The Vijećnica is considered the symbol of Sarajevo. Its colorful mix of architectural styles—Arab, Spanish, and Ottoman—is seen by many as representing the city's multiculturalism [JQ1]

The building was constructed in the 1890s and served as the city hall until 1945 [JQ2]. From 1945 onward, the Vijećnica was used as the National Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina and housed a large collection of rare and unique manuscripts [JQ2]. During the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Sarajevo was besieged by Serbian forces for almost four years, beginning in the spring of 1992 [JQ3]. In the year the siege began, on August 25 and 26, the besieging soldiers deliberately fired incendiary bombs at the already damaged Vijećnica. It is suspected that the attack was also motivated by the intention to undermine the cultural identity of the Bosnian population [JQ2]. The attack was intended to damage a large part of the valuable collection; only about one-fifth of all the books could be saved.

After the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, restoration of the old City Hall began in 1996. It was reopened on May 9, 2014, and has since served as the City Hall again [JQ4]. The National Library has not yet reopened due to ongoing political tensions between the Republika Srpska, the entity comprised of Serbs, Croats and Srpska, and the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina [JQ1].