On the front of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, also known as Vijecnica (City Hall), two memorial plaques (one in Bosnian language and one in English) commemorate the big loss during the Siege of Sarajevo:
On this place Serbian criminals
in the night of 25th-26th August 1992 set on fire
National and
University's library
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Over 2 millions of books, periodicals
and documents vanished in the flame
Do not forget,
remember and warn!
"On 25 August 1992, Serbian shelling during the Siege of Sarajevo caused the complete destruction of the library; among the losses were about 700 manuscripts and incunabula and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the middle of the 19th century Bosnian cultural revival. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts. Some citizens and librarians tried to save some books while they were under sniper fire, at least one person died.
The majority of the books could not be saved from the flames. The structural repair of the building was planned to be carried out in four stages: 1996–1997 (financed by a donation from Republic of Austria), and 2000–2004 (financed by a donation from the European Commission), and the city of Barcelona among others. The third stage ended in September 2012, with an estimated cost of KM 4.6 million (about €2.37 million) and will return the city hall to its former grace. The fourth stage began following the completion of the third stage and lasted about 20 months, finishing at the end of 2013 and cost of KM 14 million (about €7.23 million) which are secured through the IPA. In this stage the whole interior was built and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), meaning the building is brought back to function. Everything that was possible to restore has been done so, while those things that were not possible to save have been made anew through special molds. The whole reconstruction and restore process was predicted to cost about KM 25 million (about €13 million).
After it was repaired, the building, now a national monument, has been used for variety of events. Its space has been be used for various protocol events for all levels of government, concerts and exhibitions."
Source and further information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijecnica