Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope)
Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope) is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Sarajevo audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~60 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Sarajevo Sarajevo guide
About Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope)
The hand-dug tunnel under the airport that was the besieged city's lifeline, carrying food, aid, weapons and people through the longest siege of a capital in modern warfare; now a sober museum of hope.
During the Siege of Sarajevo, from 1992 to 1996, the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare, the city was encircled and cut off. In 1993 Bosnian defenders dug, by hand, a tunnel of around eight hundred metres beneath the United Nations-controlled airport runway, linking the besieged district of Dobrinja with free territory at Butmir. It became the city's only land link to the outside world, the 'Tunnel of Hope'.
Through it passed food, fuel, medicine, aid, weapons and people, perhaps two to three million trips in all. Today a section is preserved as a museum, built onto the Kolar family house whose cellar was the tunnel's entrance, its walls still scarred by shells. The siege is reckoned to have killed around eleven thousand people in the city, among them some sixteen hundred children.
How long should you spend at Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope)?
Plan about ~60 min at Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope). That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope) worth visiting?
Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope) is one of the 13 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Sarajevo, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Sarajevo
Day 2 of the Sarajevo in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Sarajevo War Tunnel (Tunnel of Hope)
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