Bosnia's biggest and best-endowed museum was closed in October 2012 due to persistent funding problems. Ironically, it had been a rare institution to have remained at least partly functioning throughout the siege era, and its impressive 1913 quadrangle of neo-classical 1913 buildings survived reasonably intact.
Assuming it reopens, the greatest highlights are its Illyrian and Roman carvings and especially the world-famous Sarajevo Haggadah, a 14th-century Jewish codex said to be worth nearly a billion US dollars. Geraldine Brooks' 2007 historical novel People of the Book is a part-fictionalised account of how the Nazis failed to grab it during WWII. But for now the institution's continued closure is a source of shame to many citizens. A handwritten sign in the window translates roughly as 'Without museums, without culture, without morals'. If you're passing, you can still admire the open-air collection of exceptional medieval stećci (carved grave slabs) in the grounds out front.
