Ciglane

Ciglane is a neighborhood in Sarajevo, being one of the 15 neighborhoods of the Municipality Centar Sarajevo. It was built on a hill called Crni Vrh during the 1970s. Its brutalist architecture makes it stand out from the surrounding areas. It is also the only neighborhood in the city to have its own lift, which is called the Kosi Lift. Ciglane is also known for its high crime rates, most crimes being petty thefts, and it is very unsafe to go out at night. The word "Ciglane" comes from the german word for brick, "Die Ziegel".

History

Development plans for Ciglane

In 1879, the first plans for a "Ciglane" settlement were already being discussed; the first building in this area, a brick factory, was built and opened by Austrian urbanist August Braun. This factory played an important role in local construction, as most neighborhoods in the area, such as Koševo and Marijin Dvor, were built using bricks from the factory — even the modern Building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina was constructed with these bricks. It was considered whether to build a graveyard or a large park; the graveyard in Bare and Koševo Park already did their jobs.

Ciglane under Yugoslavia and Bosnia

Kosi Lift, a lift that connects Upper Ciglane and Lower Ciglane vertically.

The next mention of urbanism in Ciglane (which was known as the "Đuro Đaković neighborhood" at that time) occured in 1965, when the Government of Yugoslavia made urbanist and architectural plans for all of Sarajevo, "GUP 1965". This included building the neighborhoods or communities ofDobrinja, Alipašino Polje and Ciglane. There were many proposals; in the end, they decided to build 5-8 storey buildings "on top of each other", as well as connecting roads that were well-lit, walkable, and full of shops. The neighborhood was built between 1976 and 1989, having an area of 146.390 m2, with 1451 apartments.

Not much changed in the "Đuro Đaković neighborhood" other than the building of a new tunnel, the Tunel Ciglane, which was built to connect Gorica and Koševo, and the building of a lift, which was called the Kosi Lift, to enable people to travel between Upper Ciglane and Lower Ciglane. By this point, it had been renamed from "Đuro Đaković neighborhood" to Ciglane. Today, it houses 5961 people, and many new green areas are still being built, in addition to those existing ones.

Demographics

Ethnic structure in Canton Sarajevo

Out of the 5961 people that live in Ciglane, most people are Bosniaks, with a small percentage of Bosnian-Serbs, due to them being exiled out of Sarajevo after the Yugoslav Wars, Croats also make up a minority in Ciglane. There is also a small amount of Roma people, due to their neighborhood, Gorica, bordering Ciglane. 8-14% of people in Ciglane are over 65 years of age, while 14-15% are under 14, with the majority being between 14-65 years old. The average population growth rate is between 1.55 and 1.6, making it pretty balanced for a developing and war-torn neighbourhood like Ciglane.

Religion

As mentioned previously, most people living in Ciglane are Bosniaks, meaning that a large amount of them follow Sunni Islam; Christianity, Agnosticism, and Atheism are a minority in the area. The only religious building in Ciglane, specifically in Lower Ciglane, is the Hace Mosque (also known as the Ciglane Mosque) It was built after the Bosnian War, and can house a several hundred worshipers. In all three schools that wre located in Ciglane, OŠ Hasan Kikić, Druga Gimnazija and QSI, religion is taught optionally, the religion being Sunni Islam.

Environment and geography

Flea market in Ciglane.

Ciglane is, as previously mentioned, divided into two sections, Upper Ciglane and Lower Ciglane. These two sections of the neighborhood can have different weather conditions. For example, due to Upper Ciglane's altitude being higher, at around 600m, compared to Lower Ciglane's altitude of 518-520m, the temperature, especially during fall and winter, can be drastically lower at the upper section than compared to the lower section. Ciglane is situated majorly on a hill called Crni Vrh, which overlooks the rest of Centar Sarajevo and Old Town. Ciglane has trees everywhere, which allows wildlife to flourish and for summer temperatures to be lower. The climate is the same throughout he city, the only smaller difference being in Upper Ciglane. The large amount of trees accompanied with light car use and no industry causes Ciglane to also have a low amount of CO2 emissions, compared to the rest of the city which is known for its smog.

Transportation

New Stadler tram in Sarajevo

Due to its hillines and lack of demand, there are no bus, trolleybus or tram routes in Upper Ciglane, meanwhile Lower Ciglane is near tram stations and has buses and trolleybuses going through it. The entirety of the neighborhood is extremely walkable, with pedestrian crossings, sidewalks, bike lanes, and a low amount of traffic. There are only 2 parking lots, one is for Ciglanes Bingo and the other for the Hace Mosque.

Kosi Lift, a lift that goes uphill, connects both sections vertically. A tunnel, "Tunel Ciglane" was also built beneath the neighborhood to connect certain areas of Sarajevo. It is then separated into 2 tunnels, one for cars and one for bikers and pedestrians.

Education

Ciglane consists of 3 schools, 1 elementary school, 1 high school and one international high school. Those being: Elementary School "Hasan Kikić", High School "Druga Gimnazija" and the International High School "QSI". All of them are accessible both by car and walking/biking. "OS Hasan Kikić" is an elementary school that opened in 1956, it offers 9 years of education with fairly run-down toilets and classrooms, due to the Bosnian Government's lack of funding for education.

Both High Schools, "Druga Gimnazija" and "QSI" offer very good education for 4 years, are in a better state compared to schools around them, and create many opportunities for jobs in the future, the only difference being that QSI is an international school (aka only speaking English) and that costs 10,000$ yearly. This means that a child from Ciglane can get a good education with good teachers for 12-13 years without ever leaving their neighborhood.