Wilson's Promenade
Vilsonovo šetalište bb
Type: Sarajevo Nature
Veliki Park is the largest green area in the center of Sarajevo and is an ideal place to make a break amidst the greenery while taking in the sights in the center of town.
The park is surrounded by Maršala Tita, Koševo, Džidžikovac, Tina Ujevića and Trampina Streets and in the lower section, in the direction of Titova, there is a monument dedicated to the Children of Sarajevo who died during the last war in BiH.
The park is crisscrossed by little paths which lead one in every direction, as well as centuries-old nišans (tombstones), which provide evidence of the fact that a Muslim graveyard, Čekrekčija’s Cemetery, used to be here.
The cemetery was named after Muslihudin Hajji Mustafa Čekrekčija, who was apparently among the first people to be buried in this cemetery. He once owned the land which would later become the park and had Čekrekči Mosque, Sarajevo’s first cupolated mosque, built in Baščaršija in 1526.
With the arrival of Austro-Hungarian authorities, burials were forbidden in the center of town, because of hygiene and sanitation. Many saplings were planted in 1886, and it was here that a new park was officially opened.
During the last war, nine police officers were buried in Veliki Park, on the side that is close to Trampina Street. They were killed during a joint military-police operation known as Trebević ‘93.