Ratni Muzej
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A small private museum in a neighbourhood of Sarajevo south of the river. The museum’s exhibition was created and is run by a family who survived the Siege of Sarajevo from 1992. It’s basically a couple of jumble rooms filled to the brim with relics from the war and siege, but it’s somewhat lacking in structure and interpretation. OK as an add-on, but hardly suitable as a Sarajevo visitor’s first port of call.
More background info: in general see under Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also cf. Siege of Sarajevo Museum and Modern History Museum.
Other than the often cited remark, also made at the museum itself, that the Ratni Muzej (aka “War Museum Sarajevo 1992”) is run by a family who survived the Siege of Sarajevo, there’s precious little in terms of background info to be found about this place – such as: who the family are, when the museum was founded etc., etc. – and its own very crude website is also rather mute on all that.
What there is to see: the front of this little museum is covered in military camouflage sheets and netting, already giving an indication of the nature of the exhibition inside.
Once you’ve paid for admission at the machine next to the automatic turnstile (there are no staff – they rely solely on CCTV for security) you enter the first room. This is dominated by a big banner saying “Sarajevo – never forget – 1992-1995”, with the second <a> in “Sarajevo” replaced by a bloodied handprint.
The walls are plastered with newspaper clippings, documents, some photos and all manner of objects, also loads of artefacts arranged in display cabinets. There are labels in Bosnian and English and a few text panels too, but overall there is very little information and no placing the museum’s theme in any sort of context. So if you don’t yet know sufficiently enough about the war in Bosnia and the Siege of Sarajevo, you will hardly be enlightened here (for that go to the Sarajevo Siege Museum instead!). The most insightful texts here are several excerpts from a wartime diary, presumably written by a member of the family who created this museum (see above). Some of the content is pretty gruesome.
Amongst the countless artefacts on display are everyday items and supplies, including obviously packs of cigarettes, as well as military clothing and lots of shrapnel and ammunition/shells/projectiles. There’s a collection of landmine warning signs, communications gear, as well as water canisters (used for water distribution when running water was cut off during the siege). A rather bent bicycle connected to a car battery, which in turn is connected to a radio, is trying to illustrate how people were manually generating electricity this way, when the mains were cut off too.
There are a few larger mock-ups/installations as well, including a faceless mannequin holding a baby doll next to a stove with some pots on it, and labelled “worry”, as well as a shelter with a group of dummies wrapped in blankets, all illustrating the way civilians had to live during the siege. At the shelter is also a sort-of “interactive” installation, namely another blanket (as sent as humanitarian aid by some organizations) attached to the wall with a sign instructing visitors to wrap themselves up in the blanket to get a feeling for it (I didn’t).
In addition there’s a slouched dummy wrapped in chains and padlocks next to a sign saying “this is how a person feels in war”. It’s drastic, but also a little too forced, tear-jerky and affected.
In one room there is a mock-up of a military dugout (labelled “bunker” here) with a two-tier bunk bed, the lower of which is occupied by a dummy soldier smoking a cigarette (well a mock-up cigarette with the tip illuminated red by a little LED lamp). That made me smile.
Home-made rifles and other guns are also well represented here, including a mock-up workshop for manufacturing such items. There’s a replica Sarajevo Rose (see under Sarajevo), and a medical corner with meds, hospital supplies and a white doctor’s coat.
The Sniper Alley theme comes with a screen showing some video footage. Nearby is the unusual display of part of a tree trunk with little arrows marking bullet holes in it. On display too is a soldier’s helmet peppered with bullet holes.
Another side room has several UN flags and blue peacekeepers’ helmets on display and finally there’s a wall of names, presumably of the ca. 13,000 dead that the siege claimed.
I also noted the presence of a couple of donation boxes you are prompted to put money in. I found that a little cheeky, given the relatively steep admission price (for what you get – compare that with the admission for the War Childhood Museum, which is a third cheaper, but much, much better curated).
All in all, it’s a rather amateurish sort of museum, with little curation or structured information, so it’s not particularly educational, but that’s partly made up for by the wealth of original artefacts. Fans of militaria are thus better catered for at this museum than people who are looking for insights into the background of the conflict and how it was (partially) resolved. For that go to the Siege of Sarajevo Museum and the main exhibition at the Modern History Museum first, and only consider the Ratni Muzej as an optional add-on afterwards.
Location: in a quiet neighbourhood south of Sarajevo’s Old Town and the Miljacka River, close to the bottom station of the Trebević cable car and the Sarajevo Brewery. Address: Franjevačka 38.
Google Maps locator: [43.85633, 18.43498]
Access and costs: not too hard to get to; a bit overpriced.
Details: There is no public transport to, and almost no parking at this museum, so you have to walk it. From the City Hall, where there is a tram stop (Vijećnica – lines 1, 2 and 3) it’s a good five minutes, first across the Šeher-ćehaja Bridge, around the square and then slightly uphill along Avdage Šahinagića, which takes you straight to Franjevačka. The museum is just to the left on the corner with Mehmeda Mujezinovica Street.
Opening times: daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the museum’s own website; on the door when I visited it said 7.30 p.m. was closing time. Google and other sources also state slightly different times (open to even 9.30 p.m.) – so best make sure not to go too early or too late in the day.
Admission: 15 KM (no concessions, but children under 11 can enter for free if accompanied by an adult). That’s not exactly cheap for what little you get.
There are no museum staff, so you have to pay at the machine by the entrance turnstile. You can pay with cash or card. While my card worked fine, my wife’s card (used regularly elsewhere without any problems) was not accepted. She didn’t mind so much, as she wasn’t too keen on yet another war-themed museum anyway, and so just waited outside until I was back out. But better come armed with more than one card to rely on and/or have the right amount of cash at the ready, just in case.
Time required: hardly more than half an hour, unless you want to inspect every single exhibit really closely.
Combinations with other dark destinations: in general see under Sarajevo.
Thematically, the most closely related other museums are of course the much more elaborate Siege of Sarajevo Museum, but also the main exhibition of the Modern History Museum. The Srebrenica 11/07/95 Gallery, despite its specific name, also has extremely insightful film material about the Sarajevo Siege. The War Childhood Museum also focuses on specific aspects of the siege as they affected people growing up under the siege.
All of these are worth visiting much more so than the Ratni Muzej, but if you want to see all of them, make the Ratni Muzej the last one you visit and just concentrate on the artefacts.
In practical terms, the best combination with the Ratni Muzej, just a bit further up the hillside, is the cable car that goes up Trebević mountain, from where you can go and explore the abandoned Olympic bobsleigh track.
In the other (northern) direction, just across the river, is the City Hall, which also has exhibitions related to the war in Bosnia.
