The first printing house in Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in 1519 by Božidar Goraždanin, in the city of Goražde, in eastern Bosnia. Two years later, in 1521, the establishment closed and was moved to Romania. Subsequently, a small number of books written in Bosnia and Herzegovina were sent outside the country to be printed, in Venice, Vienna, Rome, and elsewhere, but books were not produced in the country. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a revival of interest in printing and publishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first printing house started work in 1866, in Sarajevo, and was called Sopronova pečatnja (Sopron’s Publishing House), after its founder, Sopron Ignjat (1825–94), a journalist and printer-publisher from Novi Sad. This later became Vilajetska štamparija (Vilayet Printing House). Books were printed in the Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and Arabic scripts. Following the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in 1878, Vilajetska štamparija continued to produce books, but it changed its name to Zemaljska štamparija (National Printing House). The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina preserves a valuable collection of the first school books printed at Vilajetska štamparija. Shown here is one of the items from this collection, Bukvar: za osnovne škole u vilajetu bosanskom (Alphabet Book for Primary Schools in the Bosnian Vilayet), published in 1867.
The first printing house in Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in 1519 by Božidar Goraždanin, in the city of Goražde, in eastern Bosnia. Two years later, in 1521, the establishment closed and was moved to Romania. Subsequently, a small number of books written in Bosnia and Herzegovina were sent outside the country to be printed, in Venice, Vienna, Rome, and elsewhere, but books were not produced in the country. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a revival of interest in printing and publishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first printing house started work in 1866, in Sarajevo, and was called Sopronova pečatnja (Sopron’s Publishing House), after its founder, Sopron Ignjat (1825–94), a journalist and printer-publisher from Novi Sad. This later became Vilajetska štamparija (Vilayet Printing House). Books were printed in the Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and Arabic scripts. Following the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in 1878, Vilajetska štamparija continued to produce books, but it changed its name to Zemaljska štamparija (National Printing House). The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina preserves a valuable collection of the first school books printed at Vilajetska štamparija. Shown here is one of the items from this collection, Bukvar: za osnovne škole u vilajetu bosanskom (Alphabet Book for Primary Schools in the Bosnian Vilayet), published in 1867.