Street named after Michael Schumacher: Formula 1 legend is a national hero in an Eastern European country
Created: 05/31/2022, 11:02 am
By: Michael Haug
Michael Schumacher is not only revered in Germany and Italy.
The Formula 1 legend is also an idol in Bosnia-Herzegovina - because he did not abandon the citizens after the war.
Sarajevo - Michael Schumacher is more than a racing driver who won Formula 1 seven times.
Especially for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The background is the war in which almost 100,000 people died between 1992 and 1995, according to the Bosnian investigation and documentation center "IDC", and numerous other war crimes such as torture and ill-treatment were committed.
Schumacher did not leave the people of Eastern Europe alone at the time.
Michael Schumacher: How did the Formula 1 legend become a hero in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The Kerpener visited the capital Sarajevo a few months after the end of the war.
“He came back then, thanks to HOPE and UNICEF, to visit war-wounded children in the hospital.
The purpose of his visit was as part of a UNESCO project to raise money for a specialized hospital for Sarajevo's children, victims of shells and mines," writes the official portal of Sarajevo Canton.
As a result, Schumacher quickly became the nation's darling.
Schumacher came back a year later.
"After the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Schumacher paid for medical care and prostheses for children who had lost their legs and arms during the war, thereby winning the sympathy of the Bosnians for all time." donated in town.
Michael Schumacher: mural, honorary citizen, own street
Schumacher was made an honorary citizen of the city of Sarajevo in April 2014.
In 2021, an initiative was formed to rename the "Transverzala A" in honor of the Rhinelander.
"In this way we would send the message that we haven't forgotten Schumacher, because he hasn't forgotten the children of Sarajevo either," explains one co-initiator of the initiative.
The artist Benjamin Cengic painted a mural in Sarajevo in honor of Schumacher.
© Armin Durgut/PIXSELL via www.imago-images.de
On January 3, 2022, Schumacher had his 53rd birthday, which was reason enough for the artist Benjamin Cengic to create a large mural.
"This is our small contribution to repay what he has done for us and to express our support to his family in these long and difficult moments," Cengic told
Euronews.
Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury after a skiing accident on December 29, 2013.
Little is known about his health.
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The Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton has now officially decided to name the street after Michael Schumacher.
According to the website, this is "in honor of an excellent philanthropist and honorary citizen of Sarajevo, who does not forget his works".
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