Sarajevo Roses are shell craters left by mortar rounds that killed three or more people during the 1992–1996 siege. After the war, the craters were filled with red resin — creating flower-like patterns in the pavement that serve as memorials to those who died on each spot. They are scattered across the city's streets and pavements, most conspicuously on Ferhadija Street and around the old city.
The effect is subtle rather than monumental. If you don't know what you're looking at, a Sarajevo Rose looks like an unusual patch job in the pavement. Once you know, you can't unsee them — and walking through the city while noticing them changes your experience of the streets. Most tour guides will point out the first few; after that, you spot them yourself. There are fewer than there used to be, as road repairs have eliminated many over the years. The ones that remain are generally in prominent locations where the community insisted on their preservation.