Sarajevo Haggadah, Sarajevo

The Sarajevo Haggadah is a priceless cultural treasure housed in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the city of Sarajevo. This illuminated manuscript is one of the oldest Sephardic Haggadahs in the world, believed to have been created in the mid-14th century in Barcelona. The Haggadah is a Jewish religious text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder, and this particular version is renowned for its richly colored and artistically significant illustrations.

The journey of the Sarajevo Haggadah is a tale of survival, having endured the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, the perils of World War II, and the Bosnian War in the 1990s. It was brought to Sarajevo after the expulsion, where it was sold to the National Museum in 1894.

The manuscript is notable not only for its age and artistry but also for the evidence it provides of the coexistence of Islamic and Christian iconography, reflecting the intercultural exchanges of medieval Spain. It contains 34 pages of colorful, detailed illustrations depicting scenes from the Bible and Jewish history.

Despite its historical and artistic value, the Sarajevo Haggadah is not always on display to the public due to its fragility and the need for preservation. However, its legend continues to attract the interest of scholars, historians, and visitors from around the world. The Haggadah has also been digitized, allowing for broader access to its pages.