Ferhadija Mosque
The Ferhat Pasha Mosque ( Bosnian Ferhat-pašina džamija ), better known as Ferhadija Mosque , stood in the center of Banja Lukas until it was destroyed in 1993 and was one of the finest examples of Ottoman-Islamic architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 16th century . It was rebuilt by 2014.
The mosque was built in 1579 in the classic Ottoman style by a student of Sinan . The construction of Ferhat- was commissioned Paša Sokolović. The ensemble included the mosque itself, the inner courtyard, a cemetery, a fountain and three mausoleums. The mausoleums contained, among other things, the graves of Ferhat-paša Sokolović, his granddaughter Safi-kaduna and other descendants. The central well, the šadrvan , had a stone basin with a wrought iron grating. A later addition to the complex was the nearby Sahat-Kula clock tower. The overall system had modest dimensions, as was customary for such buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mosque was 18 m wide and 14 m long, the main dome reached a height of 18 m. The minaret was 43 m high.
destruction
Like the Arnaudija Mosque, the mosque was partially destroyed by explosives on May 7, 1993 and then torn down. The first bomb attack on the mosque was carried out by Serbian nationalists, who at that time could count on the tacit approval of the authorities of the Republika Srpska as part of the ethnic cleansing they initiated . The subsequent complete destruction, organized by the authorities of the Republika Srpska, included the demolition of the entire Ferhadija complex. The remains landed on the municipal rubbish dump, some stone parts and ornaments were smashed and used as landfill. The leveled area was later used as a parking lot. A few weeks after the Ferhadija was destroyed, the nearby Sahat-Kula clock tower was also destroyed. The Ferhadija Mosque was one of sixteen mosques in Banja Luka that were destroyed during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995 . The Bosnian-Serb politician Radoslav Brđanin was charged before the Hague War Crimes Tribunal for the destruction of the mosques , but no personal complicity in this charge could be proven during the appeal hearing.
reconstruction
In 2001 the Islamic Community of Banja Luka (Islamska Zajednica Banjaluke) received the building permit for the reconstruction of the mosque. The reconstruction efforts sparked mass riots by Serb nationalists on May 7, 2001 (exactly eight years after the destruction). About 4,000 Serb rebels threw stones at a group of 300 Bosniaks who were taking part in the laying of the foundation stone for the reconstruction. Eight of them were taken to the Banja Luka hospital for treatment, and one person died on May 26, 2001 as a result of a head injury. The laying of the foundation stone was completed a few days later, secretly and under strict security precautions. Although some mosques that had been destroyed in Banja Luka during the Bosnian War have been rebuilt since 2001, the rebuilding of the Ferhadija Mosque was particularly controversial due to its location in the city center. Furthermore, it was delayed due to discrepancies regarding the authentic reconstruction. Preliminary studies on the reconstruction have already been carried out by the School of Architecture - Design and Research Center in Sarajevo . The cost was estimated at 12 million KM (approximately 6.1 million EUR ). The site and the remains of the architectural ensemble of the Ferhadija Mosque are now listed as the National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The Ferhadija Mosque reopened on May 7, 2016.
Web links
- Ferhadija Banja Luka (English and Bosnian)
Coordinates: 44 ° 46 ′ 2.7 ″ N , 17 ° 11 ′ 14.4 ″ E