For sixty years, from its grand opening in 1882 until World War II, Hotel Evropa was owned and run by the Jeftanović family, father and son Gliša [sr] and Dušan, respectively, Serb merchants and industrialists from Sarajevo.

It overlooks the Gazi-Husrev Beg's Bezistan and the ruins of the former Tašlihan while it is a short walking distance away from the Latin Bridge, Despić House, Baščaršija, Sahatkula, Ferhadija pedestrian promenade, and other sites of interest.

Funded by wealthy merchant and industrialist Gligorije "Gliša" Jeftanović [sr] (1841-1927), the site near the former Tašlihan, a mid-15th century caravanserai that burned down in the great fire of August 1879, was selected as the location for a new hotel.

Opened four and a half years since Austria-Hungary had occupied the Ottoman Empire's Bosnia Vilayet and had de facto been governing the territory as another one of its provinces, the hotel very much reflected the newly imposed k. und k. cultural model.

In addition to lodging, it offered entertainment and leisure options[2] with in-house establishments like Bečka kafana and Zlatni restoran, night club Plavi podrum, and the hotel garden.

Furthermore, Bečka kafana incorporated Wiener Kaffeehaus details such as Zeitungsständer (newspaper stand) and wallpapers depicting secessionist and Schönbrunn interior motifs, while Zlatni restoran offered desserts like Apfelstrudel, Kuglof, and Sachertorte.

[9] Other celebrities in town for the premiere were Welles' mistress Oja Kodar, Italian film producer Carlo Ponti, actress Božidarka Frajt, and European socialite Ira von Fürstenberg.

During an official state visit in July 2011, the Sarajevo-born Serbian president Boris Tadić had a photo-op meeting organized for him in the hotel's garden with local celebrities Dino Merlin, Halid Bešlić, and Ivica Osim.

[19] In March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hotel Europe's owner Bajrović called on all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina to help the country's collapsing tourism sector in order to save jobs.