As with every first weekend in May since 2004, this year too the citizens of Sarajevo can enjoy the sight of carefully preserved and polished oldtimer automobiles whose owners will exhibit them at several locations across the city. Alongside socializing with citizens and like-minded people, participants of the gathering from different parts of the world also have the opportunity to get to know Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Oldtimer Club Sarajevo was founded in 2004 and since then has organized traditional international meetups. This year, there are around 60 cars and owners from all over BiH, as well as from the region, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Edo Kapetanovic, in addition to being a member of this club, said that he is also the founder of the Oldtimer Club Princ and that he owns three Sarajevo Prinzs, but came to the exhibition with this particular car. Proud of the old Sarajevo production, his goal is for these exhibitions to grow into something more.
“My wish is for this to be the initiative for the City of Sarajevo to give permission for us to create an oldtimer museum in Sarajevo. Because we had a car factory, and that is being forgotten, like many things we once had in Sarajevo,” said Edo Kapetanovic.
Since 2012, Bajro Hodzic, originally from Kiseljak, comes from Germany to the meetups with his Mercedes. In Germany, he became an oldtimer enthusiast, and this one was registered as such back in ’98.
“Today is my favorite day. Every year you meet someone new, and we share advice, and spare parts if needed. It’s the most beautiful thing, we all share the same hobby,” Bajro Hodzic emphasized, a participant and oldtimer owner.
Most participants, like Bajro, are not here for the first time. But Edin Sedlarevic is, with his Zastava. The car, bought by his father, sat in a garage for a long time.
“It’s a vehicle my father bought back then, which I started driving as a teenager in ’88. It was constantly driven, always in use until 2003, and then it was put away in a garage. Two years ago, the time finally came to take it out on the road again. There were repairs, very serious ones especially when it came to the bodywork. Basically, it was finished about a month ago and got oldtimer plates. It’s a ‘986 model and 001 is the first one registered from that year,” said Edin Sedlarevic, a participant and oldtimer owner.
And Sinisa Ninkovic is also here for the first time. He brought his Zastava to Sarajevo on a trailer, because it’s too much to drive it so many kilometers. Like Edin, he talked about numerous investments and the expensive maintenance but says it’s worth it because it fills the soul.
“There’s a lot of sacrifice in all of this, to… you know, anyone here who has worked on this knows what it takes to bring an oldtimer to this condition. I bought it in 2010, it’s been ready for four years. So since 2014, I’ve been enjoying this battery recharging, of all kinds. Especially when you’re in the same place with people who are in the same story,” Sinisa Ninkovic stated, a participant from Banja Luka.
Weekend oldtimer enthusiasts from across Europe are spending time in Sarajevo socializing, exchanging experiences, and getting to know the city. In the end, the ceremony concludes with an exhibition in front of the National Theatre and the announcement of this year’s winner, N1 writes.
