Sarajevo Synagogue (Ashkenazi)

The Ashkenazi Synagogue on Marshal Tito Street is the larger of Sarajevo's two synagogues and now serves as a community centre and museum as well as a place of worship. The building, built in 1902 in a Moorish-inspired style, is one of the handsomest on the Austro-Hungarian boulevard.

The museum inside documents the Sephardic Jewish community that settled in Sarajevo after the 1492 expulsion from Spain and maintained their language (Ladino) and traditions for nearly five centuries. The collection includes photographs, religious objects, and personal documents — a record of a community that was almost entirely destroyed in the Holocaust. The museum is open during the week; a donation is requested. The smaller Sephardic synagogue in the old town, while less accessible to visitors, is the older and more historically significant of the two.

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A story
During the Nazi occupation of 1941–1945, the synagogue was looted and used as a prison for Jews, Roma, and opponents of the regime. Before the war, Sarajevo had about 14,000 Jewish residents — one of the largest Jewish communities in the Balkans. By 1945, more than 80% had been killed or had fled. The community today numbers in the hundreds.

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