The bust of Vladimir “Walter” Perić – the legendary leader of the Sarajevo resistance movement during World War II – is near Skenderija Bridge, close to the old power distribution center.

Walter assumed leadership of Sarajevo’s underground anti-fascist movement in the summer of 1943. The members of this network carried out many acts of sabotage and attacks on German and Ustashe troops.

On the night of April 5, 1945, Walter was killed during the final battle that was being waged to win the city’s freedom – he and a group of volunteers were defending the power station against the Ustashe who were intent on destroying them even as they began to withdraw from Sarajevo.

He was buried in Memorial Park in Vraca and proclaimed a National Hero of Yugoslavia on July 24, 1953.

The legend of this fearless and courageous resistance leader came to life on the big screen when the Bosnian director, Hajrudin Šiba Krvavac, made the movie, Walter Defends Sarajevo (1972), which quickly became one of the best-loved partisan movies of all time.