Istočno Sarajevo, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

🇧🇦 Istočno Sarajevo (Источно Сарајево,  'East Sarajevo') is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of a few suburban areas located south of pre-war Sarajevo which are now included in the Republika Srpska entity, and newly built areas. With an area of 1,450 km2, Istočno Sarajevo is one of the largest administrative areas in the Balkans. Istočno Sarajevo is the largest city in Republika Srpska in terms of area, while it is in fifth place in terms of population. It is the only city of the entity that includes several municipalities: Istočna Ilidža, Istočno Novo Sarajevo, Pale, Istočni Stari Grad, Sokolac and Trnovo. It is separated from Sarajevo and Canton Sarajevo by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL).

The City Administration of East Sarajevo is located in the municipality of Istočno Novo Sarajevo, in Stefana Nemanje Street.

History At the start of the Bosnian War, in late summer 1992, the Serb members of the pre-war municipality of Novo Sarajevo, elected at the 1990 multiparty elections, left the municipal assembly and set up their own separate council (Srpsko Novo Sarajevo) in the building of the local community of Lukavica, headed by the Commissioner of the Presidency of the Republic of Srpska Dragan Đokanović.

Srpsko Sarajevo (Српско Сарајево, "Serbian Sarajevo"), as the part of the city under control of the Army of Republika Srpska during the war was known, was deemed the official capital of Republika Srpska.

Following the decision on the name of the cities in 2004 by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which outruled the use of the prefix Srpski, the town was renamed Istočno Sarajevo (Eastern Sarajevo).

On 27 June 2014, a statue to Gavrilo Princip was inaugurated in Lukavica. The city park (gradski park) was also named after Princip.

Geography East Sarajevo lies in the south-western part of the Sarajevo valley, in the middle of the Dinaric Alps. The city is surrounded by heavily forested hills and five major mountains. The highest of the surrounding peaks is Treskavica at 2,088 meters (6,850 ft), then Bjelašnica at 2,067 meters (6,781 ft), Jahorina at 1,913 meters (6,276 ft), Trebević at 1,627 meters (5,338 ft), with 1,502 meters (4,928 ft) Igman being the shortest. Last four are also known as Olympics mountains of Sarajevo (see also 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo).

The Željeznica river is one of the city's chief geographic features. It flows through the city from south through the Trnovo, Kijevo, Krupac and Vojkovići, parts of East Sarajevo to the western part of Sarajevo, where it eventually meets up with the Bosna river.

Municipalities The City of Istočno Sarajevo consists of six municipalities. Three of which; Istočna Ilidža, Istočno Novo Sarajevo and Istočni Stari Grad, were formed by separating the existing pre-war municipalities of Sarajevo between the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The municipalities of Pale and Trnovo were formed in the same way. The municipality of Sokolac is the only municipality that entered the City of Istočno Sarajevo as a whole.

The municipalities of Istočno Sarajevo are: • Istočna Ilidža • Istočno Novo Sarajevo • Istočni Stari Grad • The RS section of Pale • Sokolac • The RS section of Trnovo.

Demographics According to the 2013 census results, the city of Istočno Sarajevo has a population of 61,516 inhabitants.

Economy The city of East Sarajevo is the administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural centre of the eastern part of Republika Srpska. The position of East Sarajevo is strategically important, located near the biggest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city of Sarajevo. East Sarajevo is easily accessible, having an airport close to the city - Sarajevo International Airport, and being a point of intersection of numerous roads.

East Sarajevo is one of the most important industrial centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina, well known for its companies: Elko, Famos, Energoinvest, Unis and others.

Economy: Tourist Industry The Jahorina Mountain is one of the highest mountains of the Dinaric system. It is 30 km long mountain range, with several peaks, of which the highest peak Ogorjelica is 1916 meters above sea level. From Sarajevo it is distanced 28, from Banja Luka 200, of Belgrade 320, and 350 km from Zagreb. The Jahorina ski resort is located on the slopes of Jahorina Mountain.

Sport The local football clubs are Slavija that plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska and Famos that competes in the Second League of the Republika Srpska.

Basketball Club Slavija is a basketball club from the City of East Sarajevo that competes in the National Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Also this city is a big volleyball centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Men club OK Student Pale and women OK Jahorina Pale are competing in highest rank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Premijer Liga) with good results, and OK Mokro Mokro (Pale) and OK Slavija are competing in second rank (First League of RS)

The 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was held in Sarajevo & Istočno Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 9 to 16 February.