Olympic Museum in Sarajevo
The Olympic Museum in Sarajevo is one of the most moving and inspiring places this city has to offer. Located in the magnificent Mandić Villa from 1903, a work by the renowned architect Karlo Paržik, the museum uniquely combines Olympic history, sport, and art. The villa, built in the style of luxurious European residences with elements of Alpine folklore and German Gothic, is today part of the national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina — which in itself says a lot about how special this place is.
The museum is dedicated to the XIV Winter Olympic Games in 1984, when Sarajevo became the center of world sport and proved that a small city can host a spectacle that amazes the entire planet. Through a rich collection of exhibits, visitors can step into that golden era: original medals, the beloved mascot Vučko, the Olympic snowflake, Jure Franko's silver medal skis, and a complete collection of postage stamps from that period are just part of what awaits you here. Alongside the sports exhibits, the museum also offers an exceptional art collection featuring works by world-renowned artists such as Henry Moore and Michelangelo Pistoletto, as well as prints by Bosnian and Herzegovinian artists who created especially for those Games.
The story of this museum is not just a story about sport — it is also a story of resilience. Bombed at the very beginning of the war in 1992, the museum survived thanks to the courage of its staff, and the exhibits were saved and preserved. After restoration and a return to its original address on Petrakijina Street, the museum was officially reopened in 2020 in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Visit it and feel the spirit of Olympism that Sarajevo once showed to the whole world.