The renovated Trebević cable car has finally been put into operation today on the Day of the City of Sarajevo.

The cable car which connects Bistrik with Vidikovac on Mt Trebević, departed today from the station towards Trebević as was the case with the original cable car when it opened in 1959.

Mayor of the City of Sarajevo, Abdulah Skaka, welcomed the gathered officials and citizens of Sarajevo at the opening.

“This project could not have been completed if there were not for a two wonderful people - Edmond Offermann and his wife Maja – This is a monument to their love. I thank the Offermanns. I thank former mayors who started this project, the City Council, which has always unanimously supported me in this project, all the other levels of government, the mayors of municipalities, the prime ministers of the Sarajevo Canton, the FBiH Prime Minister, who were part of this project from the beginning,” said Skaka.

He stressed that this event was a truly emotional moment for him.

“I was born some 50 meters from here and my dream was to revive this cable car. Today, you are all my guests, today we are all good hosts and today we will enjoy this special day. By commissioning the Sarajevo cable car we are restoring one of the last demolished symbols of the City of Sarajevo. Today is a great day for Sarajevo. We work together on building BiH, on the reconciliation of the people. That is our desire and mission, and that is why we are here today, to show that we are capable and that we are skillful and hardworking people. I thank the citizens of Sarajevo for their support,” said Mayor Skaka.

Edmund Offermann, the main donor of funds for the reconstruction of the Trebević cableway, donated about four million euros, spoke to the guests and citizens today about the idea of ​​restoring this symbol of Sarajevo.

“It was in 2008 when I made an important call. I called a person who was also interested in the reconstruction of the Sarajevo cable car. It was Professor Anto Domazet from the Faculty of Economics. He said that it is important to renovate the Sarajevo cable car. My motto in life is "to know what you have and to know what you want and you can get it". I then called Professor Domazet and here we are 10 years later that and this is the result of my call. We have shown that we can do it!” said Offermann.

After the ceremonial opening, a ride on the Trebević cable car took place so that Sarajevans and the today, on April 6, the day of the city, could enjoy its beauties after 26 year-long break. The work of the Trebević cable car was interrupted in 1992, at the onset of the war in BiH.

The cable car has 33 cabins, its capacity is 1,200 people, and will drive at a speed of five meters per second, which means that the journey will last about seven minutes. The capacity of one cabin is 10 persons, and the load capacity is 750 kilos.

The lifetime of the cableway is 40 years, which is the time planned for standard exploitation, with the control and inspection supervision required to be done each year.

The auxiliary construction works are still ongoing and will be completed in about two months, but the cableway route does not depend on it.

The Trebević cable car will help revive Mt Trebević, which has always been the closest and favorite leisure location for the citizens of Sarajevo. Mt Trebević offers a beautiful view of the city and all visitors can enjoy fresh and clean air in the mountains.

Today, all the guests and citizens will be able to enjoy a free of charge ride on the Trebević cable car.

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