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’s 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.

History

The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was built in 1531 as the central object of the Beg‘s 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 architect’s name is unknown, but after some speculations, which even included famous Mimar Sinan as an option, most scholars agreed that Acem Esir Ali “Alaüddin”, Ottoman mimar of Persian ancestry, is the most probable builder. It is still possible that Sinan himself did inspect the work on the spot, since he was in the region at the time. Historical documents testify that Ragusan masons, requested from their government by Gazi Husrev-beg, participated in the building process.

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.