..Pg. 14
8.
Sophie Duchess of Hohenburg (1868 1914), Wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand....Pg. 9
9.
Abbas Lutumba Husein Library Night WatchmanPg. 16
10.
iril Metod Ivekovi (1864 1933) Croatian architect..Pg. 7
11.
Ivekovi & Broz Croatian Lexicographers, Creators of Croatian Dictionary (1901)....Pg. 8
12.
Dr. Mustafa Jahic Director of the Gazi Husrev-Beg Library..Pg. 13
13.
Salih Sidki Hadzihuseinovic Muvekkit (1825 1888), Bosnian Historian, Geographer,

and AstronomerPg. 14
14.
Ferhad Mulabegovic Bosnian Architect URBING Studio.Pg. 25
15.
Smajo Mulaomerovic (1945-2011), Architect. Founder URBING Studio..Pg. 25
16.
Edo Murti (1921 2005), Croatian Painter...Pg. 24
17.
Angela Merkel German Chancellor...Pg. 24
18.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1884 1900), German Philologist, Philosopher, Cultural Critic....Pg. 2
19.
Karel Pak (1857 1942), Czech Architect....Pg. 5
20.
Amra Resitbegovic Librarian, National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina..Pg. 32
21.
Vedra S ajlovi Cellist of Sarajevo.Pg. 17
22.
Ismet Tucak Sarajevo Firefighter.Pg. 19
23.
Alexander Wittek (1852 1894), Austrian Architect and Chess Master... Pg. 6
24.
Valerijan ujo Author, Lexicographer...Pg. 28


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LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

bermensch Vije ica

by KEVIN ROSS LIKINS BFA, M.Arch, LFPLC

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

Vije ica The National Library of

rare books and manuscripts, the country s

You ll see our son grow

Goldshmied struggled with

death for four days. He died in her arms at the

The National Library was completely

destroyed in the fire, along with 80 percent of its

flames, along with hundreds of original documents

1 | bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

When Darwin said that every living thing evolves

Vije ica Burning during the Siege of

In Nietzsche s concept of the

2 | bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

After the war, Kanita Focak, now an architect, worked to

early in life, Focak came to love languages, literature, painting

At sixteen she devoured books on the

architecture of the Renaissance and the works of Boccaccio and

3 | bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

Also directly across the Miljacka River from the

I at Kua (the Spite House) Restaurant.

4 | bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

The Spite House 5 was moved and

The Spite House is still there defying all governments and

symbolizing the stubbornness of Bosnian Man.

At least one of the architects of

building should not be very

his name was Karel

Pak, he was the first of three

architects in total who were

Karl Pak, a Czech architect

erijatska sudaka kola. Sarajevo.

5 | bermensch Vije ica

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

Wittek is also noted as having worked on

a ajevo s upe hu a ise f o the Ashes

LA FILOLGICA POR LA CAUSA

said that when tourists come to the

Additionally, Wittek was also a

Tournament, Berlin 1881 and was

Alexander Wittek (1852 1894) was Austrian architect

9th in the world.6 But, in spite of

with paralytic mental disorder . It

he had committed suicide.

fter Wittek s untimely death the Vijenica

iril was the

younger brother of Otto Ivekovi, a prominent