Under Siege: Transforming Sarajevo’s Built Environment

One of the most valuable documents on how to survive during the siege of Sarajevo (1992–96) during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Sarajevo Survival Guide, written during the first two years of the siege, when military forces of Bosnian Serbs, assisted by the heavily armed Yugoslav People’s Army¹ and Serbian and Montenegrin paramilitary troops, took control of the mountains and hills surrounding Sarajevo. Based on collected records, interviews, and recommendations, the guide “intends to be a version of Michelin, taking visitors throughout the city and instructing them on how to survive without transportation, hotels, taxis, telephones, food, shops, heating, water, information, electricity.”²