Emperor's Mosque

The Emperor's Mosque is an important landmark in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, being the first mosque to be built (1457) after the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia. It is the largest single-subdome mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina, built in the classical Ottoman style of the era. The original mosque was built in the mid-15th century. Damaged and totally destroyed at the end of that century, it was rebuilt in 1565 and dedicated this time to Suleyman the Magnificent. The mosque was damaged during World War II but mostly in the wars during the 1990s, and renovation work is pending. The first settlements in Sarajevo were built around the mosque with the residence of the Sultan's representatives then being built next to the mosque. Isa-bey also built a hammam (public bath) and a bridge that led directly to the mosque. This bridge was disassembled during the Austro-Hungarian government and rebuilt just a few meters upstream where it still exists today.