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Sarajevo Jewish Tour

(38 Reviews)
  • Duration: 4 hours
  • Max people: 8
  • Pickup: Sarajevo
  • Min age: 0+
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Drop-off: Sarajevo
What to expect from Sarajevo Jewish tour
Learn more about Jewish heritage in our Sarajevo Jewish Tour

If you are interested in finding out more about the rich culture and heritage of the Jewish community in Sarajevo, you should join our Sarajevo Jewish Tour.

The first Jews arrived in Bosnia in the middle of the 15th century from Spain and Portugal.

As tens of thousands of Jews fled the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire welcomed the Jews who were able to reach his territories. Straightaway, Sephardi Jews fleeing Spain and Portugal were welcomed into the Ottoman domains. 

They found their way to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Thrace and other areas of Europe under Ottoman control. As a consequence, Sarajevo became an important centre for the Jews of the Balkans.

Let us guide you through the streets of Sarajevo and show you the most important Jewish monuments in our city.

Sarajevo Jewish tour highlights

  • Old Jewish Temple
  • Gallery New Temple
  • Ashkenazi Synagogue
  • First hotel in Sarajevo
  • Grand Jewish Temple
  • First Jewish secondary school
  • First Jewish credit foundation
  • Jewish villa AMA in Sarajevo
  • Old Jewish cementery
  • Salom family palace
  • Second oldest Jewish cementery in Europe
  • National museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Jewish Haggadah in Sarajevo

Sarajevo Jewish tour essential information

Itinerary

Sarajevo Jewish tour details

Jewish Community in Sarajevo

Overall, Jews in the Ottoman Empire were generally well-treated and were recognised as “the people of the book”. Despite some restrictions, the Jewish communities in the Empire prospered. The Ottomans granted them significant autonomy, with various rights including the right to buy real estate. Jews also built synagogues and conducted trade throughout the Ottoman Empire. Ultimately, the Ottoman State granted full equality to Jews, along with the other non-Muslim subjects of the Empire, by 1856.

Definitely, we talk about the rich Jewish history on several Sarajevo tours, but this specific one is focused entirely on the long-lasting traditions and customs of Jews in Sarajevo.

Jewish monuments in Sarajevo

Sarajevo’s Jewish tour starts with a visit to the Old Jewish Temple. Today, it is the Jewish Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina that focuses on five centuries of the Jewish community in Sarajevo. There, we will talk about the trade network in Sarajevo and the development that happened in Sarajevo due to Jewish merchants. 

Additionally, the Sarajevo Jewish Tour includes a visit to the Ashkenazi Synagogue. It is the only active synagogue in Sarajevo nowadays. 

Later on, we will see the buildings that used to be the synagogues, including today’s Bosnian Cultural Centre Building – a former Moorish-style, beautiful Grand Jewish Temple.

We will also see where the first Jewish school in Sarajevo, the Jewish Villa AMA, and the Salom Family Palace buildings are.

Discovering the Sarajevo Haggadah

You should not miss the amazing story of the 700 years old Sarajevo Haggadah and the Muslim librarian who saved it from the Nazis. Sarajevo Haggadah is a compilation of different stories written by the Jews in Barcelona in the 14th century, and that, by destiny, was brought to Sarajevo by a Jewish family in the 16th century. The book survived three wars, and it is still the most important item of the National Museum and the most important item of Jewish heritage in Bosnia.

Jewish Cemetery

At the end of the tour, we will visit the Sarajevo Jewish Cemetery – the second largest Jewish cemetery in Europe. Now it is a mixed cemetery where you will find both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews’ graves. We will talk about the important people buried there and, of course, the tragedy of the Jewish population in WW2.

The Jewish Cemetery during the war in Bosnia in the ’90s, as a very important strategic place, was destroyed and this is one of the topics of interest in this tour. Jews of Sarajevo, even though most of them left the city when the war started, never forgot what Sarajevo had done for them. They founded several foundations and trusts that directly helped the besieged city during the war.

Sarajevo Jewish tour on map

Sarajevo Jewish tour photos
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38 Reviews
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Sammy B

Couple Traveller

Armina Pijalovic, who escorted us, gave a truly exceptional insight into Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recent past as well as current conditions. Although not Jewish herself, she has a rich and compassionate understanding of the community’s history. We benefited from her excellent contacts with the surviving Jewish organisations in Sarajevo and with the National Museum housing a unique Haggadah. Ms. Pijalovic was most considerate towards an ageing couple and generous with her time and patience. Probably one of the most impressive tour guides we have ever encountered.

July 4, 2025

Leslierg

Couple Traveller

This was a great tour and Armina was an excellent guide. She provided many personal insights from her work experiences and friends. We visited several places that were not in any guidebook that I never would have known about much less visited. I highly recommend this tour. If you want to see the Sarajevo Hagaddah, make sure you take the tour on a day it will be displayed. Right now it is Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Meet Bosnia staff will make sure to arrange this if you tell them that you are interested in it.

June 3, 2025

Elen B

Family Traveller

Exceptional experience with our guide, Armina. Gave such an insightful and educational tour, and is just an amazing person to spend some time with.
Wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking to understand Sarajevo and its people a little better.

June 28, 2024

Lynne H

Solo Traveller

The Sarajevo Jewish Tour was exactly what I wanted. The guide, Arna, was knowledgeable, prepared and personally engaging. She planned a route that included the greatest number of sites. She shared personal stories and made the history real.

March 30, 2024

Eve S

Couple Traveller

The Sarajevo Jewish Tour was well worth the money and time. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and was welcoming to any questions that arose. As a bonus, we were provided with fantastic food and drink recommendations. We highly recommend.

November 13, 2023
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