Markale, market hall in Stari Grad, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Markale is a market hall in Sarajevo, completed in 1895 to a design by August Butsch in the Neo-Renaissance style. Its front facade has three arches modelled on ancient architecture, and the interior is covered by a steel-and-wood lattice vault. A basement cold-storage room and an Art Nouveau clock in the hall are also preserved.

The project for the market hall was drawn up in 1894 under the name "Markthalle fur Sarajevo", and the building was finished a year later, in 1895. Its architect was August Butsch, who designed it in the Neo-Renaissance style. The original side entrances were later walled up and two new entrances were cut, the front facade with three arches modelled on ancient architecture. The hall is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The name Markale comes from the German Markthalle, and the neighbouring open-air green market also carries the name Markale. In the hall's lobby stands an Art Nouveau clock that still keeps time. The building is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The hall has two entrances, the front one framed by three arches modelled on ancient architecture; the original side entrances were walled up. Inside, the vault rests on a steel-and-wood lattice, and a cold-storage cellar sits below. Look for the Art Nouveau clock in the lobby, still in place.

The hall was targeted during the conflicts of the 1990s and sustained damage that remains visible on the building's exterior today. These marks tell the story of how the city and its residents kept this gathering place alive despite the hardship.