Bascarsija - Heritage Centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina
by ALOHA DEAN
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were shot to death in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia, a group aiming at the unification of the South Slavs. The event sparked off the outbreak of World War I.
Bascarsija
The centre of Bascarsija, Sarajevo‘s old town, consists of the pretty Bascarsija square focusing on the sebilj(fountain) and the stick-armed pensioners selling seeds for the pigeons. Around it, some forty small carsija (streets), each named after the specific craft that was practiced in them. Saraci, the main street linking to Ferhadija is where the leatherworkers resided, and klix Kazandziluk still houses mainly shops with hand-made copper products. Bascarsija houses Sarajevo‘s main Ottoman-era sights, most of which can be seen on a leisurely stroll of an hour. Bezistan Saraci. If you have been to Istanbul‘s bazaar complex, you‘ll recognize the spacious Ottoman architecture of this beautiful y restored covered market that was built by Gazi Husrev-beg in 1555. See Shopping for what‘s for sale.
Gazi Husrev-beg hamam
Mula Mustafe Beseskije21,
The grandest of seven public baths in Sarajevo, the Gazi Husrev-beg hamam (Turkish bath) dates from 1539 (the ruins of another hamam, the Firuz-beg, can be seen between the Bezistan bazaar and the ruined Europa hotel). Separate male and female sections kept morals as well as bodies clean, and to illustrate Sarajevo‘s traditional religious tolerance, a separate part for Jewish ritual bathing was added in the 19th century Closed after WWI, the hamam was used a sa night club during WWII and as a covered market during the Bosnian war, where shoppers were relatively safe from granades. Still badly damaged during the war, it has recently been restored and is now part of the Bosnian Institute. Free tours can be given on Saturdays if you contact the institute three days in advance.
Morica Han
Saraci 77.
Like all other hans (inns), the best-preserved han of Sarajevo, klix from 1551, has suferednumerous fires. TheMorica hanwas rebuilt timeafter time, andisnow the only one remaining in Bascarsija (where in 1880there were some 50 in and around Sarajevo). The Morica‘sbeautiful cobbled courtyard issurroundedbyold stables andstorehouses (being restored at time of writing) and lodgingrooms upstairs, resting on large wooden pillars. Now home toa restaurant and (upstairs) the Muslim youth organisation,you‘re free to stroll around
Religious sites of interest in Sarajevo
by ALOHA DEAN
Ottoman Sarajevo
Careva or Emperor's mosque
Veritable centre of Old Sarajevo, the place this mosque from 1566 occupies once held the original mosque from 1457 that was placed next to the saraj (court),as well as a caravan sarai (resting place for travelers), han(inn), shops, a hamam (bath) and tekija(Moslem monastery).The mosque has a beautifully arcaded square in front of the entrance, which serves to accommodate large numbers of mosque-goers. Clock tower Having to pray five times a day meant that good Muslims needed to know the time. Throughout the Ottoman empire, towers with public clocks were constructed for this purpose, and Sarajevo‘s beautiful tower originally dates from the mid-17th century, with a clock brought the ruby traders from London. The tower can not be visited, but it is admired best from the courtyard of the Aeroplan restaurant.
Gazi Husrev-begs mosque
This magnificent mosquein the heart of Bascarsija is the most important Islamic building in Bosnia. Gazi Husrev-beg had it constructed by aPersian architect in an early Istanbul style, in 1531. The 45m-high minaret towers over the 26m-high dome and the surrounding area. The grounds include an abdest hana(washing room), a wooden sadrvan (fountain), a mekteb(primary school) and muvekithana (prayer callers‘ home). To the left are two elaborate 16thcentury turbe(tombs). Konak The large red house in the enclosed garden behind the Careva mosque was the official residence of the Ottoman rulers of Bosnia, and also the place where the heavily wounded Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were brought (and died)after the terrorist attacks.
Kursumlija medresa
This secondary Muslim school(from 1537) was officially named the Seldzuka medresa, after Gazi Husrev-beg‘s mother, but was known asthe Kursumlija(lead) because of the leaden roof. Enter the courtyard opposite the mosque though one of two entrances. You can get a peek at the interior when the building is used for expositions.
Catholic Sarajevo
Catholic cathedral
The Cathedral of Jesus' Heart (Bosnian: Katedrala Srca Isusova) in Sarajevo is the largest cathedral in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is commonly referred to as the "Sarajevo Cathedral". A pretty yet unspectacular church on Sarajevo‘s main pedestrian street. Well restored after being heavily damaged in the war, it was built in 1889 by the Josip Vancas, the same architect who designed the post office. And also here, Vancas copied another building, in this case the Notre Dame cathedral in Dijon (France). Its till is an essential addition to the town‘s religious cityscape - within a few hundred meters you‘ll find Sarajevo‘s main Catholic. Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish buildings. Interestingly, the painting on the wall next to the cathedral door is the only one we‘ve ever seen in a Catholic church with a depiction of a mosque (though the painter went to some length to make the one minaret he dared to paint rather blurred).
Sv. Ante Franjevacka.
Again proving Sarajevo‘s religious tolerance, this church and monastery complex is just meters away from the Ottoman representative‘s residence (and, not unusual for Catholics, also opposite a brewery). Josip Varcas built the bright tred ensemble (after his own design this time) in1914, and the church has a modern interior with two statues of Saint Anthony. The monastery contains many ancient artifacts and documents in "bosancica" script
Orthodox Sarajevo
Saborna Crkva
built from 1837 to 1840 by order of prince Miloš Obrenović, according to the design and plans of Adam Fridrih Kverfeld, a builder from Pančevo. The church was built in in style of classicism with late baroque elements. The church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The interior is richly decorated. The gold-plated carved iconostasis was made by the sculptor Dimitrije Petrović, while the icons on the iconostasis, thrones, choirs and pulpits, as well as those on the walls and arches were painted by Dimitrije Avramović, one of the most distinguished Serbian painters of the XIX century.
The special value of the church is its treasury. The relics of Serbian saints king Uroš and despot Stefan Štiljanović, as well as the heads of the Church and Serbian rulers of the Obrenović dynasty(Miloš, Mihailo and Milan).
Old Orthodox church
An anomaly between the mosques, the ancient Serbian Orthodox church of St. Michael the Archangel dates from medieval times, the foundations and the unusual arcade structures are even early Christian (5th/6thcentury). Although the building is plain, grey and squat seen from outside, the icy cold interior is beautiful, with a large balcony (for the women)and a carved wooden iconostases, the screen holding icons that shields off the altar. Often destroyed by fire, the current structure that dates from 1740 was ironically badly damaged by Serb shells during the seige. Orthodox cathedral Zelenih Beretki. The cavernous sand icy-cold interior of the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God from 1868 is worth peeking into for the large iconostases holding icons made in Russia, installed here by Russian masons sent by Tsar Alexander II. As a proof of religious tolerance, Sultan Abdul Aziz (as well as the prince of Serbia) donated 500 gold ducats towards the construction of the building. After Serb forces had shot up their own church during the war, the Greek government is now involved in helping restore the damage.
Evangelical church,
Obala Maka Dizdara 3.
The damaged yellow building along the Milacka river, whose dome reminds of Budapest‘s parliament house, now holds the Academy of Fine Arts. The central (church) part was built in1889, the wings followed decade later. Awaiting renovations, you can only visit the gallery room and the Sobe café.
Jewish Sarajevo
Devastation wreaked by the Holocaust and the recent civil war has left fewer than 5,700 Jews in former Yugoslavia. The Jewish community, like the entire country, was once defined by its unique combination of eastern and western traditions. Populations of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews peacefully co-existed in cities like Sarajevo, alongside their Christian and Muslim neighbors
The Old Temple Synagogue
Located in the historic site of the Jewish Quarter of Sarajevo, Velika Avlija, the Old Temple Synagogue was damaged by fire in 1697 and again in 1788. In 1965, when the building was transformed into the Jewish Museum, the walls were stripped of their decorations.
Ashkenazi Synagogue,
Four other synagogues were documented in Sarajevo, including the Ashkenazi Synagogue, the only functioning synagogue in Sarajevo today. Constructed in 1902 on the south bank of the river Miljacka, its highly decorated neo-Moorish or Mudejar style was very popular in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1966 the synagogue was divided horizontally into two levels.
Ashkenazi Synagogue in Sarajevo
One can still imagine the grandeur of the original synagogue with its high, ornate ceiling, highlighted by a ten-pointed star, its enormous arches and richly painted decorations, and its women's galleries supported by columns. Today the synagogue is in the women's galleries on the upper floor. At the entrance to the synagogue, a stone menorah commemorates the 400-year anniversary of the Jews in Bosnia.
The Great Synagogue, consecrated in 1930, was once one of the largest synagogues in all the Balkans. In 1966, after decades of abandonment following partial destruction in World War II, it was offered to the city of Sarajevo as a cultural center. In renovations most of the exterior and interior decorations were discarded, leaving only the dome and a few windows in the interior courtyard from the original design.
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