It was designed in 1891 by the Czech architect Karel Pařík, but criticisms by the minister, Baron Béni Kállay, caused him to stop working on the project.

It was initially the largest and most representative building of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo and served as the city hall.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg attended a reception at the town hall on Sunday 28 June 1914.

In this stage the entire interior of the building was rebuilt and reconstructed (paintings, sculptures, books), resulting in the library being brought back to its pre-war condition.

[11] In 2022, it was the subject of a stop-motion animated film directed by artist Nicholas F. Callaway, through the research project Imaneo, with funding from Creative Europe.