Tunnel of Hope, Sarajevo

Today we visited the Tunnel of Hope, a tunnel constructed between March and June 1993 during the Siege of Sarajevo in the midst of the Bosnian War. It was built by the Bosnian Army in order to link the city of Sarajevo, which was entirely cut off by the Serbian forces, to territory on the other side of the Sarajevo Airport, an area controlled by the United Nations.

It was about 800 metres long, one metre wide and 1.60 meters in height. Small rails and wagons were set up in the tunnel for easier transport of goods and people. It was the only way in and out of Sarajevo during the war. Our guide travelled through the tunnel with her mother when she was nine. Can’t even imagine.

“During the nearly four-year siege, 11,541 civilians, 1,601 of whom were children, were killed, while more than 50,000 were injured, records show. According to estimates, an average of 329 mortar shells were fired on Sarajevo every day, with more than 500,000 bombs dropped in total.”Read more