Sarajevo is a jewel with a soul!

The actress, Jasna Ornela Bery, has had hundreds of roles in theater, film and television and has won many awards during her successful thirty-plus year career. As one of BiH's most sought-after actresses, she shared her impressions of Sarajevo, a city where she has spent most of her life.

2014/10/13

Given its cultural diversity, Sarajevo has always been one of the most interesting cities of its size, shares Jasna, adding that Sarajevo’s greatest richness is the fact that people of different nations and cultures live here together.

Jasna describes Sarajevans as approachable, spontaneous and open people and highlights the fact that it’s their unique spirit which Sarajevo visitors find so interesting.

While recalling the places that have marked her life in Sarajevo, Jasna explains that in her day the hip place to frequent was Dom Mladih, where the legendary rock groups, Indeksi, Ambasadori, Bijelo Dugme, would play...and where she first fell in love. She also fondly remembers the beginning of her career at Kamerni Theater 55.

Since she isn’t fond of crowds, our respondent describes how she avoids walking on the main city streets, but she does enjoy visiting the surrounding mountains and picnic spots. She visits Igman and Bjelašnica the most, sometimes Jahorina and Bijambare, and definitely Vrelo Bosne and Ambassadors’ Alley.

Jasna often likes to stop off at Vatra Café for a cake and sometimes meets up with colleagues at Club Obala at the Academy of Performing Arts. A typical evening out includes going to the theater, to an exhibition or promotion, and the cultural events she enjoys most are MESS Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival and theater premieres.

If Jasna had to choose the prettiest buildings in Sarajevo, they would be the Academy of Fine Arts building, which used to be an Evangelical church, and Vijećnica. She adds that there are still other striking buildings in Sarajevo from the Austro-Hungarian period.

When asked which vantage point offers the loveliest view of Sarajevo, she replies that the prettiest panoramas can be seen from Žuta Tabija and from the top of Mt. Trebević.

Jasna would recommend that first-time visitors take in Baščaršija, the newly-renovated Vijećnica, Vrelo Bosne, Sarajevo’s theaters and the Tunnel of Hope.

In closing our conversation, we asked Jasna Ornela Bery to describe Sarajevo in one sentence and she replied with the following:

-“Sarajevo is a jewel with a soul”.