In the 1880s, on the orders of the Duke of Wurttenberg, work begun on the erection of an officers’ casino (public meeting rooms), on a site between Franc Josef street, as it was then, and the river Miljacka, which was not built up at the time.

The following years the building was formally opened, and until the Social Club (National Theatre) was built, it was the centre of social life in Sarajevo.

Dom Armije, Officers Club, ex.Dom JNA

The officers’ casino was the first major building conceived along romantic lines in Sarajevo. The original building had two storeys. There was a small Muslim burial ground in front of the building, and a garden with wooden pavilions and arbours on the side facing the Miljacka. There was an octangonal wooden music pavilion in the middle of the garden.

The present day appearance and size of the building date from 1912 whan it was given an additional storey with lagre formal hall.

The composition of the building was based on the principle of strict symmetry, with particular emphasis on the north façade and a prominent central projection. There are four large canvases by the academic painter Ismet Mujezinović on display in the formal hall.