The Herald of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in 1889 as a joint scholarly journal, publishing research from all major fields represented at the Museum. From its inception, contributions from archaeology, ethnology, and the natural sciences appeared together within the same publication, reflecting the integrated structure of museum research at the time. In some years the journal appeared in multiple issues (up to four), with disciplines mixed within individual issues.

From 1927, while still remaining a single journal with a shared title and continuous volume numbering, the Herald began to introduce separate issues devoted specifically to the natural sciences. With only two exceptions—years in which a single joint issue was published—the natural sciences maintained a recognizable presence through dedicated issues until the outbreak of the Second World War.

During the Second World War, the journal was renamed, and publication returned temporarily to a fully integrated format, again combining all scholarly fields within a single series.

A new series of the Herald was initiated in 1945, following the war. Notably, the natural sciences were the first field to resume publication within this new series, reaffirming their central role in the Museum’s scholarly activity at that time.

Soon thereafter, post-war institutional reorganization led to the establishment of a specialized scientific institute responsible for biological and related natural-science research (Biološki institu). This institute soon became administratively independent and began publishing its own journal, Godišnjak Biološkog instituta u Sarajevu, which for a period functioned as the primary outlet for natural-science research previously associated with the Museum. As a result, publication of the natural sciences series of the Herald was interrupted, while the institute’s journal developed as a separate serial publication.

In subsequent decades, further institutional changes resulted in the reorganization and partial dissolution of the institute, with parts of its scientific activities returning to the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following this reintegration, in 1963 the Museum re-established the natural sciences series of the Herald as a New Series, emphasizing continuity of scholarly scope and tradition. To reflect this continuity, the volume numbering was resumed from the point at which publication had been interrupted.

During the 1992–1995 war, publication conditions again necessitated organizational adaptations. In this period, the Herald was issued as a single physical publication containing all three series.

In the years following the war, the Journal faced prolonged institutional instability and financial constraints, which significantly affected regular publishing activity. As a result, only a single issue was published during this extended period.

In 2012, the Herald of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Natural Sciences (New Series) entered a new phase of development. With updated design, and a clear orientation toward international standards, the journal began publication in the English language, thereby expanding its visibility and accessibility to the global scientific community.

In its present form, the Herald of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Natural Sciences (New Series) represents the outcome of this long and complex development: a journal that combines more than a century of institutional and scholarly continuity with the requirements of modern, discipline-specific academic publishing.