# Istočno Sarajevo

Istočno Sarajevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Источно Сарајево, lit. 'East Sarajevo') is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It consists of a few suburban areas located south of pre-war Sarajevo which are now included in the Republika Srpska entity, and newly built areas. The seat of the city is the neighborhood of Lukavica, Istočno Novo Sarajevo.
With an area of 1450 km$^2$, Istočno Sarajevo is one of the largest administrative areas in the Balkans. It is estimated that in 2022 it had a population of 60,120 inhabitants. Istočno Sarajevo is the largest city in Republika Srpska in terms of area, while it is in fifth place in terms of population. It is the only city of the entity that includes several municipalities. It is separated from Sarajevo by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line.

## History

At the start of the Bosnian War, in late summer 1992, the Serb members of the pre-war municipality of Novo Sarajevo, elected at the 1990 multiparty elections, left the municipal assembly and set up their own separate council (Srpska opština Novo Sarajevo) in the building of the local community of Lukavica, headed by the Commissioner of the Presidency of the Republika Srpska Dragan Đokanović.
The city of Istočno Sarajevo was first created when the Council of the Srpskog grada Sarajeva (Serbian City of Sarajevo) adopted a statutory decision on the organization of the Serbian City of Sarajevo at its session on March 13, 1993. It was the part of the pre-war city of Sarajevo under control of the Army of Republika Srpska during the war was known, was deemed the official capital of Republika Srpska.
The first Law on this city was adopted on December 30, 1993, when the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted the Law on the Serbian City of Sarajevo. After the end of the Bosnian War, the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska on April 2, 1996 passed the Law on the Srpskom gradu Sarajevu (Serbian City of Sarajevo), which changed the name of the city to the Srpsko Sarajevo (Serbian Sarajevo).
Following the decision on the name of the cities in 2004 by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which outruled the use of the prefix Srpski (Serbian), the city was renamed Istočno Sarajevo (East Sarajevo).
On 27 June 2014, a statue to Gavrilo Princip was inaugurated in Lukavica. The city park was also named after Princip.

## Environment
### Geography

Istočno Sarajevo lies in the south-western part of the Sarajevo valley, in the middle of the Dinaric Alps. The city is surrounded by heavily forested hills and five major mountains. The highest of the surrounding peaks is Treskavica at 2,088 meters (6,850 ft), then Bjelašnica at 2,067 meters (6,781 ft), Jahorina at 1,913 meters (6,276 ft), Trebević at 1,627 meters (5,338 ft), with 1,502 meters (4,928 ft) Igman being the shortest. Last four are also known as Olympics mountains of Sarajevo (see also 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo).
The Željeznica river is one of the city's chief geographic features. It flows through the city from south through the Trnovo, Kijevo, Krupac and Vojkovići, parts of Istočno Sarajevo to the western part of Sarajevo, where it eventually meets up with the Bosna river.

### Climate

Istočno Sarajevo has a mild continental climate, lying between the climate zones of central Europe to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. The average yearly temperature is 9.5 °C, with January (-1.3 °C avg.) being the coldest month of the year and July (19.1 °C avg.) the warmest. The highest recorded temperature was 40.0 °C on 19 August 1946, while the lowest recorded temperature was −26.4 °C on 25 January 1942. On average, Istočno Sarajevo has 68 summer days per year (temperature greater than or equal to 30.0 °C). The city typically experiences mildly cloudy skies, with an average yearly cloud cover of 59%. The cloudiest month is December (75% average cloud cover) while the clearest is August (37%). Moderate precipitation occurs fairly consistently throughout the year, with an average 170 days of rainfall. Suitable climatic conditions have allowed winter sports to flourish in the region, as exemplified by the Winter Olympics in 1984 that were celebrated in Sarajevo.

## Economy

The city of Istočno Sarajevo is the administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural center of the eastern part of Republika Srpska. The position of Istočno Sarajevo is strategically important, located near the biggest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city of Sarajevo. Istočno Sarajevo is easily accessible, having an airport close to the city - Sarajevo International Airport, and being a point of intersection of numerous roads.
Istočno Sarajevo is one of the most important industrial centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, well known for its companies: Elko, Famos, Energoinvest, Unis and others.

## Tourism and Sport

The Jahorina Mountain is one of the highest mountains of the Dinaric system. It is 30 kilometers long mountain range, with several peaks, of which the highest peak Ogorjelica is 1916 meters above sea level. From Sarajevo it is distanced 28, from Banja Luka 200, of Belgrade 320, and 350 kilometers from Zagreb. The Jahorina ski resort is located on the slopes of Jahorina Mountain.
The local football clubs are Slavija that plays in the First League of the Republika Srpska and Famos that competes in the Second League of the Republika Srpska.
Basketball Club Slavija is a basketball club from the City of Istočno Sarajevo that competes in the National Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Also this city is a big volleyball center of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Men club OK Student Pale and women OK Jahorina Pale are competing in highest rank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Premijer Liga) with good results, and OK Mokro Mokro (Pale) and OK Slavija are competing in second rank (First League of RS)
The 2019 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was held in Sarajevo & Istočno Sarajevo, from 9 to 16 February.

## Administration
### Municipalities

The City of Istočno Sarajevo consists of six municipalities. Three of which; Istočna Ilidža, Istočno Novo Sarajevo and Istočni Stari Grad, were formed by separating the existing pre-war municipalities of Sarajevo between the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The municipalities of Pale and Trnovo were formed in the same way. The municipality of Sokolac is the only municipality that entered the City of Istočno Sarajevo as a whole. Each operates their own municipal government, while united they form one city government with its constitution. The executive branch (Serbian: Gradska uprava) consists of a mayor, with deputy and a cabinet.
The legislative branch consists of the City Council, or Skupština grada. The council has 31 members, including a council speaker, deputy, and a secretary. Councilors are elected by the lists of candidates according to the proportional representation system of political parties, coalitions, lists of independent candidates or groups of members.
Municipalities of Istočno Sarajevo are further split into "local communities" (Serbian, Mjesne zajednice). Local communities have a small role in city government and are intended as a way for ordinary citizens to get involved in city government. They are based on key neighborhoods in the city.

### Mayors

The first municipal elections in Republika Srpska were held in 1997. Since then, the City of Istočno Sarajevo has had 8 mayors. Chronologically, they were:
| Mirko Šarović, SDS (1997–1999) Predrag Lasica, SDS (2000–2003) Milivoje Gutalj, SDS (2000–2003) Radivoje Kezunović, SDS (2005–2009) | Vinko Radovanović, PDP (2009-2013) Nenad Samardžija, SDS (2013–2016) Nenad Vuković, PDP (2016–2020) Ljubiša Ćosić, SNSD (2020 - present) |

## Demographics

According to the 2013 census results, the city of Istočno Sarajevo has a population of 61,516 inhabitants.

### Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:
| Ethnic group | Population 2013 |
| Serbs | 57,953 |
| Bosniaks | 2,429 |
| Croats | 442 |
| Others | 692 |
| Total | 61,516 |

## Education

Istočno Sarajevo has 11 primary schools and 4 secondary schools including 3 gymnasia.

### University of Istočno Sarajevo

Founded in 1992, the University of Istočno Sarajevo is a public university located in Lukavica, Istočno Novo Sarajevo. Ever since its foundation, the university has been continually growing and developing and now consists of 14 faculties, two art academies and the Institute of Historian Science.
According to SCImago Institutions Rankings, University of East Sarajevo is the best high school institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

## International relations
### Twin towns – sister cities

List of Istočno Sarajevo's sister and twin cities:
* Kruševac, Serbia (2013)
* Novi Sad, Serbia (2021)
* Niš, Serbia (2022)
* Cangzhou, China (2023)
* Krasnodar, Russia (2024)
* Sombor, Serbia (2025)

## Gallery

* Istočna Ilidža
* Istočno Novo Sarajevo
* Pale
* Sokolac

## Notable people

| Mirko Šarović, politician Ljubiša Ćosić, politician | Branko Pjević, ethnologist Dušanka Stanišić, journalist | Aleksandar Kosorić, footballer Nemanja Majdov, judoka |