National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina to reopen on 15 September

The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo is set to reopen on 15 September, having been closed for three years.

The director of the museum, Adnan Busuladžić, expects the necessary funds from the Canton, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Council of Ministers to become available next week. 1.5 million BAM (approx. US$856,000) is to be paid to the museum, although this equates to just half of its debt, including salaries owed to employees who have gone unpaid.

“It is enough to get the institution moving again, with the hope that the memorandum, which is to be signed in ten days or so, will take hold in its full capacity by 2016, and that it will round out the financial package, which should cover the basic activities for the functioning of the museum”, said Mr Busuladžić.

According to Mr Busuladžić, the progress is largely down to Minister of Civil Affairs Adil Osmanović, whose “enormous efforts led to the Museum leaving the impasse in which it found itself”. In addition, he praised the Council of Ministers, the Federal Government, the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, and the US Embassy for their efforts to ensure the reopening of the museum.

The The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been closed to the public since October 2012, saved from disrepair only by volunteer museum guards working to conserve the exhibits.