This week, the "Tunnel of Hope," which served as Sarajevo's main connection to the outside world during the 44-month siege that began the Bosnian war of 1992-95, was taken over by the Canton of Sarajevo and the Memorial Fund.
Construction of the tunnel began in January 1993 and was finished six months later. It ran for about 800 meters from the Dobrinja district, under the UN-controlled airport, to the Butimir district, and was a route for much-needed supplies, as well as a means of bypassing the arms embargo. An oil pipeline and power cable were also added.
Some estimates say 20 million tons of food came in through the tunnel, about 1.5 meters high and a meter wide, and a million people went through it. It was dug entirely by volunteers working with picks and shovels.
All but 25 meters of the tunnel has since collapsed or was filled in to prevent the airport runways from caving in, and been turned into a museum.
RFE/RL's Balkan Service talked to the man who has taken care of the tunnel since the war, Edis Kolar, in the video report below (in Serbo-Croatian):
Construction of the tunnel began in January 1993 and was finished six months later. It ran for about 800 meters from the Dobrinja district, under the UN-controlled airport, to the Butimir district, and was a route for much-needed supplies, as well as a means of bypassing the arms embargo. An oil pipeline and power cable were also added.
Some estimates say 20 million tons of food came in through the tunnel, about 1.5 meters high and a meter wide, and a million people went through it. It was dug entirely by volunteers working with picks and shovels.
All but 25 meters of the tunnel has since collapsed or was filled in to prevent the airport runways from caving in, and been turned into a museum.
RFE/RL's Balkan Service talked to the man who has taken care of the tunnel since the war, Edis Kolar, in the video report below (in Serbo-Croatian):
