The “Sarajevo Haggadah” is exceptional and rare medieval Haggadah, which is one of the finest books of its kind in the world, and world’s more significant pearls of Jewish culture.

It is still slightly unclear as to how it ended up in Sarajevo. Amongst other things, it was in Venice for some time and it is quite possible that it had once travelled through Slovenian territory. These are only suppositions, of course, as we have no credible evidence. Presumptions, however, are often topical and stir our imagination. Because of this, everything is still shrouded in mystery. The “Haggadah” disappeared from the Iberian Peninsula at the same time as the famous expulsion of Jews in 1492. A few years later the Jewish community was forced to leave the city of Maribor and Styria. They sought a safe shelter in the area of the Venetian Republic and other places. Whilst travelling, someone might have come across the “Haggadah”, or even held it in his or her hand, who knows.

We would like to acquaint Maribor, Slovenian and European audiences with the background to this extremely beautiful and magnificently illustrated medieval manuscript. Along with the presentation of the facsimile there will be an exhibition of 55 reproductions of selected miniatures from the book. The opening ceremony will be accompanied by a multi-media project that the author and director Enver Dragulj conceived as the compilation of a dramatic (dramatic interpretation of the text The Soul of the Great Master / La alma del gran meshtre by Enver Dragulj, performed by Branko Jordan), videastic (music by Dado Dragulj, visualisation Rudi Uran), and musical performance (presentation of Sephardic Jewish songs performed by a vocalist Klarisa Jovanović and a guitarist Luka Ropret).

The event is produced in cooperation with the project Maribor 2012 – European Capital of Culture.