The Bosniak Institute is one of the most important cultural institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and offers visitors a chance to see a priceless art collection, as well as a library and archive whose contents have been collected over many decades.

The Institute was first founded in Zurich in 1988 as a vakuf (endowment) by the emigree, politician and philanthropist, Adil Bey Zulfikarpašić. This represented the culmination of his many years of collecting, classifying and organizing the manuscripts and historical, literary, journalistic-publicity, archival and folklore material about BiH, neighboring countries and their people.

At the beginning of 2001, the Bosniak Institute was relocated to Sarajevo and housed in a modern building that was built next to Gazi Husrev Bey’s Hamam, a traditional public bath from the 16^th century which now serves as an exhibit space and venue for organizing various cultural and social events.

The Institute’s library collection contains more than 150,000 items and there is a rich art collection with around 1,500 works by some 200 renowned BiH artists, including Ismet Mujezinović, Hakija Kulenović, Mersad Berber, Affan Ramić, Safet Zec, Vojo Dimitrijević...

In addition to these collections, the Bosniak Institute has an archive of documents, video and audio materials and a valuable map collection. It also serves as a bindery, antique shop, graphic center and bookshop, as well as a documentation center on the last war (1992-1995).