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Sarajevo Roses

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Quiet yet jarring, the Sarajevo Roses transform the scars of war themselves into memorials.

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Sarajevo Roses

Between 1992 and 1996, Bosnian Serb forces bombarded the city of Sarajevo in what was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. Today, scattered throughout the city, an unusual series of anonymous memorials commemorate Sarajevans of all nationalities who were killed in the daily mortar attacks. Every shell that exploded on a road or paved area left a splattered imprint, reminiscent of the shape of a flower. Instead of building over or repairing these concrete scars, artists have taken to painting the “petals” of these craters red. Known as “Sarajevo Roses,” these monuments serve as constant reminders of the devastation of the war and perhaps even represent an epitaph for the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo.

References

“1996: Siege of Sarajevo is Lifted.” BBC News.
External Link

“Sarajevo Roses: A Documentary Film by Roger Richards.” The Digital Filmmaker.
External Link

Discussions

Discussion of Sarajevo Roses

By maintaining these poignant reminders of the siege, the people of Sarajevo have continued to rebuild their city without forgetting their past. The memorials are…

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Related Resources

Print
Du Preez Bezdrob, Anne Mare Sarajevo Roses: War Memoir of a Peacekeeper. Struik, 2006

Print
Izetbegović, Anka “Building Peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Some reflections about memories, memorials, and identities.”

Film
Sarajevo Roses external link

“Sarajevo Roses,” a documentary film by Roger Richards, examines Sarajevo both during and after the four-year siege that inflicted continuous destruction and deprivation on the city’s population.