Sarajevo is a city with a large amount of impressive historical and cultural monuments. There is a lot of things to see and do. But, it’s quite clear that, like most other places in the world, only one part of the city is filled with these touristy, done-up sights. However, this city has so much more to offer. If you want to dig a little deeper and discover what life in Sarajevo truly looks like, make sure you visit some of the not-touristy, and yet interesting locations in Sarajevo.
One of Sarajevo’s brightest and happiest moments in history was hosting the 1984 Winter Olympics. The city expanded a lot during those times. The bobsleigh track, ski tracks and skin jumps were built on the surrounding mountains, a couple of neighbourhoods were built for the purpose of housing the athletes and all the other arrivals and the entire city was done up. Even though the Olympics were long time ago, people of Sarajevo still cherish that event, because it was maybe the best time to be alive in the city and, well, we could say that everything just went downhill from there, considering all the horrible things that happened in the following years. Zetra Olympic Hall is the proof that the Olympics spirit still lives in the Sarajevo.
Zetra Olympic Hall is an indoor multi-purpose arena named in honor of Juan Antonio Samaranch in 2010 after his death. It was used for various sporting events at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and as the main venue of the 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival.
The building of the complex started in June 1981 and was officially opened by former President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, on February 14, 1982. It was constructed specifically for the 1984 Winter Olympics. Its first major event was the 1983 World Junior Speed Skating Championships. It was described as an “ultramodern, angular edifice”with a copper roof. The indoor venue hosted ice hockey and figure skating events, as well as the last closing ceremony held in an indoor place until Vancouver 2010. From 1984 to 1991, Zetra remained in service as a venue for ice sports. It served as the venue for several international speed skating events, and several speed skating world records were broken here.
Unofortunatly, the arena suffered substantial damage from shelling, bombing and fire by the Serb forces on Monday, May 25, 1992 during the Bosnian War.] The interior of the structure, such as the basements and main hall, were put into service as a morgue, storage space for medication and supplies, and a staging area for UN equipment. The wooden seats from the venue were used as material for coffins for civilians killed in the war.
After the war, it was discovered that though the building was badly damaged, the foundation was secure. Although the original blueprints were never recovered, in September 1997, reconstruction on the venue, facilitated by the SFOR, began and was completed in 1999.
Today, it is also used for music concerts, fairs and conferences. Sometimes, parts of the building are rented for other purposes (e.g. for the elections 2014, it was used as the Main Counting Center and election material storage space). The hall also contains a small museum about the 1984 Winter Olympics as well as a gym, billiard hall, bowling alley, pistol range, two cafes and other sports related content such as headquarters for various clubs and associations.
It is located relatively close to the Old Town, so you can just walk there or take a short taxi ride. Either way, visiting it will definitely be a very joyful experience