The exhibition "The Three Lives of the Sarajevo Haggadah" which follows the trail of the Haggadah from Spain, through Italy to Sarajevo, where it found its permanent home, opened today at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The exhibition, authored by Aleksandra Bunčić and Mirsad Sijarić, was opened on the occasion of the 131st birthday of the National Museum of BiH.

“The exhibition illuminates and follows the trail of the Sarajevo Haggadah from the medieval kingdom of Aragon, through Italy to Sarajevo, where the manuscript was purchased by the National Museum in the late 19th century.

The selected pages of the Haggadah, as well as comparative materials that makeup the archival collection, pages of other medieval manuscripts and objects from the archaeological and herbarium collection, provide an insight into the circumstances and reasons for the creation of this enigmatic Jewish manuscript,” emphasized at the opening of the exhibition Aleksandra Bunčić.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Denis Zvizdić said that this new exhibition dedicated to the Sarajevo Haggadah represents the true spirit of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The three lives of the Sarajevo Haggadah speak of the way in which it was preserved and in what way the inhabitants of this country back then accepted the Jews who had to leave Spain under the threat of the Inquisition,” said Zvizdić.

The Sarajevo Haggadah is a Jewish manuscript illuminated codex, originating from medieval Spain. It is considered one of the most beautiful books of its kind, and prior to being owned by the national Museum of BiH, since 1894, it belonged to Sarajevo’s Jewish family Kohen.

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