Kovači

From the end of WWI to the end of WWII Širokac St. was part of Kovači, as was Kovači Čikma (1931-1956).

Some believe that during the Ottoman period the lower section, which is at the beginning of Kovači St. and runs from Čekrekčijina Mosque to the plaza, was home to a bazaar for blacksmiths (kovači).

However, since there are no reliable written records of such activities, it is possible that the name comes from an old toponym used to refer to the blacksmiths and stonecutters who worked on stećci (medieval Bosnian tombstones) and the earliest Muslim gravestones, which were later known as taščije.

This comes from the fact that Kovači is on the road that leads to Hreša, a quarry that serves as a source for the rock used to make tombstones.

The oldest Muslim gravestones found in the region are right above the lower section of the street, which is also the site for the city’s oldest Muslim cemetery.

Kovači Šehid Cemetery overlooks the plaza and is where Sarajevo’s defenders from the last war are buried. Among the tombstones is the final resting place for their commander and the first president of an independent BiH, Alija Izetbegović.