The abandoned remains of the Sarajevo Olympic Games

The village of the Olympic Games of Sarajevo was abandoned and today consists of beautiful ruins

In 1984, the first Olympic Winter Games held in a communist state took place in the remarkable city of Sarajevo , then a booming metropolis in the host nation now disappeared (Yugoslavia), and now the Bosnia and Herzegovina modern capital .

At the time, a record number of 49 countries participated in the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. Tens of thousands of spectators covering Mount Trebević applauded the courageous bobsleigh athletes (bobers) and luge athletes (the luges), while they were running the 1.3 km track at a speed of up to 100 km/h in snowy conditions.

Also read: The forgotten monuments of the former Yugoslavia

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

The one that was once the pride of the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, the bobsleigh track has since fallen in ruins after being a victim of military actions.

The 1300-metre concrete track was completed in 1982 and had a total of 13 bends to be taken for the luges in competition. The costly public works paid by the country for events around the site during the Olympic Games gathered huge crowds. The track could be reused during the World Cup competitions during the years that followed the Winter Games and all suggested that the long track would continue to bring back money. Unfortunately, when the wars of Yugoslavia began in 1991 , the track, like the rest of the country, was mixed in battles. The curved corners were used as defensive positions of the Bosnian forces, and the entire track was struck by bullet holes and other wounds.

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

In 1992, only eight years after the very peaceful winter Olympics, the city of Sarajevo became a victim of the longer military siege of modern history . Sarajevo was cut off from the world and implacably bombarded by the forces that had surpassed the hills around the city. The inhabitants had little chance to get away, and more 5,000 civilians were killed by rockets and mortars from above and snipers snipered in the streets of downtown Sarajevo. The Olympic tracks have become fields of death, and the viewers around the world have again been focused on Sarajevo. This time, bobsleigh and artistic skating were replaced by a difficult spectacle of death and destruction, transmitted to the public around the world, hand-held remote.

Today, the Mont Trebević Olympic site is totally abandoned. The track is always a preferred location for local artists and graffiti who have decorated the entire sections of the curved track. bobsleigh track reminds us of the prosperous past of the city of Sarajevo. Moreover, from above, one can admire the Bosnian capital below.

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

The track is on the Trebević a mountain overlooking Sarajevo, just southeast of the city. Do not walk around alone or without a local that knows the place perfectly: there are still many unexploded mines that plunge the hill. Here is a map to find out where the bobsleigh track is:

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

Comparisons with the city of Sochi are inevitable. However, Sarajevo could have been different. After the 1984 Olympic Winter Games, the bobsleigh and sled site in Sarajevo remained popular and fully operational. Without the war that broke out here, the track and Mount Trebević would be very different today. Unfortunately, the headquarters of Sarajevo relegated the 16th Winter Olympic Games to the second. Will we see Sochi’s Olympic sites in the same state in thirty years? It might happen before. (NDLR): it happened before )

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

Flickr – Lazhar Neftien

Wikimedia – Julian Nitzsche

Nate Robert – Yomadic.com

Have you visited the Sarajevo Olympic site in Bosnia? What do you think of all this?

Sources: yomadic.com , Atlas Obscura , Wikipedia