Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. Built in the 16th century, it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkans. Being the central Sarajevo mosque since the days of its construction, today it also serves as the main congregational mosque of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Baščaršija neighborhood in the Stari Grad municipality and, being one of the main architectural monuments in the town, is regularly visited by tourists. The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was built in 1530 as the central object of the Begs endowment, which also included a maktab and a madrasa (Islamic primary and secondary schools), a bezistan (vaulted marketplace), a hammam (public bathplace), etc. The foundation of this waqf by the contemporary Ottoman governor of Bosnia had a crucial point in the development of the town. The architects name is unknown, but after some speculations, which even included the famous Mimar Sinan. Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.