Sarajevo Tunnel, War memorial tunnel museum in Butmir, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Sarajevo Tunnel is an 800-metre underground passage: 160 metres of covered trench on the Dobrinja side, 340 metres on the Butmir side and 340 metres beneath the airport runway. The preserved walkable stretch has rough vertical log walls, a plank floor and a low ceiling, with a wooden walkway beside dark metal rails and a grey pipe along the right wall.
Between 1993 and 1995, residents dug this passage beneath the airport runway to bring people and supplies into the besieged city. After the peace agreement, the Kolar family house was turned into a museum, with a portion of the original route kept open for visitors.
The passage is called "Tunel spasa", the Tunnel of Salvation, in Bosnian, alongside the names Tunnel of Hope and Tunnel of Life. It was dug by the First Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the workers were paid one packet of cigarettes per day, a prized bartering item. The first items sent through were Bosnian improvised explosive devices.
The walkable section inside is low and narrow, so visitors should bend down and watch for uneven flooring. The site is located in a residential area outside the city center, so a taxi or organized transfer offers the easiest route.
Construction teams laid railway tracks and installed water pumps, allowing carts to transport up to 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of cargo at a time. At the dampest points, several centimeters of water often pooled on the floor, requiring workers to pump constantly.
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