Post-Ottoman "Capitality": Making Sofia and Sarajevo in the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century.

This article compares the development of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria established as an autonomous principality in 1878, and Sarajevo, the main city of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian occupation from the same year, focusing on how political contexts shaped their transformation into key Balkan cities in the late 19th century. It examines urban planning, architectural projects, and the treatment of Ottoman heritage, highlighting Sofia’s rapid and deliberate break from Ottoman legacies through large-scale demolition and national symbolism, contrasted with Sarajevo’s gradual modifications and preservation of Ottoman-era structures within a multiethnic context. Both cities’ urban transformations were state-directed and served nation-building purposes, with monumental architecture playing a central role in expressing emerging national identities amid the influence of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires. The article underscores the complexity of capital city formation as intertwined with political power, cultural representation, and imperial legacies in Southeastern Europe.