Serbs in Sarajevo

The Serbs of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, numbered 157,526 according to the 1991 census, making up more than 30% of the city's population. Today, following the Bosnian War, few Serbs remain in Sarajevo. Most have either moved abroad, to Serbia, Canada or other countries, or moved to a new settlement on the outskirts of Sarajevo, located in the Republika Srpska, known as East Sarajevo (previously Srpsko Sarajevo - Serbian Sarajevo).

Churches

There are three main Serb Orthodox Christian places of worship in Sarajevo: the Old Orthodox Church (Serbian: Стара православна црква or Stara pravoslavna crkva), dating back to the 16th century, the Cathedral Church (Саборна црква or Saborna crkva), which was erected in the 1860s, and the Church of Sveto Preobraženje in Novo Sarajevo.

Prominent individuals

Serb Orthodox cathedral in central Sarajevo.

Notable Serbs who were born in or lived in Sarajevo include:

• Boris Tadić, the current President of Serbia
• Goran Bregović, musician
• Emir Kusturica, director
• Meša Selimović, writer
• Nele Karajlić, musician
• Zdravko Čolić, musician
• Duško Trifunović, writer
• Dragan Đokanović, politician
• Predrag Pašić, football player
• Ognjen Koroman, football player
• Vojislav Šešelj, politician
• Predrag Danilović, basketball player
• Vladimir "Valter" Perić, Second World War resistance leader
• Mladen Savovich, structural engineer
• Dragan Marinković - Maca, actor
• Zoran Čegar
• Neda Ukraden, musician
• Sima Milutinović Sarajlija
• Kornelije Kovač, musician and composer
• Momo Kapor, writer
• Isidora Bjelica, writer
• Milorad Ekmečić, historian
• Nenad Kecmanović, academic
• Želimir Vidović Keli, footbal player

Demographic history

The Serb population of the district of Sarajevo, according to the 1921 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes religious population census, amounted to 56.3%. In 1921 there were 8 municipalities Serbs comprised a majority in 5 municipalities: Ilidža, Koševo, Pale, Rajlovac, and Trnovo. The same year the City of Sarajevo had 78,173 inhabitants, of whom 18,630 (23.8%) were Serbian Orthodox Christians. Before the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes the city's population was mostly muslim.

In 1991, there were 157,526 Serbs in Sarajevo and they made up about a third of the city's population. Their current proportion in the city's population is estimated at 5-12%, although no census has been conducted since the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

See also

• Sarajevo Old Orthodox Church
• Serb Orthodox Cathedral (Sarajevo)
• Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina

External links

• Prosvjeta - Serb Cultural Society
• Serb Orthodox Mitropolitanate of Dabro-Bosnia
• Official site of the Old Orthodox Church