White Fortress
Poddžebhana
Type: Architecture, Historical, War related, National Treasure
Jajce Barracks is located in the old town neighborhood, Vratnik. It occupies a dominant position above Sarajevo and is visible from nearly every point in the city.
This military complex was built in stages, beginning in the Austro-Hungarian period and ending in the year 1948.
It is situated on the southern extent of the remains of the medieval wall built around the old town, which was totally fortified from 1729 to 1816. This facility testifies to the ongoing construction of fortifications at this strategic point, from the Middle Ages all the way into the second half of the 20th century.
The most important building within the complex is the Jajce Barracks, which began to take on its current appearance when it was constructed in 1914. It was originally called Prince Eugene Barracks, and was renamed Jajce Barracks in 1915, when an Austro-Hungarian military hospital was relocated here from the town of Jajce.
After WWI, the facility provided accommodation for the armed forces of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), during WWII it was used by the occupying fascist forces, and then by the Yugoslav National Army (JNA).
JNA abandoned the barracks in the spring of 1992, right before the beginning of the last war in BiH. The facility was stripped of all moveable objects, and all of the electrical wiring and portions of other interior systems were destroyed. Once the facility was taken by the BiH Army, it was the target of heavy shelling and badly damaged.
From 1995 to 2002, sections of the complex were used to accommodate FBiH and BiH Armed Forces units. The parts of the facility that were badly damaged have not been in regular use since 2002, the year the complex was renamed Safet Hadžić Barracks.
The entire Jajce Barracks complex, along with its adjacent structures, was placed on the list of National Monuments of BiH in 2009.