Wender·Vista
Sarajevo
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileBosnia and Herzegovina
in a valley of the Dinaric Alps, on the Miljacka

Sarajevo

— — a city that remembers everything.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city in a long narrow valley with hills on three sides. The Ottoman quarter and the Austro-Hungarian quarter meet at a line you can still see on the pavement. The Miljacka runs through the middle, crossed by the Latin Bridge where the twentieth century turned in 1914. The call to prayer carries across the slate roofs at dusk; nearby, the bells of the cathedral answer it.

from the studio
Sarajevo
— bring it home

Sarajevo, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Sarajevo

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Sarajevo sits at roughly 500 metres above sea level in a tight east-west valley of the Dinaric Alps, threaded by the Miljacka River. It is the political and cultural capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a city population of about 275,000 and a metropolitan area near 410,000. The hills around the city, Trebević to the south and Igman and Bjelašnica to the southwest, held Olympic venues in 1984 and Bosnian Serb artillery positions during the 1992-1996 siege. The old town, Baščaršija, has been the commercial heart since 1462.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the stone

Two architectural worlds meet along Ferhadija Street, marked on the pavement by a brass line labelled 'Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures.' To the east, Baščaršija holds Ottoman-era stone: the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque from 1531, the Morića Han caravanserai, the small shops of the coppersmiths along Kazandžiluk. To the west, the Austro-Hungarian quarter holds the neo-Moorish City Hall, opened in 1896, burned in August 1992 with the National Library inside, and restored in 2014. Yugoslav-era residential blocks rise on the slopes above both quarters.

— informed by Vijećnica (City Hall)
— the year

The city's two recent turning points sit a long human lifetime apart. In June 1914 Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand from the corner by the Latin Bridge, the spark of the First World War. In February 1984 the city hosted the Winter Olympics; bobsled tracks still curve through the forest on Trebević. From April 1992 to February 1996, Sarajevo endured the longest siege of a capital in modern warfare, with about 11,500 residents killed. Sarajevo Roses, red-resin scars in the pavement, mark mortar strikes that took civilian lives.

— where
Bosnia and Herzegovina · Sarajevo Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
— elevation
500 m · 1,640 ft
— position
43.8563° N · 18.4131° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
125 km SW
Mostar
historic city
90 km NW
Travnik
Ottoman town
165 km NW
Jajce
waterfall town
110 km E
Višegrad
Drina bridge town
N
Sarajevo
Mostar
Travnik
Jajce
Višegrad
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Sarajevo — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Within a few hundred metres of Baščaršija you find a 16th-century mosque, an Orthodox cathedral, a Catholic cathedral, and a Sephardic synagogue. The city has held four religious communities side by side for five centuries.

On 28 June 1914 a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie at the corner by the Latin Bridge. The assassination set off the First World War.

From 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996, just under four years, the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. Roughly 11,500 residents, including more than 1,600 children, were killed.

The Ottoman-era old bazaar, founded in 1462 by Isa-Beg Isaković. The pigeon square at the Sebilj fountain is the city's main meeting point. Coppersmiths still work along Kazandžiluk Street most days.

Yes. Sarajevo hosted the XIV Olympic Winter Games in February 1984. The bobsled track on Mount Trebević and the ski jumps at Igman remain, weathered and graffitied, in the forest above the city.

Bosnian, written in Latin script today and largely intelligible with Croatian and Serbian. Older shop signs in Baščaršija still appear in Cyrillic. Many residents under forty speak English.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a meaningful gift for the Bosnian diaspora across Europe, the US, and Australia, particularly families who left the city during the siege. A Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The piece works with European maximalist interiors, layered Ottoman-influenced rooms with kilims and brass, and quieter library-style walls of dark wood and old books along the shelves.

Yes. The current shift toward 'old money' and grand-millennial interiors prizes a real place over a generic European cityscape; Sarajevo's mix of minarets and Habsburg roofs reads with unusual specificity.

A single Large (24"×18") holds the line of minarets and roofs above most three-seat sofas. A four-tile Mural carries the full valley with the river running through it.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finishes. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam without trouble; the colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure.

A soft microfibre cloth and a little water. The colour lives in the surface itself, so no abrasive sponge or kitchen cleaner is needed, and none is recommended.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to Wender Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. The artwork is not licensed and is not sold through any other shop.

— if this one stayed with you

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