5 years after the siege ended, the windows of one of Sarajevo's great churches were still full of holes. In 2001 our studio came to close them.

A church on Marijin Dvor

The parish Church of Saint Joseph stands in Marijin Dvor, in the center of Sarajevo. It was designed by the Czech architect Karel Pařík, who shaped so much of the city, and was built between 1936 and 1940. It was consecrated on 31 March 1940. Its pale stone facade, bell tower and long neo Romanesque nave end in a bright apse, and its walls carry dozens of stained glass windows with the saints.

The pale stone facade and bell tower of the Church of Saint Joseph in Marijin Dvor, Sarajevo

The Church of Saint Joseph The sanctuary of the Church of Saint Joseph in Sarajevo with the altar and the stained glass windows of the apse

The sanctuary

What the war left

The church was damaged during the war of 1992 to 1995. When we first saw the windows, whole pieces were missing: a saint without his face, a hand without a body, empty lead lines where the sky now showed through. Wire mesh had been fixed over many of them to hold what was left.

War damaged stained glass window of Saint Matthew with missing pieces, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint Matthew before restoration War damaged stained glass window of the Holy Family with the faces missing, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

The Holy Family before restoration Tall war damaged stained glass window with broken panels, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Broken panels

War damaged stained glass detail of an angel's face behind wire mesh, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

An angel behind the wire mesh War damaged stained glass detail of a saint's face with missing glass behind wire mesh, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

A face with missing glass

Window by window

The work was planned panel by panel. Our list of exact dimensions numbers the windows of the church up to 36. Most of them are built from 3 or 5 panels, each about 3 ft 10 in by 3 ft, measured to the exact opening and set 1/8 in smaller on every side. 4 windows needed completely new frames, made to new drawings.

Each window was taken out, carried to our studio in Sombor, taken apart, and given back its missing glass, its painted faces and its lead, before coming back to Sarajevo. Scaffolding filled the apse while the windows went back in.

Scaffolding in the apse of the Church of Saint Joseph in Sarajevo during the stained glass restoration, a worker at the top — Scaffolding in the apse

A city giving back

The restoration was paid for window by window, and every restored window now carries a small inscription with the names of those who gave it. Families of the parish gave most of them. The Municipality of Centar gave 8 windows, and among the donors were Cardinal Vinko Puljić, Archbishop of Sarajevo, and Franjo Topić, president of the Croatian cultural society HKD Napredak.

Restored stained glass window of Saint Peter with the keys, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint Peter Restored stained glass window of Saint Paul with the sword, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint Paul

The saints come back

The apostles stand again in gold and orange robes against patterned glass: Peter with his keys, Paul with his sword, James the Less, Philip, and Andrew bent under his X shaped cross.

Restored stained glass windows of Saint James the Less and Saint Philip with a third window between them, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo — Saint James the Less and Saint Philip

Restored stained glass detail of Saint Andrew carrying his X shaped cross, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo — Saint Andrew

The window of Nikola Tavelić, the Franciscan martyr standing in the flames, still calls him "Blessed". He was only canonized in 1970, long after the window was first made, and we kept the old title as it was.

Restored stained glass window of Saint James the Less with his staff, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint James the Less Restored stained glass window of Nikola Tavelić in the flames with a cross and palm, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Nikola Tavelić

Windows of many eras

Saint Joseph holds windows from several periods. Next to the classic figures are later works in a bolder, simpler style: the Sacred Heart between 2 saints, Saint Anne with the young Mary, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Leopold Mandić, a saint with a child, and Queen Katarina of Bosnia, the last queen of the medieval Bosnian kingdom.

Stained glass triptych of the Sacred Heart of Jesus between 2 saints, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

The Sacred Heart Detail of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in stained glass, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

The Sacred Heart, detail

Stained glass window of Saint Anne with the young Mary, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint Anne and Mary Stained glass window of a saint in a dark red robe with a child in blue, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

A saint with a child

Stained glass window of Saint Leopold Mandić with a kneeling penitent, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saint Leopold Mandić Stained glass window of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo

Saints Cyril and Methodius

Stained glass window of Queen Katarina of Bosnia in a red mantle and crown, with a town and church behind her, Saint Joseph, Sarajevo — Queen Katarina of Bosnia

Sarajevo, 2001

Our studio was the first from Serbia to work on the restoration of cultural and historical monuments in Sarajevo after the war. A few years later we came back to renew the windows of the Holy Trinity church in Novo Sarajevo, which our studio had first made in the 1980s.

Stevan Stanisic on a street in Sarajevo in 2001, with a war damaged high rise behind him — Stevan Stanisic in Sarajevo, 2001

See more of our stained glass restorations and sacred art.

Church: Parish Church of Saint Joseph, Marijin Dvor, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Work: Restoration of the war damaged stained glass windows, new frames for 4 windows
Restoration: Stanisic Studio, Sombor, Republic of Serbia
Year: 2001

Bringing Back the Light: Restoring the Stained Glass of Saint Joseph in Sarajevo