War Childhood Museum

The War Childhood Museum at Logavina 30-32 in the old town of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, collects the objects and stories of people who were children during the 1992-1995 war. It originated in the 2010 book War Childhood by Jasminko Halilović, who invited readers to describe a single object that defined their wartime childhood. The responses grew into a collection of toys, clothing, drawings, letters, school items and improvised household things, and the museum opened to the public in 2017. The siege of Sarajevo, which lasted from April 1992 to February 1996, was the longest of a capital city in modern warfare, and the museum records its civilian side. Each object is paired with a short first-person testimony from its donor, explaining why it mattered, whether as comfort, as a means of survival or as a memory of a lost relative. The curatorial approach is thematic rather than chronological, with sections on subjects such as shelter, hunger, play, schooling and loss, and the displays are intimate and restrained rather than dramatic. The museum received the Council of Europe Museum Prize in 2018. It occupies a converted building on a quiet street above Baščaršija, with a compact gallery that suits a visit of about an hour. Audio is available in several languages, and labels are in Bosnian and English. Content is emotionally heavy, though it avoids graphic imagery. Adults pay about 10 KM, students 8 KM, youth 5 KM, children under five enter free, and a family ticket costs 25 KM. The museum is open daily from 11:00 to 19:00, and closed on 1 January, 1 March, 1 May and 25 November. The institution also runs travelling exhibitions and a research programme on childhood in conflict, and continues to collect new objects from donors.