The Museum of Sarajevo preserves a unique museum ensemble in its collection\u2014the last surviving atar shop in Sarajevo, together with an almost complete original inventory. This exceptional heritage represents a rare and valuable source for studying the city\u2019s cultural and historical legacy, as well as the history of medicine, craftsmanship, and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The atar shop belonged to the Sephardic Jewish Papo family, who practiced the atar craft for more than 300 years, meticulously keeping business records such as manuals, ledgers, and catalogues. For generations, the shop operated at the same location in Ba\u0161\u010dar\u0161ija, the heart of Sarajevo\u2019s traditional craft and commercial life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After settling in Sarajevo\u2014then one of the most important craft centres in the Balkans\u2014the Jewish community soon became actively involved in the city\u2019s commercial and financial life. Among the many shops they established were the first atar shops, mentioned in written sources as early as 1565. These former \u201cpharmacies\u201d offered medicinal herbs, minerals, spices, essential oils, fragrances, ointments, and various preparations used in the making of remedies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to growing demand, an atar bazaar gradually developed in Ba\u0161\u010dar\u0161ija, followed by the formation of an atar guild in the 17th century. While most raw materials were of local origin, more expensive spices, rare herbs, and fragrances were imported via trade routes from Venice, Dubrovnik, Istanbul, and other cities. Records from the 18th century reveal that the Jewish community in Sarajevo even maintained its own commercial agent in Venice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 1874, more than 30 atar shops were operating in Sarajevo, and alongside Jews, members of other religious communities\u2014particularly Muslims\u2014also began practicing this craft. Sadly, at the beginning of the Second World War, in mid-1941, the last two Jewish-owned atar shops in Sarajevo were forcibly closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, by a twist of fate, the atar shop owned by Santo Papo, the last Sarajevo atar from this family, was preserved despite the confiscation, sale, and devastation of Jewish property. Santo Papo and his son Albert perished during the war, yet their shop, with its nearly complete inventory, was transferred to the Sarajevo City Museum in 1951. The Museum later enriched the collection by acquiring additional objects and documents, including the ledger of David Papo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, thanks to its outstanding museological value, the atar shop holds a special place within the Museum of Sarajevo\u2019s collections. It is on permanent display in the Museum of Jews of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an annex of the Museum of Sarajevo, where it stands as a testament to the rich tradition of old crafts and the centuries-long life of Sarajevo.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Muzej Sarajeva u svom fundusu \u010duva jedinstvenu muzejsku cjelinu \u2013 posljednji sa\u010duvani atarski du\u0107an u Sarajevu, zajedno s gotovo kompletnim originalnim inventarom. Ova izuzetna zbirka predstavlja rijedak i dragocjen izvor za prou\u010davanje kulturno-historijskog naslije\u0111a grada, ali i historije medicine, zanatstva i trgovine. Atarski du\u0107an pripadao je sefardskoj jevrejskoj porodici Papo, koja se atarskom djelatno\u0161\u0107u bavila […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-novosti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5115,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions\/5115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzejsarajeva.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}