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Between the two world wars Vjecnica ’s function and ownership, like that of Bosnia, remained ambiguous and shifting until the establishment of a socialist government in 1945. Like other cities in the quest of socialist equality, brotherhood and unity, Sarajevo expanded to five times its previous size. In the socialist political context, Vjecnica was an eyesore, a reminder of the oppressive powers of the past – it was important for the socialists to shift its function from a place of foreign oppression to one of the propagation of knowledge; the old city hall therefore became the new National Library. As a library, the building rendered itself much more porous to the city and to its citizens. In fact, during the 50 years of Socialist rule, it became a much-loved symbol of the city, for in its layered history Vjecnica also reflected the layered history of multicultural Sarajevo. ´ ´ At the beginning of the war between Serbia and Bosnia, Vjecnica was one of the Serb forces’ primary targets: it burned continuously for two days in August of 1992. Only ten percent of the library’s contents were saved. For days after the fire, gray ‘snow’ and charred books fluttered through the entire neighbourhood. The cultural loss still resonates in Bosnian society today. Initially, after the war ended in 1995, reconstruction of Vjecnica was deemed symbolic of the reconstruction of the country itself. Foreign investment and international attention provided initial structural reconstruction. However, increasingly complex religious-based politics began to question the ownership of the National Library. The question of which Bosnia the library was to represent was ´ addressed, but never answered. In the meantime, the library collection sits ‘temporarily’ in a new location, inadequate for a library of its magnitude and symbolic significance. ´
42 On Site review 22: WAR
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