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Mostar, the historic site

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Status of monument -> National monument

Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 6 to 10 July 2004 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic urban area of Mostar is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The protected area of the National Monument consists of the entire area of the natural and architectural ensemble in which a characteristic image, structure and form have evolved through historical changes, and where architectural groups and individual buildings of major architectural, townscape/landscape, historical, documentary or symbolic values are concentrated.  The protected area of the National Monument is defined by a boundary formed by:

  • On the left bank of the Neretva: along Kresina and Huso Maslić streets to the north; the Luka bridge and Gašo Ilić street to the south; the first row of buildings in Marshal Tito street from Huso Maslić street to the east, Braća Brkić, Braća Šarić and Galvan streets to the Orthodox Church complex, and along the M-17 to Gašo Ilić street;
  • On the right bank of the Neretva: the extension of the Luka bridge, along Stari pazar and Gojko Vuković streets, along the Radobolja channel cadastral plots 5628, 5653, 5655 to Rado Bitanga streets, by the left-hand row of buildings in Adem Bućo street, the area bounded by c.p. 3994 and 3939 as far as the pedestrian bridge over the Neretva to the north;

The site of the National Monument as defined in para. 2 of this clause is located in cadastral municipality Mostar, City of Mostar, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02 and 6/04) shall apply to the National Monument.

 

II

 

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.

The Government of the Federation shall be responsible for ensuring that a programme is drawn up for the on-going protection of the historic centre of Mostar, on the basis of which a detailed plan for the protection of individual groups within the protected area shall be drawn up.

The Government of the Federation shall be responsible for providing the resources for drawing up and implementing the necessary executive regional planning documentation for the rehabilitation of the historic centre of Mostar.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

 

III

 

            Three levels of protection shall apply to the protected area, as follows

            Protection Level 1 consists of:

A)         the cadastral plots defined by individual decisions of the Commission designating buildings or groups within the protected area as National Monuments:

  • the historic building of the synagogue in Mostar
  • the cemetery complex of the old Orthodox cemetery in Bjelušine in Mostar
  • the cemetery complex of the old Orthodox cemetery in Pašinovac in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque and medresa in Mostar
  • the site and remains of the historic building of the Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Metropolitan’s Palace (Bishop’s Palace) in Mostar)
  • the historic building of the Clock Tower in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Roznamedži Ibrahim-effendi mosque in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Nezir-aga mosque in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Biščević-Lakšić residential complex in Mostar
  • the residential architectural ensemble of the Muslibegović family in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the Old Bridge and towers in Mostar
  • the architectural ensemble of the old Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Mostar.

The protection measures stipulated in the relevant decisions shall apply to the above properties.

B)  Buildings and groups within the area that are of major architectural, documentary, townscape/landscape or natural value and that are on the Provisional list of National Monuments, for which the Commission had not as of the date of adoption of this Decision issued individual decisions designating them as National Monuments:

  • the architectural ensemble of Kujundžiluk;
  • the architectural ensemble of the Priječka čaršija;
  • the architectural ensemble of the Tabačica (Hajji Kurt) mosque and Tabhana;
  • the architectural ensemble of the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque;
  • the ensemble of the Hajji Memija Hadžiomerović mosque in Cernica;
  • the symphony orchestra (former Cernica sibjan-mekteb);
  • the architectural ensemble of Musala in Mostar;
  • Serbian primary school;
  • the Girls’ High School;
  • the National Bank;
  • the Vakuf Hall;
  • the Council building;
  • the Alajbegović house;
  • the Kajtaz house;
  • Persa Ćorović’s house (the birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović);
  • The Konak residential ensemble.

The only works to be permitted within these areas are works on the rehabilitation, conservation, restoration and presentation of the monuments, unless, pursuant to individual applications by the owners of the properties or other persons the Commission determines that other types of intervention may be approved (adaptation for new use, alterations to parts of the property, interpolations of property etc.) Applicants shall be required, at the request of the Commission, to submit documentation showing the extent and type of intervention. The Commission shall rule on the applications at its first session following receipt thereof for which, pursuant to the Commission's  Rules of Procedure, the agenda has not yet been drawn up.

            Once individual decisions designating the properties listed under item B) as National Monuments have been issued, the measures stipulated by the said decisions shall be final and binding.

            Protection Level II consists of:

            The area defined by the borders described in Article 1 of this Decision that is not covered by Protection Level I:

            Detailed executive plans shall be drawn up for the area comprising Protection Level II.

            The said executive plans may provide for works on the rehabilitation, conservation, presentation and adaptation of buildings for modern use and, exceptionally, for the interpolation of new buildings that will not detract in shape, size and exterior treatment from the structure of the protected area. In this area the layout shall be preserved in its entirety and existing open spaces shall be restored and landscaped.

            Executive plans shall comprise, as a minimum:

            1.  An analysis of the current condition of the area, consisting of:

  • a chronological overview and stylistic definition of existing buildings;
  • an overview of the number of storeys of existing buildings;
  • an overview of the materials used;
  • damage;
  • degree of preservation;
  • a chronological overview of the use of the properties with a summary of their present use.

2.  A programme of emergency and intervention measures

3.  A plan for on-going measures to protect and present the heritage within the area, to comprise a detailed definition of the conditions in each individual instance for:

  • the repair, conservation, refurbishment and presentation of existing buildings and groups of architectural or townscape value;
  • the restoration and reconstruction of historic buildings, forms and spaces for the purpose of ensuring the integrity of the historic centre and the recognizability of its specific features (reconstruction of destroyed properties, restoration of buildings or individual architectural features – horizontal and vertical dimensions, proportions, fenestration (the number, size and arrangement of doors, windows and wall openings), architectural details, paving, the form and pitch of roofs and the type of cladding, the treatment of facades and courtyard walls facing the street, etc.);
  • all planned interpolated buildings must respect the building line of adjacent buildings at ground and upper floor levels, must be appropriate in height to the surroundings, and shall not detract in form from the specific features of the protected area;
  • all methods and degrees of intervention must be recognizable and shall be carried out solely on the basis of approved documentation;
  • the ground floors of the properties shall be restored to their original use or used for new, non-destructive purposes appropriate to the central urban zone – small-scale catering and service facilities, traditional non-polluting crafts, culture and education, excluding uses the nature of which is contrary to that of the historic centre of Mostar, which may cause noise or environmental pollution, or which require major alterations to the structure of buildings or groups;
  • the above conditions shall also apply in the event of alterations of use in the upper floors of properties.  At least 50% of the properties shall be reserved for residential use;
  • no construction shall be permitted on protected green areas, streets, squares or other public spaces;
  • pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic shall be regulated;
  • the central pedestrian zone shall be refurbished – street lighting, urban furniture, resurfacing pedestrian and motor vehicle areas;
  • the infrastructure network shall be restored, particularly the water mains and mains drainage, and the issue of treating waste water and protecting the course of the rivers Neretva and Radobolja shall be resolved;
  • the construction of major infrastructural facilities and industrial facilities within the protected area is prohibited.

No building, craft or artisanal works stipulated by the plan may be carried out without the approval of the federal ministry responsible for regional planning and the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

4. A heritage management programme for the protected area, identifying those responsible for implementing the programme.

5.  A phased programme for the implementation of the plan, with financial indicators.

The area of the buffer zone constitutes Protection Level III:

The buffer zone consists of the area bordering the protected area (the part of town that is of lesser urban and architectural integrity but which is recognizable as a uniform urban system and as such requires various forms of coordinated intervention – relating to properties and spaces with little or no monumental or townscape value), falling within the following limits:

  • On the left bank of the Neretva: along the Bridge in Musala, Braća Brkić street, and the via Krpina and Braća Lakišić street to the main road, across the main road, via Braća Knežić street to the east to the area comprising the Orthodox Church complex with the cemeteries at Bjelušina and Pašinovac, thence part of the main M-17 road to Novi put street, part of Marshal Tito street, Tekke street, Braća Ružić street and Demirović street as far as the Neretva to the south;
  • On the right bank of the Neretva: a straight line over the Neretva, at right angles along Gojko Vuković street, thence along the right hand side of Gojko Vuković street as far as Onešćuk street and along Onešćuk street to the Boulevard, the extension of the Boulevard to the northern course of the Radobolja to the west, along the Radobolja channel, along Husnija Repac and Rado Bitanga streets, beside the left-hand row of buildings in Adem Bućo street as far as Mostar Battalion street and the Bridge at Musala.

The structure shall be preserved within the protected zone, particularly the layout, with restrictions as to the number of storeys, size and dimensions of the properties, and the use of materials that closely resemble the indigenous materials and the traditional use thereof within the protected area.

The construction of major infrastructural and industrial facilities is prohibited.

 

IV

 

            All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.

 

V

 

Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument specified in Clause I of this Decision or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.

 

VI

 

            The Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

 

VII

 

            The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba) 

 

VIII

 

Pursuant to Art. V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

 

IX

 

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH.

 

            This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović,  Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.

 

No.: 08.1-6-1005/03-10

8 July 2004

Sarajevo

 

Chair of the Commission

Dubravko Lovrenović

 

E L U C I D A T I O N

 

I – INTRODUCTION

 

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of  BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

 

II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION

 

In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

  • Documentation on the location and current owners and users of the properties
  • Details of legal status (protection) of the properties to date
  • Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.
  • Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the site are as follows:

 

1.  Details of the historic urban area

Location

The city of Mostar lies 120 km to the south of Sarajevo, in the river Neretva valley, on the main Sarajevo-Ploče road.

As part of Herzegovina, its natural and anthropographic features render Mostar a specific region of the Adriatic hinterland, between the Primorje coastal area and the highest peaks of the Dinaric Alps.  It lies on a wide limestone plateau in which the Neretva valley is a prominent feature.  The climate is Mediterranean-Adriatic – the mountain range to the north constituting the boundary beyond which this climatic influence is no longer felt (large number of sunny days, long hot summers, wet winters and windy weather).

The city lies in the Mostar basin, between Huma hill and the Veleža foothills, where the Neretva emerges, dividing the city into right and left banks.  With the exception of Bjelušina, Brankovac and the Old Town, the whole of the city lies on level ground along the Neretva banks and its right-bank tributary the Radobolja.

Historical information

The Neretva river valley is one of the most important routes on the eastern Adriatic shore and has throughout the ages seen considerable traffic between the interior and the sea coast.

No prehistoric archaeological remains have yet been found on the site of present-day Mostar city itself.  There is a major concentration of prehistoric tumuli dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages on the summits of the surrounding hills above the basin alongside the right bank of the Neretva, on both sides of the source of the Radobolja, and above the settlements of Cim and Ilići.  There are also few remains in this region dating from antique times, and such as there are, are also in Cim on Crkvina and in Vukodol.  There, as well as antique (3rd century) and late antique (5th to 6th century) remains, there are also early mediaeval finds (9th to 12th century), indicating a degree of continuity of settlement and burial.  In Cim a late antique basilica has been excavated, around which burials were conducted in early mediaeval times.  Judging from the quantity and type of finds, it seems that the antique and late antique centre of the wider area around Mostar was in Potoci, where there was a major crossroads in antique times.  As regards later mediaeval finds in the city of Mostar, thus far these are limited to stećak tombstones, these too concentrated around the source of the Radobolja and in Cim (Al 1988, region 24).

The mediaeval district of Hum Land was originally in the basin of the left-bank tributaries of the Neretva, later extending to adjacent areas.  There is a reference to the area in the work by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus entitled De administrando imperio (On the Administration of the Empire) of 948/949 CE (Pašić, 1989, p. 5). The ancient Zahumlje, the area around Dubrovnik extending as far as the Neretva, formed part of the area, where Porphyrogenitus refers to five towns, including Stagnon (Ston), with two towns further into the interior, Hlum and Bona (Buna). The latter was above the eponymous river, and is identical with old Blagaj above the source of the Buna, where the centre of Hum was located. In his first Charter (c. 1335), the Bosnian Ban (governor) Stjepan II Kotromanić refers to this as one of the lands under his rule. From then on there are frequent references to Hum as the southern region of Bosnia in the titles of the Bosnian rulers. The Bosnian feudal lord Stjepan Vukčić Kosača took the title of Herceg (Duke) in October 1448, as a result of which the old Hum Land was merged into the wider Herceg’s lands (Šarić, 2001, p. 8). In the 15th century, Blagaj became the capital of a more extensive district (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 144). Until Herzegovina came under Ottoman rule, Mostar was an ordinary Herzegovinian hamlet, more recent in date than Bileća, Blagaj, Gacko, Gabela, Konjic, Nevesinje and Počitelj (Ćorović, 1933, p. 5).

Historical evidence of the inner centre of present-day Mostar appears relatively late, not before the mid 15th century. It is known that the entire area south of the Rama river, north of Čapljina, west of Nevesinje and east of Ljubuški, belonged to the great early mediaeval county of Večerić or Večenike. In the late middle ages this large county broke up into several smaller administrative and political units known as districts or counties, one of which retained the old county name of Večerić or Velenike. It is in this district that Mostar lies. In about 1410, the river Neretva was the boundary between the lands of the local rulers Hrvoje Vukčić on the right bank and Sandalj Hranić on the left bank (Ćirković, 1964a, 215-217). Later both districts belonged to the Kosačas. It is not known when exactly this region finally fell to the rule of Sandalj Hranić.  Dinić writes that there are indications that in 1424 Sandalj held the boundary with Cetina that his nephew Stjepan Vukčič-Kosača was to inherit in 1435 (Dinić, 1978, p. 188),

A charter dating from 1408 issued by the Bosnian King Ostoja of the great Radivojević clan refers to the administrative unit (district, county) of Večenike as extending “all the way to the Neretva. As a late mediaeval administrative unit, the county of Večenike or Večerić probably included the area of present-day Mostar on the left (east) bank and Bijelo polje. The reference in the charter to the “county of Večenike all the way to the Neretva” indicates that the county had also extended to the right bank of the Neretva (Anđelić, 1974, 268-2269).

The names of two forts appear in mediaeval historical sources, along with their later mediaeval territories and properties – the forts of Nebojša and Cimski grad.

There are just three references to the fort of Nebojša on the left (east) bank of the Neretva – in charters of 1444, 1448 and 1454, relating to the holdings of Duke Stjepan Kosača, confirmed as belonging to him by King Alphonse V of Aragon and Naples (Dinić, 1978, p. 207):

  • In 1444 there appears the first reference in historical sources to the Nebojša fort in the late mediaeval county known as Večerić or Večenike (Anđelić, 1976, p. 268);
  • In 1448 there is reference to the fortified town of Nebojša;
  • In 1452, the sons of Stefan Vukčić Kosača rebelled against him; there is a reference to the insurgents occupying some forts including the forts by the bridge (Castelli da ponte);
  • In 1454 there is a reference to the Nebojša fort with its county and properties. The precise location of the fort has yet to be identified (Dinić, 1978, pp. 207-210; Anđelić, 1974, p. 269). The substructure of the Herceguša tower by Tara tower on the left bank of the Neretva by the old bridge has been identified as mediaeval (Kreševljaković-Kapadžič, 1954, p. 11; Čelić-Mujezinović, 1969, p. 196; Ratković, 2000, p. 71).

Cimski grad:

  • On 6 November 1443, according to one source, Stjepan Vukčić was “at Cimosko”, where he relieved his customs officer of his duties;
  • In 1444, there is reference in a charter of King Alphonse V to the fort of Chimiacho with its own district (Dinić, 1978, p. 212; Anđelić, 1974, p. 269;)
  • In 1454, in a charter of King Alphonse V, there is reference to civitas Pontis terrae.

The present-day toponym of Cim on the west bank of the Neretva, and the fact that the only fort in the Cim area is the one at the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva, led Anđelić to assume that Cimski grad lay on the right (west) bank of the Neretva opposite the Nebojša fort (Anđelić, 1974, p. 269). During the repairs to the Old Bridge, conservators identified the mediaeval substructure of the later-built tower of Halebinka (Halebinovka) dating from Ottoman times. In Cim, a late antique (6th to 7th century) church was excavated with an early mediaeval burial ground alongside it, used from the 9th to the 12th century. There is a quarter in west Mostar known as Zgonovi, a toponym that suggests there was a mediaeval landholding in the county with a mediaeval fort (Anđelić, 1974, p. 269, n. 36).

            On this basis, in the early 15th century the late mediaeval county of Večenike covered the present-day area of Mostar on the right bank of the Neretva: Zahum, Cim, Iliće, Hraštane and Vojno. It is not certain whether it included the settlements to the south of Mostar: Rodoč, Jasenica and Bačevići. Cimski grad was built prior to 1443 in the centre of this area, which belonged to the Radivojević’s in 1408; the town is referred to as Pons (Bridge) (Civitas Pontis terrae or civitate Pontis cum castris et pertinentiis suis) in the 1454 charter of King Alphonse V, for a bridge had already been erected here. In the early 15th century, the county of Večenika probably extended also to the right bank of the Neretva, but this part did not belong to the Radivojević’s. Prior to 1444, the Nebojša fort was built on the left bank of the Neretva, belonging to the late mediaeval county still known as Večenike or Večerić (Anđelić, 1974, pp. 276-278),

            For a full century before conquering Herzegovina, the Ottomans made forays into the region, the first in the autumn of 1386, when they reached the Neretva river. Two years later they made another foray, but were roundly defeated near Bileća on 27 August 1388. Their forays became more and more frequent after this, occurring almost every year. Circumstances were in their favour. Local feudal lords brought the Ottomans in as “allies” in their attempts to settle scores with one another, and the Ottomans for their part came to play an ever more significant role in the region as the years went by (Pašić, 1989, p. 5).

            The integration of the territory must have begun prior to 1452, when there is reference to do castelli da Ponte (two forts by a bridge), and was completed in the early years of Ottoman rule, when there is reference in the first census of Herzegovina, in 1468, to Köpruhisar, literally meaning the Fort on the Bridge, consistently referred to in all later Ottoman sources as Mostar.

            The Herceg’s lands came under Ottoman rule for the most part in 1465. In 1467 they occupied Trebinje, and they also occupied the capital of Blagaj subsequent to 3 June 1466. In early 1470 the Herzegovina sandžak/sancak was constituted from the territories thus occupied.  Immediately upon taking possession of new territories, the Ottomans began to develop the settlements they found there and to establish new ones, as well as small kasabas or towns many of which grew into larger urban conglomerations or şehirs. The process of Islamization and the rapid development of trade and crafts also led to physical changes to the settlements. Many new crafts were introduced which, along with the existing ones, were organized into guilds and played an important part in the development of the towns. Vakufs, pious endowments created in line with Islamic law, also had a major impact on the development of existing and new settlements. The framework of all the towns consisted of vakuf endowed buildings, often of considerable architectural value, in which the whole of the town’s religious, education, cultural and economic life was concentrated. Many surviving vakufnamas/vakıfname or deeds of pious endowment provide information about the system of settlement, the creation of new quarters, the names of streets, the values of properties, the social structure, the development of institutions and such like (Pašić, 1989, p.10).

            The town of Mostar itself dates from the mid 15th century (Neidhart, Čelić, 1953, p. 134).  Dubrovnik chronicles attribute the founding of Mostar to Gost Radivoj, a nobleman of Duke Stjepan's. Chroniclers cite 1440 as the year when Mostar was founded (Šarić, 2001, p. 10).

            The earliest documented reference to the settlement dates from 3 April 1452, when natives of Dubrovnik wrote to their fellow countrymen in the service of Đorđe Branković that Vladislav Hercegović had turned against his father and occupied Blagaj and other places, including “Duo Castelli al ponte de Neretua.” (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 144).

            In 1468 Mostar too came under Ottoman rule (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 144). The urbanization of the settlement began, following the unwritten oriental laws, with a čaršija – the crafts and commercial centre of the settlement – and mahalas or residential quarters. The existing settlement rapidly took on oriental features. The first buildings denoting the origin of the settlement were the mosques, alongside which mektebs (primary schools) were built. Close to each mosque, a spiritual and social centre, properties of a commercial and social nature were built, leading to the formation of residential quarters or mahalas (Bećirbegović, 1974, p. 251).

            In 1468 Mostar acquired the name Kepri Hisar, meaning fortress on the water, in the centre of which a group of fifteen houses was located (Regional Planning Institute Mostar, 1982, p. 21). In 1469 Mostar was a market (bazaar) with sixteen households (Hodžić, 2000, p. 80). The settlement is referred to as Mostar in 1474, with the headquarters of Subaša/Subaşı Skender, the lowest-ranking Turkish administrative official; two years later Mostar became the headquarters of a vojvoda (duke or military leader) (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 144).

            The earliest reference to Mostar with its present name is in the oldest surviving cadastral document and tax register – a census defter (Tapu tahrir defter in the presidential archives of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul) dating from 1477 (882 AH). Here it is described as a settlement with nineteen houses (families) and one unmarried resident. All the houses were on the left bank of the Neretva; the right bank was wholly uninhabited. There is separate reference to Zahum as a “mezra” of Mostar (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 9). During the 16th century Mostar developed rapidly into an urban settlement to become the largest town in Herzegovina, outstripping mediaeval Blagaj, with its development based on trade and various crafts, particularly leather working. The mahalas or residential quarters took shape during the 16th to 17th century. The layout of the mahalas on the left bank is entirely different from that on the right. While those on the left bank clearly extend over a distance of more than 2 km, the right bank developed east-west along the right bank of the Radobolja, over a distance of about 180 m, which is wholly consistent with the way a town takes shape from a radial roads network system and its adaptation to new traffic requirements. It was at this time that the major religious and secular properties were built, of both indigenous and oriental architectural styles, under the influence of Mediterranean architecture: ramparts and towers, bridges, mosques (both džamija/cami or Friday mosques and everday mosques), medresas, kutubhanas/kütüphane or libraries, hamams, hans or hostelries, the tannery, public drinking fountains, fountains, turbe mausolea, and so on. The Ottoman authorities launched a great many projects in Mostar, including the construction of a piped water supply network in 1663. By the end of the 17th century Mostar had a population of some 12,000 and had in effect completed its territorial expansion beyond the city ramparts, which, at the beginning of the century, had enclosed the homogenous structure of the town. The architecture and urban layout is determined by the čaršija as the trade and crafts centre surrounded by mahalas radiating outwards (Regional Planning Institute Mostar, 1982, pp. 22-23).

            During the 17th and 18th centuries Mostar continued to develop, expanding across the river Neretva. During this period it became a major cultural centre, producing several scholars, poets and authors in oriental languages, making it one of the strongest centres of oriental literacy and scholarship in this part of the world during the Ottoman period. A particularly prominent figure among well-known scholars of the period is Sheikh Jujo – Mustafa Ejubović. According to H. Šabanović he was “the most striking figure, the greatest and most prolific writer in Muslim circles in the intellectual and general cultural life of  Bosnia at the turn of the 17th and 18th century” (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 144).

Vakufs are charitable endowments. During the Ottoman period, more than three hundred vakufs were endowed in Mostar, most of them “evladijat vakufi” (awladiyya awqaf – family endowments) the income from which was spent only in part for the purposes of the vakıf with the remainder divided among the vakif’s (legator’s) heirs.  A vakfija-/vakufnama/vakıfname – deed of endowment is a document recording the endowment of cash and real property for various purposes. Each endowment is known as a vakıf (Bos. vakuf), and the legator and founder as vakif.  The vakufnamas of the major legators and founders of Mostar have survived - Ćejvan ćehaja, Nesuh-aga Vučijaković, hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz, Derviš-pasha Bajezidagić, hajji Balija son of Muhamed, Koski Mehmed-pasha, hajji Hasan Sevrija, hajji Ahmed-beg Lakišić, hajji Ibrahim Čevro and Ali-pasha Rizvanbegović. The four oldest – those of Ćejvan ćehaja, Nesuh-aga Vučijaković, hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz and Derviš-pasha Bajezidagić – were written in Arabic, and the others in Turkish (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 8).

            Mostar took its final shape in the Ottoman period principally in the 17th century, around 1670, when the town reached a size that was to remain largely unchanged until the start of Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878. At this time Mostar had a population of more than 10,000, more than thirty mosques, seven medresas and numerous mektebs, two hamams and so forth. By the late 17th century, following the Candian War and their unsuccessful second siege of Vienna, the Ottomans moved to the defensive, when the Venetians penetrated as far as Mostar and the Austrians as far as Sarajevo, initiating a period of accelerated fortification of the towns. As a rule, a small, more easily defensible part of the town would be fortified; in the case of Mostar, this was the area around the Old Bridge and towers (Pašić, 1989, pp. 13, 20).

            In early 1470 the Herzegovina sandžak was formed from the conquered territories. This sandžak formed part of the Rumelia eyalet from its foundation until 1580; from then on until 1878 it was part of the Bosnian pašaluk/paşalık (Pašić, 1989, p. 6). The seat of the Herzegovina sandžak or beglerbegluk/beylerbeylık was in Foča, then in Pljevlje, and from 1833 onwards in Mostar. In 1474 Mostar was the seat of a subaša, and in 1476 of a vojvoda (Truhelka, 1911, p. 178). Some time between 1506 and 1519 Mostar became an independent kadiluk/kadilık (Šabanović, 1959, p. 188). From 1522 to 1530 the sandžak beg also resided in Mostar, when the town was temporarily the headquarters of the Herzegovina sandžak (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 6). During the Ottoman period the town was also the seat of the representative of the sherif (nekibul ešraf/nekibul eşraf), a Janissary commander, the commander of the Buda region, a muhtesib or market superintendent, a baždar/bacdar or customs officer, a šeher-ćehaja/şehir kahyası or mayor, a commissioner of public expenditure (harač/harç), a buildings superintendent, a dizdar or fortress commander, and others (Çelebi, 1996, p. 463). Prior to 1592, Mostar became the headquarters of a mufti (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 6). From the end of the 15th century, Mostar was also the headquarters of a kadiluk with 62 villages. The kadija/kadı acted as judge and the vojvoda commanded a troop of fifty men acting as a police force. Until the abolition of the Janissaries in 1826, Mostar was also the headquarters of a Janissary commander or serdar. The spahi alajbeg/sipahi alaybeyi (colonel) had a representative here known as a ćehaja/kehaya, in command of cavalrymen or sipahis. The fortress was commanded by a dizdar until regular army troops were introduced in the mid 19th century. At some time between 1700 and 1706 a captaincy was founded in Mostar; it was abolished in 1835. The captaincy and the post of dizdar were hereditary – kapetans were chosen from the Vučijaković family (Pašić, 1989, p. 24). From 1833 to 1866 Mostar was the headquarters of the Herzegovina eyalet, which was administered by Alija Rizvanbegović until 1851. From late 1875 to February 1877, Mostar was again the capital of the Herzegovina vilayet, which had been formed from part of the Herzegovina sandžak (Šabanović, 1959, pp. 95, 98).

            By the 18th century at the latest the Orthodox Christians had their own place of worship, and in 1767 Mostar became the residence of the Metropolitan (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 6). To judge from the oldest tombstones that can be precisely dated and those that can be chronologically classified in the same group in the Orthodox cemeteries of Bjelušine and Pašinovac, these cemeteries were probably founded during the 16th to 17th century. The oldest tombstone in the Bjelušine cemetery dates from 1683, while in the Pašinovac cemetery the oldest surviving dated tombstone dates from 1687 and belonged to one Milutin.  From the mid 19th century Mostar also became the residence of a Catholic bishop (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 6).  In the 19th century other important edifices were erected for the Christian communities: in Bjelušine an Orthodox church was built (completely rebuilt in 1833), a Serbian school (1856) and the new Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (built by master-builder Andrija Damjanov in 1873); in Vukodol a Catholic Episcopate and Bishop’s Palace was built in 1847; and in Pothum the Catholic Church of SS Peter and Paul was erected in 1866 (Pašić, 1989, p. 24).

            In 1768, Mostar had twenty-one Catholic households. By 1852 this had risen to 120 Catholic families, and by 1867 (once the Catholic church was in use) the figure had grown to 338; from then on the number of Catholic families continued to rise steeply. The first plan of Mostar on public sale was available in the Paher Kisić bookshop in 1899, written in German. This plan noted that at the time Mostar had “14,370 inhabitants, of whom 6,949 are Muhammadans, 3,877 Orthodox, 3,353 Roman Catholic, 164 Israelites, 24 Evangelicals, and 6 others.” (Hodžić, 2000, p. 87).

            Mostar more than once passed through difficult times. In particular, it was ravaged by the plague on four separate occasions (1507, 1689, 1731 and 1813-1818); was flooded in 1713, 1791 and 1780, with tragic consequences; and was swept by fires which destroyed some monuments (Hasandedić, 1970, pp. 117-124). During and after the Candian war, the Venetians penetrated as far as Mostar on four occasions: 1652, 1693, 1694 and, for the last time, in 1717.  Their troops set fire to the town and killed its inhabitants, but were never able to cross the Old Bridge to the left bank of the Neretva and occupy the town centre (Kreševljaković, 1954, p. 10; Hasandedić, 1980, p. 10).

            In 1867 the streets of Mostar were renamed after a number of prominent figures (Sokak of binbaša/binbaşı Ahmed Puzić) or the families who lived there (Alajbegović sokak, Ćirić sokak etc.)  It was then that the houses were first numbered. At the same time, a complete property census was conducted in Mostar and other larger places (emlać, Tur. mülk, emlak) (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 8).

            The most turbulent times in Mostar’s history were the first decade of the 19th century and on the eve of the Austro-Hungarian annexation in 1878. Between 1802 and 1814 two ayans or prominent figures were engaged in a power struggle: the Mostar muteselim/mütesellim Alija Dadić and the leading figure in Blagaj, Alija Voljevica. When the breakdown of law and order was at its worst, the Bosnian valija/vali sent a punitive corps of 30,000 men to deal with Mostar. They entered the town on 1 April 1814, and a court martial sentenced 39 prominent citizens of Mostar to death, a sentence which was carried out: seventeen Orthodox Christians, thirteen Muslims and nine Catholics (Ćorović, 1933, p. 34).

            For Bosnia and Herzegovina, the outcome of the Berlin Congress of 1878 was forty years of Austro-Hungarian rule, first as an occupied province under the formal sovereignty of the sultan, and with effect from the 1908 annexation as part of the Dual Monarchy. After coming under Austro-Hungarian rule, the majority of Herzegovina comprised one of the six districts into which the occupied regions were divided. The county of Foča was detached from the old Turkish sandžak of Herzek, Montenegro was separated from the Nikšić area, and so on. The Mostar district that was thus created was divided into ten counties – the urban county of Mostar, the rural county of Mostar, and the counties of Bileća, Gacko, Konjic, Ljubinje, Ljubuški, Nevesinje, Stolac, and Trebinje. For a number of years after 1878 there remained a county office in Počitelj, which was subsequently abandoned. Immediately following the occupation the country was under martial law, but this was later replaced by civilian rule (Peez, 1891, p. 85).

            Austro-Hungarian troops, commanded by General Jovanović, entered Mostar on 5 August 1878 (Šarić, 2001, p. 11). During this period (1878-1918) Mostar continued to develop rapidly. The Baedeker guide for 1913 cites Mostar as having a population of 16,400, of whom rather fewer than half were Muslims.

            After the introduction of Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878, the old principle of living in the mahala and doing business in the čaršija was quickly adapted to the central European urban concept. This, plus the interpolation of new buildings between the existing ones, meant that this period has left its mark on the urban structure, with the construction of wholly new quarters (running from the Cernica bridge to Balinovac) with a large number of villas. Another urban feature of this time are the three military camps, built between 1884 and 1912. Economic development led to increased traffic and trade; administrative, educational and municipal buildings were erected, another two bridges were built, as were the Neretva Hotel and the City Baths (1914), the National Bank, the Vakuf Hall, the Girls’ High School, the Council building, the Serbian primary school and the Metropolitan’s Palace; mains sewerage was introduced, the streets were regulated, and squares and parks landscaped.

            World War I and the immediate post-war period led to still more changes and a new stage in the development of the town. There were changes in population numbers and social and spatial changes. A new style of building was introduced, with two- and three-storey residential properties (Demirović, 2003, pp. 16-17).

            Between the two world wars, the town remained within its previous limits. A number of buildings and facilities were erected: a thermoelectric plant in Rudnik (1922), a district officer for workers’ insurance (1930), a new hospital by the railway station (1930), a Public Health Institute on the High Street (1933), a new concrete bridge replacing the iron bridge at Musala (1935), and the bank building on the High Street (1938) (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 9).

            The population census of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia conducted in 1931 revealed that Mostar had “a total of 20,295 inhabitants, of whom 8,844 are Muslims, 5,764 Roman Catholics, 5,502 Orthodox, 136 Jews, 32 Protestants, and 17 other Christians” (Hodžić, 2000, p. 89).

            Following World War II, the development of Mostar was characterized by the new socialist socio-economic relations and intensive reconstruction and new building. The steep rise in population numbers (1953: 31,680; 1961: 47,215; 1971: 63,427; 1991: 75,665) created a demand for new housing and public buildings. Particularly as regards the housing stock, the city expanded into the vacant areas to the west of the town (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 9).

            During this period, new areas and housing estates were created: Zgoni, Đikovina, Panjevina, Zalik, Strijelčevina and others. Streets and avenues were asphalted, the railway was built, work continued on landscaping the city's parks and sports and recreation centres. From the 1970s on, with further architectural and town planning interventions Mostar acquired the outlines of a modern city (Demirović, 2003, p. 18).

            Housing starts struggled to keep up with the steep rise in population numbers at this time, with two types of housing being built: collective (blocks of flats) and individual units. In the case of the former, a number of typical stages can be identified. Thus in the 1950s, blocks of flats were built within the urban fabric – the blocks at the corner of Marshal Tito and Huso Maslić street – or at the edge of the urban area – Boulevard of the People’s Revolution, Sava Kovačević street, Aleksa Šantić street etc. – using the existing infrastructure (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 10).

            This process of building lasted until 1992, when war broke out and the town was subjected for four years to urbicide, the destruction of the cultural heritage, the demolition of religious and countless other properties and structures. As well as huge numbers of casualties, the entire economy was destroyed, and as if this were not enough more than 70% of the housing stock was also destroyed.

            Following the war the international community conferred on the European Union the role of administering Mostar. At the Rome Conference held on 18 February 1996 the city was divided administratively into six municipalities and the central urban district.

            Today plans for the reconstruction of the city, and in particular of its historic centre, are being developed through projects drawn up jointly by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the World Monuments Fund (WMF).

            In 2002, two major projects were carried out with an international presence: the reconstruction of the Old Bridge, and the construction of a unified mains water system. Both projects were sponsored by the World Bank (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 10).

 

2.  Description of the historic area

The description of the town is based on the concept that there are three factors constituting its appearance as a whole: image, structure and form. In their complexity and exceptional nature, these three factors combine to make Mostar one of the most important urban centres in Europe’s Mediterranean zone.

 

1. In the image of the town, the morphology of the terrain, the climate with its specific temperatures and vegetation, the river as the central feature in the perception of the town and the dictating factor in the way it was structured and, in particular, the presence of all three monotheistic traditions – Judaism, Christianity both Catholic and Orthodox, and Islam – all play a crucial part. Although it lies in the hinterland of the coastal region, Mostar is entirely a Mediterranean town.

 

2. The structure of the town is dictated above all by the river, in line with which the network of streets took shape and the direction faced by buildings was determined. As a result, the site with the greatest significance in the entire city is the bridge. There is a polarization of functions between public and private, which is made still more evident by the river. Public buildings are concentrated along the river, and the most important public functions are located by the bridge. Houses are located on the hills further away from but facing the river. The valley along the river contains Islamic religious buildings. The Orthodox cathedral church is on the most dominant hill.

 

3. The form of the town and its architecture are based on numerous factors, predominant among which are:

  • Indigenous materials:  striking, almost white stone, and more unobtrusive timber;
  • Climatic circumstances: long, hot summers and short, windy but mild winters with no snow, which dictate the gentle pitch of the roofs with wide eaves, small shaded windows, thick stone walls of almost fortress-like appearance, high courtyard walls, etc;
  • The dominant stylistic influences: the Romanesque architecture of Dubrovnik and the Croatian coast, and classic Ottoman architecture.

4. The river Neretva is the backbone of the town, and its role in shaping the image, structure and form of the town alike is the most important of all

 

Much has been written about Mostar and its cultural monuments. Literary and scholarly works, both past and present, provide much valuable material for the study of Mostar and its past.  The Turkish geographer Hajji Kalfa and the 17th century travel chroniclers Evliya Çelebi and the Frenchman Paullet, provide important information on the appearance of the town and the Old Bridge in their day. A number of surviving vakufnamas and sidžils/sicils (records) of Mostar’s kadijas also provide valuable material for a study of the city’s past. Many natives of Dubrovnik have left accounts of Mostar from various periods – 1452, Mateja Gundulić in 1674, and Nikola Bunić in 1710. Important accounts surviving from the 19th century are those of the priests Pamučina and Ćokorilo. In 1857 the Russian Giljferding visited Mostar and described the town and its inhabitants. In 1875 Arthur Evans, the English scholar, also visited the town briefly, discovering Roman and Byzantine styles in the architecture of Mostar. In 1891 a scholarly analysis of Mostar was conducted by Karl Peez, who gives much important information. Others who have provided more or less valuable information on the history of Mostar include Robert Michel, V. Radimski, K. Pač, Lj. Stjepanović, Ćiro Truhelka, K. Jiriček, Hasan Nametak, and Alija Nametak.

A number of works are of particular value, including two in German. Works in the local language have been written by Vladimir Ćorović, Mostar i njegova srpska pravoslavna opština (Mostar and its Serbian Orthodox community); Hamdija Kreševljaković, Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini (Guilds and crafts in BiH); Hivzija Hasandedić, Spomenici kulture turskog doba u Mostaru (Monuments from the Turkish period in Mostar); Luka Grđić Bjelokosić, Mostar nekad i sad (Mostar past and present): The two works in German are: Karl Peez, Mostar und sein Kulturkreis and Robert Michel, Mostar. (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 11; Pašić, 1989, p. 3).

According to Peez, in 1891 Mostar gave the impression of being a pleasant town that had developed on the left and right banks of the Neretva:

“The east or left bank is generally regarded as the healthier. The wealthier section of the population resides here. Here was built the old Turkish court or Konak, here are the family houses of Muslim landowners and Orthodox merchants. Here too is the majority of the administration, and here too is the commercial quarter, here civil servants and officers live in mainly rented accommodation, and here too much of the history of Mostar was played out.

“If the east bank belongs to the past and present of Mostar, it is on the west side of the Neretva that the future of the town lies. Here there is ample space for the erection of residential properties and edifices. To the west, among other things, a railway station, a new hospital, and a Catholic cathedral have been built. On this bank there are fine private gardens and large, dignified cemeteries full of trees and shrubs. Here there are state plantations, and gardens with cafés attract one with the aroma of mocha, and during Ramadan with a travelling theatre for those of all confessions, particularly Muslims. There are gypsies, too, living in dilapidated houses and clad in the rhythms of the left bank.

“Beyond these mahalas, towards the hillsides, are fields of maize and tobacco, where the water dries up in summer and the earth languishes in thirst. Hard up against the hill one then sees the residence of the Catholic Bishop, Vukodo. This is the extreme limit of the western side of the town, while on the other side the Metropolitan’s apartments above the Orthodox Church constitutes the extreme eastern limit.” (Peez, 1891, p. 8).

THE OLD TOWN

The Old Town is the oldest part of the urban fabric, dating from the 15th century.  It was the Ottoman period (15th to 19th century), with its typical architectural and town planning features, that left the most powerful stamp on this part of the town.  During this period, some of the most imposing and architecturally most significant edifices in the town were built. The development of the town was also particularly marked by its residential quarters or mahalas, grouped around the trading and commercial zone of the čaršija and the Old Bridge.

The cultural and historical value of old Mostar is its urban agglomeration, which took shape in the 16th century, at the height of power of the Ottoman Empire, around the area of the Old Bridge.  The entire area reveals a perfect harmony between the built spaces and the natural features of the river Neretva, so that the Old Town is the outcome of the interaction between a natural phenomenon and human creativity over a long period of historical evolution. This agglomeration was added to and enriched by the architectural and visual attainments of successive generations, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century following the establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule and the influence of central European architecture.

In the built environment of the oldest part of the urban ensemble, it is its geomorphological features that form the dominant influence on the formation of residential quarters (mahalas), the banks of the Neretva gorge and the irregular street layout, giving the town its specific and recognizable shape. The town appears almost to have grown up out of the river.  The use of limestone, cubist forms in building up the volumes of the physical structure, and optical effects – the play of light and shadow – create the spatially uniform mood and appearance of the old part of Mostar. The volumes of individual buildings are appropriate to the system of proportions applied to the entire town. The individual architectural accents of the Clock Tower, minarets and towers by the bridge dominate the town.

The street layout is a fully integral part of the urban system of the old town. The entire urban street system may be divided into various levels: roads, streets, paths and culs de sac.  The widening of streets gave rise to squares (mejdans) or market squares (pazars). The residential quarters were linked to the commercial and trade centre of the čaršija by a large number of streets, making the čaršija itself a traffic hub from which a network of narrow streets expanded outwards in all directions.  Open, unbuilt spaces feature as the constant companions of this network of streets. Functionally speaking, the area of the square or čaršija itself was the centre of trade, exchange and communication.  In parallel with the squares, there also came into being the open spaces of the musalla (an open space for congregational prayers). There are also burial grounds or harems to be found, both free-standing or as parts of a group around a religious edifice. These were a kind of oasis, with various types of Mediterranean vegetation.

This differentiation of street levels is also to be observed within the mahalas, where streets of a public nature may be identified as level one: public areas solely for daily use and matters dealt with within the mahalas; this area is located between the approach road and the residential complex. The next level begins at the entrance gateways to the residential complex; communication continues within the area of the enclosed courtyard wall, first in the areas of the selamluk (semi-public area), as an intermediate zone, and concluding with the haremluk (the protected, private area), as the basic unit of Islamic society. This system of individual enclosed spaces, together protecting the integrity of respect for the basic social units, also reflects the compact structure of the town itself as a whole.

After the 1878 Berlin Congress the street layout and the entire way in which the life of the town was organized were altered. The Austro-Hungarian authorities renovated and improved the roads system,and the city was physically reoriented. The part of the town that had so far developed was based on an irregular network of streets running between residential and public buildings, and it was the buildings that formed the basis of the structure, lying south-east/north-west. From 1878 on, a regular street grid running between the cardinal points of the compass was laid out. It was then, too, that a rail link was built from Sarajevo to the coast, which ran through Mostar, to serve which a new railway station was also built, in 1885. The reconstruction of the roads network was influenced by western European standards.

The greater part of present-day Mostar, dating from the forty years of Austro-Hungarian rule (1878-1918), was built in the new central European style around the existing structure.  A number of edifices were erected that differ in their size, decorative features and exotic façades from the older built environment. During this period, the construction of new buildings led to a certain discord with the existing features of the town. This architecture had no regard for the environmental and architectural values of the old town, particularly as regards residential properties, the siting of buildings, and building density.

In the early years of Austro-Hungarian rule, most of the building works consisted of converting existing buildings or repairing major edifices that were needed by the new authorities and military. These works were also the first instances of the revitalization of old buildings in BiH and in Mostar, as well as the first examples of buildings that were the work of known, recorded architects and builders. There was much building activity in the commercial areas of the town. In the early 1880s the traditional image of the čaršija, with its shops and storage magazines, began to change. Most new building was of housing units, though in these early years of Austro-Hungarian rule they were still based on traditional features and architectural forms – the properties were low-built, with porches, verandas, divanhanas, courtyards and gardens, and were still sited so as to respect the right to a view, which continued to prevail at this time. The earliest historicist styles were neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance, representing the European style and taste of the Provincial Government and its architects and builders. Representative buildings in this style are the Vakuf Hall, the Music School, the Girls’ High School and the Orthodox Metropolitan’s Palace, while the Serbian primary school, designed in 1909 by Đorđe Knežić, was built in the Art Nouveau style.

The Moorish style, borrowed from the countries of North Africa, came about as a result of the need to ensure that the mainly Muslim inhabitants would more readily accept the new authorities.  Among the most typical buildings in this style are the Hotel Neretva and the Grammar School in Mostar. This was the predominant style in the 1890s. The influence of the neo-Renaissance in Mostar is to be seen in the construction of administrative buildings, but also in the streets, promenades, the Rondo and the bridges designed by Miloš Komadina. With their size and form, and particularly their location in the town, these buildings became points of reference in the urban fabric (Krzović, 1987, pp. 9-32, 124-130).

In the immediate post-World War II period, many buildings in the Old Town were pulled down, leading to the formation on 1949 of a specialist institution for the protection of the cultural and historical heritage, and the establishment, in 1977, of an agency that until 1992 continued successfully to oversee the preservation and development of the Old Town – Mostar Municipality set up a labour organization called Stari Grad. As well as conducting a detailed architectural survey and completing urban planning documentation for the entire historic centre of the Old Town, a Regulatory Plan was also drawn up for the whole area, and more than fifty interventions were carried out for the reconstruction, restoration and rehabilitation of various buildings (the Koski Mehmed-pasha medresa, the Tabhana, and rows of shops in the Priječka čaršija). In 1986 the organization won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its achievements with this restoration and conservation project (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 10; Tuzlak, 2002, p. 31).

Between 1995 and 2004, following the 1992-1995 war when the entire urban centre of Mostar was left in ruins, the Old Town underwent a major transformation, as a result of the frailty of the heritage protection mechanisms and prevailing circumstances. In particular, the mahalas have lost their original fabric and character, as a result of inappropriate construction. The Old Town currently serves mainly tourist purposes and as such does not form an integral part of daily life, while the mahalas have been transformed more in the physical than the functional sense – they have retained their residential character.

The reconstruction of the historic centre began in 1998. That same year, Bosnia and Herzegovina nominated Mostar’s Old Town for inclusion on the World Heritage List. Since then there has been considerable activity on the reconstruction of the historic centre and of individual monuments of the architectural heritage throughout the city. In 1999, agreement was reached in Washington on key documents by the Government of  Bosnia and Herzegovina, the City of Mostar and the World Bank, setting out a project for the reconstruction of the Old Bridge and the Old Town. Pursuant to this agreement, UNESCO  is providing scientific oversight of the works to reconstruct the complex of the Old Bridge through its International Commission of Experts, while the Aga Khan Trust for Culture & World Monuments Fund (AKTC&WMF) is managing the improvement of the neighbourhood, providing technical documentation for the component of reconstruction of monuments, and providing planning services for the historic city, as well as helping to strengthen essential institutions in Mostar (City of Mostar, 2001, p. 2).

CITY WALLS

            A chronogram survives in a Mostar record (medžmui/mecmu) now kept in the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, which relates the construction of the Mostar fortress. The year of construction is given as 1108 AH (1696) (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 154).

            There were the following towers on the city walls surrounding the part of Mostar on the left bank of the Neretva: one by the Neretva beside the entrance from Mala tepa to Kujundžiluk, one below Suhodolina by Puzić sokak, two on Suhodolina above the Ali pasha serai (konak), one in Bjelušine by the former Ćurći Ahmed mosque, one on Velika Tepa by Ramić sokak, one beside the Neretva at the bottom of Ramić sokak and one in Luka outside the former Kanber-aga mosque.

            The earliest reference to the tower by Puzić sokak is in Ćejvan's deed of endowment dating from 1554. By this time the tower by Ramić sokak on Velika Tepa had also been built.  These two towers stood not far from the Old Bridge guarding the entrance to the bridge. Both were two-storeyed above passageways below with large gateways through which the main road ran.

            Prior to 1700, a tabija (bastion) was built below the konak on Suhodolina. It was surrounded by high ramparts with embrasures. There were also cannon here, and the police headquarters (zaptija) was located here. This also housed a gendarmerie, which ran the prison (haps). A cannon was fired and a flag raised on the bastion every Friday, for the Bajram (Eid) festivals, and on the Sultan's birthday. The cannon continued to be fired for a while even after 1878, but since the powerful detonation disturbed the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, the military command of the day transferred the cannon to Hum, where it continued to be fired until 1918. The Regional Museum of Herzegovina has several pieces of cannon shells (kumbara) from the Turkish period, found on the bastion (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 123).

            Following the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz much of Mostar town on the right bank of the Neretva was surrounded by ramparts with towers. One of these towers stood close to the Tabačica mosque, on the road leading from Cernica to the Old Bridge, and was known as Šaranpov, from the fosse outside it.  From this tower the ramparts ran behind the Ćejvan-ćehaja hamam and tannery to the right bank of the Neretva where the other tower stood. On the other side, the rampart ran via Vakuf and the Radobolja, joining Šaranpov with the tower at Šemovac.

            The tower at Šemovac was known as the Šabić tower. It had two storeys and a large gateway through which the main road ran. After 1878, the tower was used for a while for residential purposes.

            One tower was in Ričina by Podharem sokak, one in Liska street and one in Zahum above the Ali-beg Lafo mosque.

            From the Šabić tower, the rampart led behind Kapetanovina, joining it with the tower in Tikvina sokak. From this tower, which had two storeys, it led through gardens to the Neretva, where there was another tower.  There were also two towers in Predhum: one by Ašiković sokak and one above Čekrk at the bottom of Predhum mahala.

            There was a tall stone tower dating from the Ottoman period on the slopes of Huma hill.  The main purpose of this tower was to keep under observation the approach to the bridge from the west – whence came the greatest threat throughout the Ottoman period.

            These towers were mainly erected on roads, with a passageway about three metres wide and one and a half times head height beneath them. A guard stood in this passageway, and in the tower itself was the office occupied by the duty officer. There were solid gates at the entrances beneath the towers, built into the arch, and closed every day at dusk and reopened in the morning. There were fosses with drawbridges outside the two towers on Velika Tepa, Puzić and Ramić sokaks and the two gates on the Old Bridge.

            There were another two side gates without towers on the city ramparts on the right of the Neretva: one in Vakuf, on the road leading from Podhum to the Old Bridge, and the other not far from the former Nezir aga mosque on the road leading via the Crooked Bridge.

            All these towers were linked by ramparts, which were about three metres in height, with embrasures, and wide enough at the top to enable one to walk along them without difficulty. The Mostar city ramparts were still in existence in 1840, but in a ruinous state, with numerous gaps through which dogs would sneak at night (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 125).

            All these towers with the exception of Herceguša were strategically sited for the defence of the town. The keys were held by families living in the immediate vicinity of each tower, and handed down from generation to generation. It is known that the Dizdar Lakišić’s served as dizdars or commanders of the Mostar fortress from the earliest days of the Ottoman administration, and that they held the keys to the towers around the Old Bridge in this way (Peez, 1891, p. 15).

            The Austro-Hungarians found all the towers in a ruinous state. Three have survived to this day, but the rest were pulled down soon after 1878. Parts of the ramparts that surrounded the town can still be seen in Ramić street, Suhodolina, Kujundžiluk, Kapetanovina, and along the Radobolja west of the Crooked Bridge.

            Mustaf Glavinić was the last keyholder, locking the gate of the Old Bridge every evening and opening it in the morning until 1878, since when there has been no gate on the gatehouse of the Old Bridge.

            The parts of Mostar on the left and right banks of the Neretva that were surrounded by ramparts and towers constituted the urban fortifications centred on the towers by the Old Bridge.  Here the dizdar resided, and the entire garrison was stationed, to be deployed from there to serve guard duty at the town's towers.  The part of the fortifications on the left bank is referred to in the sources as Stari Grad (old town – kalai atik), as this part of Mostar is still officially known. The part on the right bank, dating from after the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz, is referred to in the sources as Novi Grad (new town – kalai cedid). 

            The numbers of men constituting the garrison of the Mostar fortifications varied at different times. In 1520 it consisted of a dizdar, ćehaja, imam and 42 soldiers known as mustahfiza. At the time Evliya Çelebi visited the area, there were 160 soldiers. In 1731 the garrison numbered 535, and in 1780 there were 565 men.

            The garrison of the fortifications was chiefly engaged in defending the town from foreign attacks, mainly carried out by Uskoks from Dalmatia.

            There were barns around the towers in the hendek or fosse around the Old Bridge, used to store state grain reserves (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 126).

            According to Peez, “There were once fifteen towers in Mostar, three in Predhulje (two of which are in ruins and the third is used for the treasury), two in Zahumlje, three in Cernica, two on Velika Tepa, three above Konak and two on the Neretva.

            “The latter were evidently the bridgehead on the Old Bridge. They had solid gates the keys of which were hereditarily held by the Dizdar Lakišić family, which lived very close by.

            “The entire old fortress system was linked by ramparts. The section to the south of the city was particularly well reinforced. If one imagines in addition a few detachments in Hum and Podveležje in trenches, the blockade of the valley is complete.

            “The konak was the heart of the system, and when warmongering had not yet reached its present levels, it must have been invincible. Many attacks by the war-hardened Venetians were foiled by the strong ramparts of the town. Every evening the gates were closed.

            “Today Mostar is not fortified, true, but it is still protected by thirteen forts and four permanent batteries built since the occupation in the city and its immediate environs.” (Peez, 1891, p. 9).

            The ramparts area around the Konak on Suhodolina is now used as a military complex.

            The ramparts were built of roughly dressed stone laid in lime mortar. All that has survived to this day is a small section of the former ramparts by the Crooked Bridge on the right bank and Ramić street on the left bank of the Neretva. The section of the ramparts that has survived by the Crooked Bridge is about 71 m long and has an average height of between 3 and 7 m. The remains of the ramparts in Ramić street follow the lie of the land on the bank of the Neretva and are about 78 m in length, with a height of 4 to 6 m. There are little-used  footpaths alongside both surviving sections of the ramparts.  AKTC/WMF plans to restore the remains of the ramparts and turn the footpaths into a more extensively used pedestrian zone (Rehabilitation of the Historic Neighborhoods, 2001, p. 66).

THE ČARŠIJA

            The čaršija is one of the most important features of an Ottoman town, its commercial centre, and the area in which most business activity is conducted. In Mostar, the bridge over the river Neretva, the fortifications alongside it and a few mosques are the nucleus around which, by the mid 16th century, a number of streets had taken shape with rows of shops and a smaller number of storehouses. This was the genesis of the Mostar čaršija, the manufacturing, market and social centre of the town. The Mostar čaršija is an outstanding unified architectural and town planning composition.

            The čaršija developed on both banks of the Neretva, beginning with the left bank, where it occupied the area from above the Tara and Herceguša towers to the south as far as the Clock Tower to the east and Hafiz hojja’s mosque and the Koski Mehmed pasha han to the north. The part of the čaršija on the High Street was called Velika Tepa; the part parallel to it alongside the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque was called Mala Tepa; and where it extended towards the Old Bridge was Kujundžiluk. On the right bank, from the bridge up to the Tabačica mosque, was the Priječka or Prička čaršija and the Tabhana or tannery, where the leather workers carried out their craft. Between them, on the Radobolja river and its channels, there were a great many water mills (Pašić, 1989, p. 42).

            The čaršija extended from the Old Bridge to the Sinan pasha mosque and from the Clock tower to below the Ćejvan ćehaja mosque, and consisted of the following features:

           

            Left bank:

  • Upper čaršija – the present-day Velika Tepa or Marshal Tito street,
  • Lower čaršija – the present-day Mala Tepa, consisting of the area around the Koska or čaršija mosque and Kujundžiluk
  • Za Kulom čaršija – extending from the Tower, i.e.the Ćejvan ćehaja mosque, to Kamberaga mahala (Luka),
  • Kazaska čaršija – surrounding the Clock Tower

            Right bank:

  • the Priječka čaršija – extending from the Old Bridge to beyond the Tabačka mosque; three vakufs had some sixty shops (Hodžić, 2000, p. 84).

Until after 1878 the right bank was of only secondary importance, with the main part of the čaršija located on the left bank, as the name Prijeko indicates. This was a name commonly used in BiH for lesser or insignificant parts of towns built on two banks of a river. Alongside the Priječka čaršija on the right bank of the Neretva by the Radobolja there were leather processing workshops or tabhanas, mills, stamping mills and several mahalas. Prijeko gained in importance with the construction of the railway bridge (1882), the Sarajevo-Metković railway line (1891),  the Gymnasium high school (1901-1903) and the opening of the colliery (1918) (Kreševljaković II, 1991, p. 232).

            The čaršija acquired its features between 1550 and 1570. Several legators, among whom the most significant were Zaim Hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz-beg (58 shops around his vakuf), Ćejvan-ćehaja (67 shops abutting onto the foundations of the Upper čaršija and Kujundžiluk) and Nesuh-aga Vučijaković (who built 26 shops under Lipa, extending the Upper čaršija), built more than 200 shops and several other useful buildings. Evliya Çelebi, who visited Mostar in 1774, described the čaršija and Pazar (market, bazaar): “It has 350 solidly built shops.”  (Hodžić, 2000, pp.. 84-86).

            During the Ottoman period the main central market square was in the imperial čaršija (Suki sultani on Velika Tepa). Here all the orders that came from the central authorities in Istanbul (firmans) were proclaimed to the people. Here too, the town criers were used to conduct auctions and sell movable and real property, summon soldiers to the flag, and so on. On state and religious holidays, people gathered in the čaršija for revelry (šenluk/şenlık) and to hold various sporting events such as putting the shot, the long jump, wrestling and the like (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 8).

            There were about thirty different crafts in Mostar. In 1762 there were 11 guilds (esnaf): the ekmekčijski (bakers'), terzijski (tailors'), bašmakčijski (cobblers'), painters' and plasterers', ćurćijski (furriers'), ćebedžijski (blanket makers'), kujundžijski (goldsmiths'), timurdžijski (blacksmiths'), nail-makers', locksmiths', swordsmiths', gunsmiths', tabački (tanners'), berberski (barbers') and unđerski (builders') guilds. In 1875 Mostar had 11 crafts in 122 shops with 199 artisans and 563 labourers. Commercial activities and crafts manufacturing were pursued through esnaf or producers' guilds, largely grouped by street in the čaršija.

            Three crafts only had their own separate section of town: the Tabhana (leather tanning), the Kujundžiluk (copper and iron workers) and silk weavers, around the Clock Tower.

            The most highly developed was the tanners’ guild. Their shops were the most solidly built, with the north wall of the complex forming part of the town ramparts. The tanners moved into the Janissaries’ residence (the residence of the Janissaries’ detachment) towards the end of the 16th century, because the building they had previously been using, at the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva, was not safe from flooding. The tanners’ guild was the only one in the čaršija to have its own mosque. The tanners of Mostar were known throughout the Empire for producing the leather known as red sahtiyan (Pašić, 1989, p. 46).

            As Evliya Çelebi says, the tabhanas (tanneries) in Mostar are like nowhere else: the building is like a fortress, it has iron windows, and in the centre is a large pool (šadrvan) (Çelebi, 1996, p. 474).

            Almost without exception, commercial activity was centred on the shops and storehouses, which were built in rows along the ten streets of the Mostar čaršija, surrounding the mosque complex, hans and hamam. The shops were used for both the production and the sale of goods, while the storehouses were mainly used for storage and only rarely for selling. In Kujundžiluk – the centre of the goldsmiths’ trade – the shops are combined with storehouses, giving them both the accessibility of the classic shop and the security of a storehouse.

            The shops were small, single-storey, timber buildings, with a structure of wooden posts and beams resting on the side walls, which were stone-built, and with a stone roof cladding. They ran along both sides of the street and were usually raised above street level. They were open on the street side, where they closed when not in use by two wooden shutters forming a ćepenak.  The lower flap, when the shop was open, was used for working or as a seat. As a rule there would be a storehouse behind the shop, which was then called a shop with storehouse. All the shops were small enough for everything to be within arm’s reach; the smallest shops were about 1.50 m. wide and at least 0.50 m above street level. People did not enter the shop, but did their trade seated on the ćepenaks. The shops usually had carvings on the pillars of the porch, beams and headtrees; this carving consisted as a rule of corner mouldings (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 22; Idrizbegović, 2003, pp. 30, 81).

            The storehouses were solid buildings with thick stone or stone-and-unbaked-brick walls.  They were erected in Mostar from 1830 on, modelled on the shops in Dubrovnik. The sales area would be in the ground floor, with the storage space above. To secure them from burglary and fire, the windows were fitted with iron bars and shutters (with geometric and floral decoration) and the doors were of wrought iron. The basic structure consisted of thick stone walls with a tufa vault as ceiling, and the floor between the two storeys consisted of close-set wooden joists with a thick pugging of loam. The stairway was very narrow, 0.50 – 0.60 m, and ladders were used to reach the basement and the upper floor. The storehouses had iron bars and shutters on the windows and doors, which were usually decorated, with a stone lintel. Most of the buildings in the Mostar čaršija had a basement area (Pašić, 1989, p-. 47). In the mid 19th century several storehouses resembling those in Dubrovnik were built in Mostar – these had no shop in front, but combined  shop and storehouse in one. Storerooms of this kind were a transition to modern shops (Kreševljaković II, 1991, p. 237).

            The mills are architecturally very similar to the storehouses, consisting of simple stone-built one-room structures built along the Radobolja. Local stone was used, with a stone roof cladding.  Inside the mills are two or more millstones powered by water, directed along channels with a steep drop to the millwheel paddles. In Mostar, as well as the mills on the river Radobolja and its channels, several rolling mills and vats for rolling fabric. There were nineteen mills in the čaršija itself, and five along the upper course of the Radobolja in Ilići. The mills have long since fallen into disuse and for the most part have not been preserved – only a few still remain in good condition, at the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva, now in use as catering premises because of their attractive location, while the others along the Radobolja are in a ruinous condition. The remains of another four or five mills are still visible, and one of them – Buka mill – was renovated in 2001 (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 34).

            The mosques, hans and hamams that dominated the čaršija were built of more finely dressed stone and were considerably larger in size, so that they stood out from the rows of buildings that were built following the lie of the land.

            Velika and Mala Tepa – the Velika Tepa occupies the central area of the former Ćejvan-ćehaja mahala, not far from the Old Bridge, while Mala Tepa occupies the upper part of the former Sinan pasha mahala. The word “tepa” is of Turkish origin, and means top, hillock, summit, height.  Velika Tepa acquired its name in relation to Hendek by the Old Bridge, and Mala Tepa in relation to Mejdan. Settlement, and the erection of houses and shops on the Tepas, began in the early years of Turkish rule. Mala Tepa or Tepa is now a synonym for the main Mostar market. This part of Tepe was inhabited until 1931, with several houses with oriel windows facing the Neretva, and Balta’s (later Popović’s) han, which was demolished in 1931.

            Tabhana – in H. Kreševljaković’s view, the old Mostar tannery was built in the mid 16th century and stood by the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva.  It is not known who built it. The earliest reference to this trade is to be found in Mehmed Karađoz’ 1570 deed of endowment, which states that the legator had built sixteen tanners’ shops by his imaret (public kitchen), which was close to his mosque. These shops did not constitute either the Lower or the Upper Tabhana, which stood on the opposite side of the Neretva, some 600 m further downstream. At some time prior to 1664 a flood damaged the Lower Tabhana, and the tanners moved into the premises of the present-day Tabhana, which had until then housed the Janissaries. To differentiate it from the old Lower Tabhana, this one was called the Upper or Big Tabhana. Evliya Çelebi describes it as a building constructed like a fortress, with iron windows, and a large pool in the centre (Çelebi, 1996, p. 468). In 1713 Mostar suffered major flooding, when the Neretva flooded the Tabhana and three shops were completely destroyed. A small building was built onto the left hand wall of the Tabačica mosque, housing a stamping mill at the time the tanners’ shops were built. The stamping mill was used for pounding gall-nut and sumac, and was powered by the waters of the Radobolja, which flows below the mosque. This building was erected either at the same time or perhaps earlier than the mosque. With time it fell into ruins, and in 1954 the Institute for the Protection of Monuments reconstructed it on the same site.

            Old kanara (abattoir) – this stood between the Old Bridge and the confluence of  the Radobolja with the Neretva, hard by the right bank, and was erected in the early years of Turkish rule. In the late 19th century it was relocated to Bišće polje, where it remains to this day.  The earliest known reference to this building dates from 1714. Until 1878 all the butchers’ shops stood along the Radobolja, from the Tabhana to the former Ruža café. The main reason for locating them along the Radobolja was the proximity of large quantities of clean water and of the tannery for the sale and processing of hides. We learn from the Mostar court that in 1762 there were fourteen butchers (kasapa) in Mostar, and in 1828 there were ten.

            Tepica or Café Luft – until 1931, a small building known by this name stood between Mala Tepa, Marshal Tito street and the road leading to Kujundžiluk. The building consisted of four masonry pillars with a hipped, stone-clad roof. The name was given to it by the foreigners who began, after 1878, to visit Mostar as tourists. The Tepica was built by a certain Čorda, who required the tenant to clean the šadrvan fountain outside the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque twice a year, from which it may be deduced that the building dates from later than 1781, the year the fountain was erected. There was once a plaque with a chronogram on Tepica, which noted the year it was built, but it disappeared when the building was demolished. In his Travelogue, Henrik Rener describes Tepica as a “Café Luft” – a small pavilion open on all four sides, with benches set around and a hearth for preparing coffee to one side. The tradespeople from the market by Tepica on the Kujundžiluk side used to keep their goods in Tepica overnight or when it rained. In 1971 the market authority rebuilt Tepica on the same site and to the same dimensions; today it houses a drugstore.

            Konak Or Pasha serai – in 1833 the Herzegovinian vezir Alija Rizvanbegović built several buildings, some large and some small, on Suhodolina. These were known as the Paša-saraj or Žuti-saraj or Konak or Dvorac (palace). They were erected on the large open spaces of the upper bastion, which the blanket-makers’ guild had until then used for drying wool. The complex consisted of three large and several smaller buildings, in the largest of which (the dvorac) were the men’s quarters (selamluk/selamlık, baškaluk/başklalık) where the pasha held audience, receiving parties and sundry delegations. The military authorities promptly moved into this building lock stock and barrel, as did the court and several offices, remaining there until after 1878. There was another building by this one, in which the women’s quarters were located (haremluk/haremlık). Here Alija’s wives and all the female servants lived, and here too were the kitchen, pantry and other premises of the kind known as the “usual offices”. The third large building housed the stables and hayloft, and a large barracks for the military. Alija built several konaks or hostels and ramparts linking two towers used for the security of the serai. Various alterations have been made to these buildings, as a result of which they have completely lost their original appearance (Hasandedić, 1980, pp. 177, 185).

            With the arrival of the Austro-Hungarians, the traditional crafts method of manufacture gradually gave way to industrial methods, and the demand for commercial sales premises rose steadily. The classic arrangement of the čaršija gradually gave way to new components, usually in newly-built buildings along the larger streets. Empty areas in the new urban zones, particularly by the railway station, made it possible to apply European ideas of building.

            Between the two world wars the most significant intervention to the Old Town was arranging the open town market, popularly known as Tepa, which opened in 1934. After a fire in 1922, several shops were built in the area of the Priječka čaršija close to the Tabačica mosque which were entirely different in nature (height, shape of doors and windows, and flat roofs) from the existing buildings.

            Between 1945 and 1992 there were several interventions to the čaršija area. One was the demolition of 49 shops on the eastern side of the High Street, north of the Vučijaković mosque, in order to widen the street. The first interventions designed to revitalize the Old Town, undertaken in the 1950s, called for the reconstruction of a row of buildings in Kujundžiluk with the idea of creating a cultural centre where artists would live and work (Tuzlak, 2002, pp. 27-31).

            In 1978, the shops and storehouses in the Priječka čaršija were renovated. The wooden shops in Kujundžiluk were again rebuilt in 2001; all that had survived was part of the stone structure and vestiges of the wooden components (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 30).

Onešćuk street

            This street was the main artery on the west bank of the Neretva, linking the Old Bridge with the Boulevard (one of the main roads in the town). Over the centuries buildings were erected along this street, making it a cross-section of the urban history of the town.

            The western part of the street consists of buildings dating from the 1980s, and the closer one gets to the Old Bridge the narrower the street becomes as it leads one back into the Austro-Hungarian and then into the Ottoman period.

            Until 1958 the street known today as Onešćuk street retained its original name of Priječka or Prička čaršija. Part of the street, from the western gatehouse on the Old Bridge to Kriva Ćuprija street (leading to the Crooked Bridge over the Radobolja) was in the town ramparts surrounding the čaršija, with the street continuing towards Šemovac, where the next crossing over the Radobolja stood. The street also linked the fortified complex of the Old Bridge with the Janissary quarters to the west, which was later turned into the tannery and is now known as Tabhana. The part of the street closest to the bridge consisted of buildings typical of the Ottoman period – shops and storehouses.

            The eastern section of Onešćuk street, from the Old Bridge to the first Austro-Hungarian buildings, has retained its original integrity, scale and appearance. The greatest losses are to its traditional details – dilapidated features have been clumsily replaced by new, using inappropriate materials and techniques, particularly over the past ten years. The western part of the street is to a large extent devastated, with buildings of a temporary nature and of very poor quality. A few Austro-Hungarian buildings survive here that have retained their integrity (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 96).

Historic neighbourhoods

            Historic neighbourhoods occupy the zone in the immediate vicinity of the Old Bridge on both banks of the Neretva. Four sub-zones may be distinguished here: the complex of the Old Bridge with its towers and commercial buildings on both sides of the Neretva; the Jusovina-Spile sub-zone to the west of the historic complex, including residential properties along Jusovina street, Kriva Ćuprija (Crooked Bridge) and the Oručević bridge on the Radobolja; the complex that took shape around Ramić and Ćemalović streets, the area between Marshal Tito street and the east bank of the Neretva; and the residential complex, now in a ruinous state, above the west bank of the Neretva at the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva.

            Historic neighbourhoods – east – the main aim in these neighbourhoods is the rehabilitation of existing buildings, the improvement of the urban environment and infrastructure, and the redesign of more recent, unsuitable structures.

            Historic neighbourhoods – west – the main aim is the revitalization of the residential zone.  This can be achieved by the rehabilitation of existing properties and the reconstruction of demolished or damaged buildings that have left gaps in the area. The plan also provides for the improvement of the urban structure and infrastructure and the rectification of unsuitable new buildings. (Regulatory plan for the preservation and development of the Old Town in Mostar, 2001, p. 25).

            Historic neighbourhoods in Mostar are constantly undergoing change as the result of interventions by the owners of the properties who, in the course renovating those buildings that were demolished or damaged during the 1992-1994 war, modified or increased them in size. As a result, traditional elements have been almost completely lost.

            So far, of the planned works, the reconstruction of the Nezir aga mosque, the Hindo han, two mills in Jusovina, and the Ramić sokak (residential complex) has been carried out.

The Complex of Marshal Tito and Braća Fejić streets

            On the east bank of the Neretva, open spaces – streets, crossroads, squares, cul-de-sacs – follow the lie of the land. There are two main streets parallel to the river and shorter side streets at right angles to them, often so steep that steps have had to be built along them. The areas thus created were of key importance for the location and shaping of the buildings and had a significant impact on the development and shaping of the physical structure.

            The two streets parallel to the river that were central to the development of this area are Marshal Tito street and Fejić Brothers street. Tito street, which runs where the valley meets the hill to the east, has always been the main road linking Bosnia with the Adriatic sea, and ever since the town began to take shape it has also been the high street. The other, Fejić street, runs parallel to Tito street and begins with Kujundžiluk, running from the eastern gatehouse of the Old Bridge northwards, crossing Mala Tepa and continuing as far as Mejdan square, where it acquires a new name, Mladen Balorda street. Over the centuries, the town’s most important buildings have been erected along these two street and the basic urban functions have taken shape (Karahasanović, 2003, p. 23).

            Marshal Tito Street

            This street occupies the zone from the former Razvitak department store, i.e. the crossroads leading from Musala bridge to Marshal Tito street, to the Luka bridge, the southern boundary of the Old Town area, a total distance of about 1 km.

            Over the years, Tito street was reshaped, acquiring its spatial dominance, creating a new, monumental scenography, and becoming the centre of new urban functions – the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque and medresa, the Girls’ High School, the National Bank, the Paher-Kisić bookshop in a row of commercial buildings, the Council Building, the Serbian Primary School and so on. Side streets cross Tito street at several points, creating blocks of several buildings and linking it with Fejić street. The most important of these is the street joining Tito street with Musala.

            Following the establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule, much of public and social life took place on the left bank of the Neretva in Tito and Fejić streets (then known as Sauerwald street).  Major town planning and architectural interventions took place during this period, with new styles of conducting business and of building being introduced.  Regulations were introduced governing streets and building lines. The architectural expression reflected the new styles brought in from Europe in the second half of the 19th century – neo-Renaissance, neo-Romantic and neo-Gothic, forms of romanticism, Secessionist – and distinct styles also emerged (pseudo-Moorish, Bosnian style). The new architecture clashed in dimensions and stylistic expression with the existing oriental architecture. This is the period most extensively represented in Tito street. Although quite a few buildings had retained their authentic appearance up to the outbreak of war in 1992, they are currently in rather poor condition, particularly the major buildings that were classified as protected as part of the cultural and historical heritage, such as the Alajbegović house, the Serbian primary school, the former Girls’ High School, the Konak complex, the National Bank, the Municipality Building, the National Theatre and so on – a total of fifteen such properties in this street.

            Later periods of history made no significant mark on the street and the shaping of space there.  There are just a few major buildings from the post-Austro-Hungarian and socialist periods, most of them of no architectural or townscape value.

            The character of Tito street is determined by its role as the main road axis and by its existing functions and the scale of its buildings. Until 1992 its basic functions were administration, education and culture, with buildings of representative scale. As well as these, there were rows of buildings with commercial premises on the ground floor and flats on the upper floors. Although it was the main traffic-bearing street in town, this part was also a busy pedestrian street, forming a single pedestrian zone together with Fejić street. Tito street still retained its uniform character, structure and position in the town. It is still the main traffic-bearing road for the entire town, as well as the main component of the Old City and of the entire commercial district on the eastern bank of the Neretva (Karahasanović, 2003, pp. 24-28).

            Although this street has an overall uniform urban identity, within it a number of zones that differ in character and scale can still be differentiated, starting from the Razvitak building, typical of the socialist period with its functionalist, international expression and which wrecked the urban fabric of this part of the town and of the entire block, together with a large housing block alongside the department store. South of this zone, towards the Old Bridge, the physical structure becomes smaller in scale and ever more dense and compact. This is also true as it continues on to Luka bridge itself.

            Depending on which period of history they belong to, the buildings differ in number of storeys and volume, ranging from socialist buildings consisting of a ground floor and seven or four upper storeys, via Austro-Hungarian buildings with ground and three or two upper floors, to high ground-floor and small single-storey buildings of various periods. Except for the northern zone around Razvitak, where there is a group of large buildings erected without regard for the existing environment and dominating in size, height and architectural expression, the street is largely uniform in scale. Proceeding southwards, the architecture becomes smaller-scale and the density increases as it merges into the area around the Old Bridge.

            Very few buildings dating from the Ottoman period have survived in the Tito street zone, and those that have are mainly residential properties or religious buildings, of which the most important are the Alajbegović house and the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque.  The materials used in these buildings were stone, or half-timbering with unbaked brick infill, with hipped or three-paned roofs clad with stone slabs (or, in the case of the mosque, a lead-clad dome). Windows and doors took the form of traditional wooden windows and entrances. The type and colour of the finish on the façades were a combination of white lime plaster and stone.

            Properties from the Austro-Hungarian period are the most numerous and the most important in this area, with various functions, form and proportions and still in relatively good condition. For the most part they are buildings of the kind typically to be seen on western European streets, planned and orderly, facing this major commercial street, which was a new, European urban strategy in Mostar’s town planning. These elegant three- and four-storey masonry buildings are of mixed use: the parterre was open to the public, with commercial premises on the ground floor, while the upper floors were for private, residential use. A number of buildings of this period stand out in scale and form, such as the National Bank building, the Konak and the Serbian primary school. The building materials used were stone and steel load bearing beams, with brick infill and timber roof trusses. The roofs were usually hipped or gabled, and tile-clad. There were a number of basic typical window and door shapes, with stone frames, wooden windows and steel shutters and entrance doors.The finish of the façades took the form of stone facings, plaster in various colours, or combinations of the two. The main street façades are simple, some of them decorated merely with floral or geometric designs framing the window.  Pilasters and cornices are typical 19th century decorative features figuring on the buildings along Tito street. During the war many of the buildings were damaged or destroyed, and there are visible signs of regrettable post-war interventions in the shape of alterations to the proportions of the windows and the replacement of wooden window frames with plastic. The buildings are of various colours.

            The period between the two world wars left no significant mark on the architectural expression or shaping of space in this zone. The few buildings that were erected during this period are adapted to and fit in with the environment in scale, proportions, fenestration and materials used (the Islamic community building), while more monumental public buildings were influenced by the international style and did not fit into the setting and the existing structure (the former SDK building, the National Theatre).

            The socialist period introduced the functionalist expression in architecture, the outcome of the international style of the preceding period. This functionalist, socialist style introduced a new, austere architecture expression, with broad-span construction, universal modules, prefabs, exposed materials and lightweight structures, which influenced the shape taken by administrative and commercial buildings.The most striking examples of this architecture are the Razvitak department store building and the housing block close by. The National Theatre, built after World War II in the social realist architectural style, is in tradition and spatial technical possibilities one of the major regional generators of cultural development.

            During the 1992-1995 war, the whole of Tito street suffered major damage. During the post-war period, interventions have been carried out on damaged and devastated buildings to stabilize them and prevent further deterioration. All the major buildings are still in ruins, and interventions carried out on smaller buildings are an example of unplanned and unsuitable interventions as regards the materials used and the architectural expression (Karahasanović, 2003, pp. 35-50).

            Old bazaar

            This was the site of the market until the construction of the Luka bridge in 1917. 

            It is now an extensive area by the bridge and, according to the Plan, should play a significant part, along with the renovation of the Luka bridge, as the southern access to the town and a tourist point. This part of the town has lost much of its Ottoman character (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 23).

Braća Fejić street

            The urban zone of Fejić street took shape between 1470 and 1620. The present-day name of the street dates from after World War II.  Originally, the street served to link the mahalas with the čaršija that had grown up around the Old Bridge between the High Street and the river Neretva. Northwards, Fejić street runs parallel with the High Street to the east. The first mahala to take shape was the Sinan pasha mahala, later known as Atik (Old) mahala, close by the čaršija.  The centre of this mahala was Mejdan square, around which several public buildings were erected: the governor’s residence, the mehkeme (courthouse), the Sinan pasha mosque (1474), and the hamam. The square was organized as an administrative centre, represented by the governor’s residence and court.

            The mid 16th century was notable for the striking development of the Ottoman town, when a hundred new shops were built in the Mostar čaršija, around the Old Bridge. It was then that Karađoz-beg erected the largest mosque complex in Mostar. The final urban planning layout of this street was in the 1610s, when two new mahalas were completed in the area between the Karađoz-beg mahala and Musala with the construction of new centres – the Roznamedžija mosque (probably c. 1610) and the Kjose Jahjia-hojja mosque (prior to 1620). Side streets running east and west linked the street with the residential areas. The houses along the street had no ground-floor windows, but had projecting upper storey oriel windows to provide a better view. A map of the town dating from 1881 shows that the street had taken on the appearance of a longitudinal mahala, with the street façades consisting of the high walls of the buildings, courtyards or gardens separating the residential quarters from the street. The urban layout and architectural structure formed in the mid 17th century remained intact for the next hundred years or so.

            During the Austro-Hungarian period (1878-1918), Fejić street took on its present-day appearance, something that was then wholly new and unknown in the way streets were conceived, as a result of a reorganization of its functions. It ceased to serve merely as a link between the mahala and the čaršija. The existing structures were altered by new buildings to a different scale, with different materials and use of decorative elements. Where there had formerly been gardens or buildings that had been pulled down, new buildings were erected to give the street a new appearance, very different from the way space was organized in the Ottoman fashion.  Work was no longer kept strictly separate from the residential zone in the physical sense – the two functions came together in a single property, with the ground floor used for commercial purposes and the upper floors reserved for residential use, altering the urban layout of the entire area. In 1879 the Thonhauser pharmacy was built, with flats on the upper floors, in the area around Mejdan square, where the Hotel Orient was also erected. It was now (1884) that the hamam adjacent to the Sinan pasha mosque was demolished. Once the Musala was linked to the right bank of the town by the bridge built in 1882 on behalf of the Emperor Franz Joseph, and a few years later by New Street and the High Street, the new main town square took shape. The creation of a shortcut between the čaršija and the new town centre contributed to the commercial development of the street, which was known as Sauerwald street at that time. A number of public buildings erected at this time constituted the urban points of reference, along with the previous mosque buildings – the Police Headquarters (1893), the Vakıf Hall (1884) on the site of the former Karađoz-beg han, the Wezel pharmacy with flats (1904), and the Ukraine Cinema (1911).

            During World War II, the area around Mejdan suffered extensive damage from bombing in 1944. In 1948, the authorities demolished the Sinan pasha mosque.

            A second wave of changes took place in this area between 1960 and 1980. Two new properties were built on either side of Biščević street: the social insurance building and another mixed-use block with the Razvitak department store on the ground floor and nine storeys above, dating from 1970. The old urban structure between Fejić Brothers street, Tito street, Hasan Brkić street and Huso Maslić street was demolished to make way for new buildings. The space was packed to the full with commercial and residential buildings with several hundred flats. The question of infrastructure was not dealt with, however, particularly as regards traffic and parking areas, which remains the case to this day.

            The whole of Fejić street suffered extensive war damage during the 1992-1995 war. The damage can be seen not only on individual buildings, but also to the entire urban fabric. The process of renovation is currently under way at various levels, pursuant to the Regulatory Plan for Mostar Old Town, adopted at a session of Mostar Stari Grad council on 10 May 2001 (Demirović, 2003, pp. 19-28).

            Fejić street as a whole may be divided into a number of sub-zones:

            Mejdan – the first mahala to be formed in Mostar with the arrival of the Turks was the Sinan pasha mahala, comprising the area around the former Sinan pasha mosque. Turkish official documents refers to this mahala and its mosque as “atik” (old). From the early days of Turkish rule, there was a square here, as the name “mejdan” suggests, the earliest reference to which dates from 1478 (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 106).

            During the Ottoman period, in addition to the mosques there were also rows of shops here, a mehćema/mehkeme (courthouse), the kadija’s house and a hamam, surrounded by houses. During the Austro-Hungarian period, changes were made with the interpolation of new buildings and features. Many of these buildings survive to this day (Demirović, 2003, p. 50). As these buildings went up, the square increasingly became a minor centre in its own right. Until the new hospital was built in 1888, there was a hospital to the north of the square. To the west of the Officers’ Casino (club) at the entrance to the square, on the southern corner, the first pharmacist, Julius Thonhauser, built a tall three-storey house with a pharmacy on the ground floor. Now a large building with a fine park adorns the southern side of the square. In 1894 the District Authority building on Mejdan was completed.  Mejdan was later known as Rudolf-platz and Trg 1 maja (First of May Square). (Miletić, 1997, p. 49).

            During World War II certain properties disappeared completely, and new ones were erected on the same sites. Mejdan is one of the few open spaces with a direct view of the Neretva. Another feature of this area is that within a very small space Ottoman-period buildings with entrance courtyards and gardens can be found along with Austro-Hungarian ones with inner courtyards. A third section has modern apartment-block housing and café-restaurants of no specific architectural expression. In the neighbourhood of Biščević is a mahala dating from the 17th century, which was to reach its acme in the late 18th and early 19th century. Seen as a whole, this mahala has retained the features of the old mahalas, with narrow streets or sokaks leading to the gateways into courtyards surrounded by high walls (Demirović, 2003, p. 50).

            This is now a run-down open space used as a parking lot, where all that has survived, in part at least, is a complex of residential buildings.

            It is important that Mejdan be properly reorganized, redefining the functions of the market and open spaces, upgrading the riverbank, providing additional space for the inhabitants and upgrading the residential function. As part of these works, it is also essential to conduct archaeological investigations and mark the site where the oldest mosque in Mostar – the Sinan pasha mosque – once stood (Regulatory Plan for the preservation and development of Mostar Old Town, 2001, p. 31).

            Pedestrian zone in the street itself 

Fejić street has a number of open areas that play an important part in the townscape.  The park by the Karađoz-beg mosque is part of the mosque complex that is more readily accessible to the public, and was created in the 1950s on the site where there had previously been a number of housing complexes. The park beside the Roznamedžija mosque is part of the mosque complex where the medresa once stood. All that survives of the medresa is the foundations. These areas require separate treatment in any future interventions. In addition to these open spaces, particular attention should be paid to the street fronts – conducting a detailed study to identify the complexity of the Fejić street front and drawing up a detailed plan for interventions designed to preserve the character of the street

PUBLIC BUILDINGS

RELIGIOUS EDIFICES

Buildings dating from the Ottoman period

            During the Ottoman period, members of four confessions lived in Mostar and its environs, all of whom, with the exception of the Jews, had their own places of worship. There are references to Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims from the earliest years of Ottoman rule, while Jews are known to have settled in Mostar only in the 19th century (Kreševljaković, 1951, p. 72).

            By 1878, thirty-seven mosques, three tekkes, two Orthodox and one Catholic church had been built in Mostar.

            Only three of Mostar’s mosques are domed; the rest have ordinary roofs. The three are the Karađoz-beg mosque, the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque, and the Mehmed Koski pasha mosque (Hasandedić, 2000, pp. 13-18).

            In the 15th century the Turks had already introduced to these parts all their skills and treatments of new kinds of domed places of worship as well as other typically oriental edifices – medresas, hamams, bezistans or covered markets, and caravanserais. All these buildings bear the stamp of the Bursa and early Istanbul style. Local builders trained in Byzantium had a major role in building these edifices. Four basic types of these monumental buildings may reliably be distinguished: single-space domed mosques with three smaller domes over the portico, single-space domed mosques with a two-domed portico, multi-space domed mosques with an elongated, complex ground plan, and domed mosques of hexagonal and octagonal plan. In the 16th century the most common type was the single-space domed mosque with three smaller domes over the portico and a minaret abutting onto the central body of the building. This type was used equally throughout the Balkan areas under Ottoman rule.

            Single-space domed mosques constructed of the pure geometric volumes of the cube, hemisphere, cylinder, prism and cone circumscribe a simple space to the human scale. The enclosed space is private, intimate, and so arranged as to encourage absolute concentration of thought and perfect peace and calm. Every part of the interior is of equal value, with only the mihrab – the niche for the imam leading the prayers – slightly accentuated. The mihrab also has a symbolic meaning, denoting the direction of Mecca, towards which believers must face when performing their prayers. All the other interior fittings (mimber, ćurs, mahfil) are such that the interior would lose none of its value if they were removed. A mimber or pulpit is to be found in Friday mosques. The imam gave his hutba (Ar. khutba) or sermon standing to the right of the mihrab or on it, particularly on Fridays and at Eid.

            Decorative sculptural features in the mosques are usually of stone, or rarely of stucco or marble, and appear on the exterior on the surface of the minaret, the capitals and bases of pillars, ancillary mihrabs, portals, windows, and fountains; in the interior they take the form of bas-relief ornamentation in stone adorning the mihrab, mimber and mahfil. The usual motif of stone ornamentation is the muqarnas or stalactite, a combination of prismatic and pyramidal forms combining to form a geometric relief in the space it occupies. Stone decorations are often painted (Pašić, 1989, pp. 27, 28, 157).

Zaim Hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz mosque

            This is the largest mosque in Mostar, and indeed in the whole of Herzegovina, standing on the corner of the eponymous street and Fejić Brothers (Central) street.

            The complex of the Karađoz-beg mosque was built in 1557 close to the bazaar and main road, and consisted of a mosque, medresa, mekteb, han and imaret (Regulatory Plan for the preservation and development of Mostar Old Town, 2001, p. 18).

More detailed information about the building may be found in the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque

            The Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque stands on the left bank of the Neretva, between the river and Kujundžiluk street, about twenty metres south of Mala Tepa.  It is surrounded to the east and north by shops and the market, while to the west and south, where the Neretva flows, it has an open view.  The finest view of this mosque is from the Old Bridge.

            This mosque is one of the finest of Mostar’s monuments.  It belongs to the early Istanbul style of Ottoman architecture, with the following features: the main dome over the prayer space, three smaller domes over the hajat (portico), and a minaret abutting onto the right of the building (Zvonić, 2003, p. 183).

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque

            This is the third mosque in Mostar with a domed roof; architecturally, it differs in certain details from the other two.

            The Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque or mosque “Pod lipom” (under the lime) stands on the left bank of the Neretva at the corner of Tito street and the Clock Tower. It gained its name of Pod lipom from an old lime tree that was planted outside it many years ago (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 25). In architectural details, this mosque is a unique example of the Mediterranean-Dalmatian school of building. 

            More detailed information on the building can be found in the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

 

            Mosques without domes, with hipped roofs and flat wooden ceilings, were built from the start of Ottoman rule, in the classical period, which extends from the last eight decades of the 16th century on. There are more of this type of mosque than of any other. Usually, such mosques are of modest dimensions, but there are also some more substantial ones (the Sulejmanija in Travnik). A distinct type of mosque is that with a wooden dome within a pitched roof, such as the Šarić, Roznamedžija and Tabačica mosques in Mostar, or with a wooden barrel vault (the Magribija mosque in Sarajevo). The finest mosque in this group is the Roznamedžija mosque in Mostar, with an unusually fine minaret (Pašić, 1989, p. 32).

Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque

            The Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque is hard by the left bank of the Neretva, about fifty metres to the east of the Old Bridge, by the Herceguša tower. It has been repaired on many occasions and has consequently lost much of its original appearance. It is known for being the only mosque in Mostar with the minaret on the left hand side of the building.

            More detailed information on the building will be set out as part of the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Roznamedžija Ibrahim efendi mosque

            This mosque stands at the corner of Kreso and Fejić Brothers streets, not far from the left bank of the Neretva, and is one of the most important monuments of Islamic architecture in Mostar. 

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Roznamedži Ibrahim efendi mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Nezir aga mosque

            The Nezir aga mosque or mosque in Spile (Šemovac) stood on the plateau above the Crooked Bridge, not far from the Old Bridge. This site is dominated by the lower section of the Radobolja valley and is one of the most picturesque areas of the old part of the town. Stylistically, the Nezir aga mosque is affiliated to the architectural group of Mostar mosques known as “pločar” (from ploča = slab, plaque, sheet, board, plate), such as the Šarić, Lakišić, and Ćejvan-ćehaja mosques. 

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Nezir-aga mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Hajji Kurt (Tabačica) mosque

            Every one of Mostar’s 36 mosques bears the name of its founder except the Tabačica. It stands in the Priječka čaršija on the right bank of the Neretva, about 100 m. west of the Old Bridge. It was erected on a branch of the Radobolja with two stone arches  vaulting it, and is thus also known as the mosque in which the imam is in the dry and the congregation in the wet (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 115).

            It is one of the finest monuments of Islamic architecture in Mostar, and differs architecturally in certain details from Mostar’s other mosques. The main reason for its distinctiveness is the site and environment in which it was built.

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Hajji Kurt (Tabačica) mosque with Tabhana in Mostar as a national monument.

Hajji Memija Hadžiomerović mosque in Cernica

            The Hajji Memija mosque stands on the corner of Hadžiomerović street and the former Mujaga Komadina street in Cernica. It had a hipped roof clad with stone slabs, and an octagonal stone minaret about 15 m high.

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision to designate the Architectural ensemble of the Hajji Mimija Hadžiomerović mosque in Cernica in Mostar as a national monument.

Buildings no longer in existence

Sinan pasha mosque

            The Sinan pasha mosque stood on Mejdan square, about fifty metres from the left bank of the Neretva and about 300 m north of the Old Bridge. It was known as the Atik (Old) mosque, suggesting that it was the oldest mosque in Mostar. It was built in 878 AH (1473/74) and was one of the most spacious in the town. It was demolished on 30 December 1949. The mosque underwent several alterations, the first in 913 AH (1507/1508), as recorded on an inscription that has not survived. Funds from the Sinan pasha vakuf were also used to build a hamam close to his mosque, which was demolished in 1884 (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 146).

            The travel writer Evliya Çelebi, who passed through Mostar in 1664, writes in his travelogue that the old mosque in Mostar was built in 878 AH (1473). He also referred to an inscription from the mosque, now located over the door to the Vučijaković mosque. Turkish official documents note that in 1478 Mostar had one imam, the leading official in a mosque. This mosque was probably built by the Herzegovina sandžak beg Sinan-beg, who ruled Herzegovina from 1474 to 1475 (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 107).

            In its original form, the mosque was a small building with no minaret or any exterior or interior decoration, but it was later altered and extended, and a minaret was built in 1507 by the second Herzegovina sandžak beg, Sinan pasha Borovinić. The earliest information about this mosque is to be found in the deed of endowment of Murtaga, son of  Abdurahman, dating from 1572.

            The Sinan pasha mosque was a very valuable example of religious architecture in Mostar.  It was built of hewn stone and had a hipped roof clad with slabs. Alongside it stood a tall, solidly built stone minaret entered from the sofas. It was reckoned to be the most spacious mosque in Mostar (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 109).

            The deed of endowment for the mosque has not survived, so nothing is known about what the legator bequeathed for its maintenance. When the land registry was drawn up in 1890, the vakuf of this mosque owned three gardens (2 bašče and one vrt), and four building sites. In 1895 three shops were erected in the Priječka čaršija on behalf of this vakuf from voluntary contributions by prominent Muslims from Mostar to provide for the maintenance of the mosque.

            The mosque underwent several alterations.  In 1887, donations from the local inhabitants supplemented by funds from the Provincial Government were used to alter the roof of the mosque, removing the slabs and replacing them with tiles, and the minaret was entirely rebuilt (Miletić, 1997, p. 50). The last time it underwent major repairs was in 1906, when the roof was replaced by a new one (Archive of the Vakuf Commission in Mostar, doc.no.199/1908). It was demolished on 30 December 1949. The mosque is registered in the land registry of c.m. Mostar no. 3149, c.p.27/41, and together with its antechamber and courtyard occupies an area of 760 sq.m.

            During the Ottoman period, other buildings erected on Mejdan in addition to the mosque were the mehćema (courthouse), hamam and houses for the shari’a judges to live in (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 110).

            Mehćema – from 1473 onwards, a naib or deputy of the Foča kadija had his headquarters in Mostar, which became a kadiluk between 1506 and 1519. The first courthouse was built in Mostar on Mejdan close to the Sinan pasha mosque in the early years of Ottoman rule. It continued to be used for its original purpose until 1833, when Ali pasha Rizvanbegović built his konak at Suhodolina and transferred the court and some other institutions there. From then until the beginning of the 20th century the mehćema on Mejdan was used to house the Vakuf Commission. The building still stands, and has undergone several alterations. It is now used as a private residence.

            Shari’a judges’ residence – The Mostar scholar and mufti Mustafa Ejubović (Sheikh Jujo, 1651-1707) erected a house for the shari’a judges to live in on Mejdan right by the Sinan pasha mosque and the mehćeme.  During the rule of Ali pasha Rizvanbegović, the house came into his possession, and he repaired it and endowed it for the same purpose, as recorded on an inscription incised on a plaque on the building to the right of the main entrance. Between 1878 and 1888 the building housed the city hospital (Archive of the Vakuf Commission of Mostar, minute dated 17 April 1888). The building underwent major repairs in 1960 by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments Mostar. It is currently used as a private residence (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 111).

            By 1631, six mosques had been built in Mostar, the founders of which were ulema, members of the intelligentsia at that time: the Ali Havadža (hojja) mosque in Riljevina by the left bank of the Radobolja (destroyed by fire in 1922; in 1935 its minaret was taken to Jablanica and rebuilt alongside the mosque there), the Bajezid Havadža mosque (destroyed during the war), the Hafiz Havadža mosque in Brankovac (demolished in 1932; a building was erected on the site that now houses the Islamic Community Board, and the minaret was taken to Čapljina in 1932 and rebuilt alongside the mosque there), the Čoša Jahja Havadža, the Husein Havadža (demolished in 1947, although it was in good condition) and the Memi Havadža in Carina (demolished in 1951, although it was in good condition). All had fine stone minarets except the Bajezid Hojja mosque, which had a small minaret. The only one that still survives is the Čoše Jahja Hojja mosque on Musala (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 88).

Masjids – in Bosnia and Herzegovina mosques with no minaret and usually without a mimber are known as masjids. They are small single-storey buildings with a portico, slab roof and no exterior or interior decoration.  As far as is known, there were eleven in Mostar, of which four – the Kamber aga,  Bajezid hojja, Hajji Velija and Husein Kotlo masjids – had small minarets and the others had none. Of these four, the only one to retain its small minaret is the Kotlo masjid in Luka, which was one of a kind not only in Mostar but in Herzegovina as a whole (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 149).

Sultan Selim Javuz masjid

            There was a small masjid right by the Old Bridge, built during the reign of Sultan Selim Javuz I (1512-1520), primarily for the use of the troops guarding the bridge. The masjid had no minaret; instead, the azaan was called from a stone set on top of the Old Bridge by the parapet on the southern side of the bridge.

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Old Bridge and towers in Mostar as a national monument.

Serbian orthodox church complex

            The old Orthodox church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Mostar is located to the east of the town centre, in the area known as Bjelušine, on an elevation above the remains of the Orthodox Cathedral and old Orthodox school.

            Until 1832 there was an older church on the site of the present old Orthodox church; when this older church was built and what it looked like is not known (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 67).  It is known to have been in existence in the 18th century. However, tombstones of priests buried in the cemeteries in Suhodolina, Bjelušine and Pašinovac, dating from the late 17th century, are solid evidence that the church was in existence even before then.

            More detailed information on the old Orthodox church may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the old Orthodox church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Mostar as a national monument.

            In 1873 the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was built in Mostar in the neo-Byzantine style to a design by Andrija Damjanov. It was erected in Perkovina, very close to the old church. Works on the church took ten years and were completed in the autumn (31 October) of 1873 on St Luke’s day.

            More detailed information on the building of the Orthodox Cathedral may be found in the Decision designating the Site and remains of the historic building of the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Mostar as a national monument.

Jewish synagogue

            According to a Jewish almanac for 1928/29 and statistics on Judaism of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, there was a synagogue in Mostar as early as 1889. The synagogue was created by adapting a building that had previously been used for storing hay. The plot on which the place of worship stood lay along the former Mukić street (Šarić Brothers street). The premises were small, and with the growing needs of the Jews of Mostar it became necessary to build a larger synagogue. A record of the construction of the synagogue was drawn up on 7 June 1904 with full documentation.

            More detailed information on the building is to be found in the Decision to designate the Historic building of the Synagogue in Mostar as a national monument.

BRIDGES

Complex of the Old Bridge and Towers

            The Old Bridge complex is the city’s most important cultural and historical feature, and indeed is one of the most important historical features in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.

            Part of the entire urban ensemble forming a unique conglomeration and cultural and historical entity was formed around the site of the Old Bridge prior to its construction, but most of it is of later date than the Old Bridge, mainly from the 16th to 19th century. It consists of  the bridge itself, two towers (the Tara Herceguša and the Halebija-Halebnik-Ćelovina), the mosque of Sultan Selim Javuz, mills, storerooms and the deep, rocky bed of the Neretva.

            More detailed information on the complex may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Old Bridge and towers in Mostar as a national monument.

Kriva Ćuprija or Crooked Bridge on the Radobolja (in the Priječka čaršija)

About 100 metres upstream from its confluence with the Neretva, there is a small single-arched stone bridge over the Radobolja, known as the Crooked Bridge. The earliest reference to the bridge is in Ćejvan ćehaja’s deed of endowment of 4 October 1558.

Along with the Sultan Selim masjid and the Ćejvan ćehaja mosque, the bridge on the Radobolja is the oldest surviving structure (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 45).

More detailed information on the structure will be provided as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Priječka čaršija in Mostar as a national monument.

Oručević bridge

            A small single-arched stone bridge stood about a hundred metres below the Crooked Bridge, and was known as the Oručević bridge. There is an attractive drawing of the bridge in Heinrich Renner’s travelogue Durch Bosnien und die Hercegovina, clearly showing that the bridge had a single arch and a parapet at the sides. Available sources provide no further information on this bridge (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 117).

            The assumption is that the bridge was built after the Old Bridge. In 1893 the bridge was destroyed by a flash flood (Miletić, 1997, p. 19). 

            More detailed information on this structure will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Priječka čaršija in Mostar as a national monument.

Bridge at Luka

            After the construction of the new bridge at Musala and as a consequence of the rapid development of the town, it became increasingly necessary to build a third bridge over the Neretva linking Čekrk and Luka. The first public demand for this came as early as 1891.

            The final site for the bridge was chosen in 1907. On the left bank, it was necessary to demolish the Kamber-aga masjid and some shops, while on the right the exit from the bridge went through the Great Bazaar. The ensuing years saw clashes between certain city councillors, so that the project was not implemented until 1910, when Mayor Mujaga Komadina entered the stage. That same year he commissioned eng. Miloš Komadina to draw up a design for the bridge, which was completed by February 1911.

            The plan envisaged the construction of a single-span reinforced concrete bridge, and included all the necessary elevations and a drawing of the bridge and the approach roads on both banks; it was subsequently followed for the construction of the bridge. In addition to this design, the city authorities received another three designs for the bridge in 1911 and 1912, of which one was for a new bridge of steel grid construction. However, by decision of the authorities work began on building the bridge in late June and early July 1912, when the water level was at its lowest, using Miloš Komadina’s design.

            Two rectangular concrete piers were built in the narrower part of the bed, in the river Neretva itself, right up by the left and right banks, longitudinally to the course of the Neretva. On each of these concrete piers, vertical wooden scaffolding was erected, each with four poles arranged fan-wise.

            In June 1913 a design to alter the parapet of the bridge was drawn up, based on which the lampposts and the parapet itself were constructed.

            In late June 1913 the bridge was opened and it was decided that it be named the Mujaga Komadina bridge (Miletić, 1983, pp. 235-250)

MEMORIALS, MAUSOLEA (TURBES), BURIAL GROUNDS

Buildings erected in the Ottoman period

            The land register reveals that at the start of the Austro-Hungarian period in 1878 there were about fifty burial grounds and cemeteries in Mostar, associated with every mosque and in every quarter of the town.

            The burial grounds alongside mosques came into use at the same time as the mosques were built. During the exhumation of graves in two large burial grounds in Carina, other older graves were found at a depth of about two metres, evidence that burials were conducted here in mediaeval times and perhaps even earlier.

            Mostar’s burial grounds were named for the founders of the mosques alongside which they stood or the place in which they were located. The oldest tombstones, the so-called šehitski nišani or shahids’/martyrs’ tombstones, were made of hard white limestone and were prismatic or flat in shape. They bore no epitaphs, but some had incised rosettes or floral ornamentation, and a few bore swords. In the burial ground by the Karađoz beg mosque there are three such tombstones, dating from the earliest years of Turkish rule. In their prismatic form without any decoration but merely a small hollow in the centre of the top of the slab, they represent a transitional form from the stećak tombstone to the later more elongated nišan tombstone.

            Exhumation of burial grounds and the demolition of tombstones began with the start of Austro-Hungarian rule:

  • until 1884 the site of the old railway station had been the big Lakišić burial ground, covering an area of 19 dunums. After the railway station was built the nišan tombstones were exhumed and transfered to Kantarevac, where a new burial ground had been made, and built into the wall around it. In 1949 this burial ground was turned into a park and all the nišans in and around it were destroyed;
  • when the railway line was laid through mostar in 1884 another burial ground, this one in Podhum, was destroyed -  the Jabandžijski or bećarski harem, where foreign bachelors who had been working and living in the tannery were buried;
  • in or about 1885 a road was laid through the Šarić harem immediately below the mosque. This, the largest burial ground in Mostar, was thus divided into two and many nišan  tombstones with decorations and epitaphs were destroyed in the process;
  • between 1918 and 1945 many burial grounds were exhumed and many nišan tombstones destroyed (Hasandedić, 1980, pp. 187, 190).

During the Turkish period, seven turbes were built in Mostar, in various quarters of the town. Three still survive, the others have been demolished: Sheikh Mahmud  Baba, Mustafa Ejubović (Sheikh Jujo), Sheikh Derviš Ishak, Mehmed-aga Kreho, Sheikh Ismail Opijač, Sheikh Mustafa Jusufović, and Nura hanuma's turbes (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 99).

Sheikh Mahmud-baba’s turbe

            This turbe stands on Mala Tepa, and is of simple workmanship and medium size. It had a small open hajat outside the door, supported by four slender wooden pillars.The turbe itself had a slab-clad roof in the form of a four-sided pyramid.  In early 1951 the roof of the turbe and the hajat outside the entrance door collapsed. The turbe was reconstructed in 1991, and is now in good condition. Sheikh Mahmud baba’s grave was in the centre of the turbe – a medium-sized sarcophagus with two nišan tombstones.

            The turbe was built of quarry stone and roofed with slabs.  It had a small hajat some 60 cm above ground level with its roof supported by four slender wooden pillars. Mahmud’s grave is in the centre of the turbe, a sarcophagus made of stone slabs with two nišan tombstones, the headstone of the shape used for the ulema (Hasandedić, 1980, pp. 31,99).

            The epitaph on Mahmud-baba’s nišan in his turbe is incised in Turkish on all four sides of the headstone with its turban, using fine naskh script. The epitaph gives the year of his death as 980 AH (1572). The stone plaque with an inscription recording the renovation of the turbe in Turkish verse is written in fine nasta’liq script. The plaque is cracked across the middle and the letters are damaged in places. The year of renovation of the turbe is given as 1293 AH (1876) (Mujezinović, 1998, pp. 274, 275)

Sheikh Derviš  Ishak’s turbe

            Sheikh Ishak’s turbe was originally in the Mala Carina harem, but when the burial ground was exhumed in 1965 to build the railway station, it was transferred to the courtyard of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque, where it still stands. 

            More detailed information on this turbe may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Mehmed aga Kreho’s turbe

            Until 1937, there stood in the courtyard to the right of the Kjosa Jahja Hojja mosque the double turbe of Mehmed-aga Kreho (his wife was buried in the second grave) dating from 1174 AH (1760).  In that year all the graves outside the mosque and in the harem to the right of it were exhumed, and shops were built on the site (in 1938, using funds from Hasan-beg Lakišić’s vakuf, a representative building was erected on the harem to the right of the mosque; it was destroyed during the 1992-95 war). During the exhumation the turbe was dismantled and stacked beside the mosque. (A few unexhumed graves with their nišan tombstones remained outside the mihrab of the mosque; all that now remain are the tombstones of Hajji Abdulah-aga Bećar, son of Ahmed-aga, who died in 1290 AH (1873).) (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 91).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Musala in Mostar as a national monument.

Mausoleum of Osman Đikić

            Osman Đikić was born in Mostar in 1879. He was known as a man of letters, a poet and publicist, a prominent politician and worker for culture and education. He died in Mostar in 1912 and was buried in the large harem in Carina where the railway station and bus station now stand.  In 1936 his bones were transferred from the Carina harem and reinterred in the small harem opposite the Karađoz-beg mosque. A stone slab sarcophagus was then erected over his grave, and a turbe was built of bricks.

            More detailed information on this mausoleum may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Šehitluci

            In the past, there was a burial ground known by this name in Brankovac, opposite the Vučijaković mosque. By tradition, it acquired the name because shahids (martyrs) were buried here who had died of the plague or, according to another tradition, who fell in battle when Mostar was conquered in 1468. In or around 1955 the burial ground was turned into a park and all the nišan tombstones that had stood there were destroyed (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 188). During the 1992-95 war, burials again took place in this burial ground.

            More detailed information on this complex may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Old Orthodox cemeteries

            The old Orthodox cemetery at Pašinovac is in the north-east area of Mostar, about 350 m from the cemetery in Bjelušine, very close to the remains of the Orthodox Cathedral, old Orthodox church and old Orthodox school. The cemetery in Pašinovac is on a slope facing the town, i.e. south-west.

            More detailed information on this monument is to be found in the Decision to designate the Historic site of the old Orthodox cemetery at Pašinovac in Mostar as a national monument.

            More detailed information on this monument is to be found in the Decision to designate the Historic site of the old Orthodox cemetery at Bjelušine in Mostar as a national monument.

EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS

Buildings dating from the Ottoman period

            Until the end of the 18th century, only two kinds of educational facilities were in use in Mostar: mektebs and medresas. Mektebs were primary religious schools providing basic religious knowledge, while medresas roughly corresponded to the modern secondary or high school and provided their graduates with secondary and higher religious education (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 73).

MEKTEBS

            The first buildings marking the start of construction of a given settlement were mosques with mektebs built alongside them.  Mektebs were built in every settlement from the earliest days of Turkish rule in the mid 15th century, and are among the first and most numerous examples of Islamic architecture in this part of the world.

            All educational buildings, including both mektebs and medresas, originated as the endowment of an individual, and almost every mahala or village had its own mekteb. These were primary schools for the religious and moral education and upbringing of children and mastering the Arabic script. Mektebs were for boys, girls or mixed. In terms of their foundation and maintenance, they could be vakuf mektebs, national mektebs or temporary.

            If built as a separate building, a mekteb would have one large room for the pupils. They were single-storey or two-storey buildings, with the mekteb occupying only one floor in the majority of cases.  Each would invariably have a single large classroom. They were built by local craftsmen and relied largely on house-building techniques.  Most of the mektebs in Herzegovina were stone-built with stone slab roofs (Bećirbegović, 1974, pp. 251-267).

            The first reference to a mekteb in Mostar is to be found in Ćejvan’s deed of endowment dating from 1554.  This was certainly not the first mekteb to be built in Mostar, however, for it is inconceivable that the town had been without a single mekteb for more than eighty years.

            It is not known exactly how many mektebs were built in Mostar up to 1878. Based on deeds of endowment and other documents, it is clear that by that date the following mektebs had been founded: Ćejvan-ćehaja's, Karađoz-beg's, Nesuh-aga Vučijaković's, Hajji Balija's, Derviš-pasha Bajezidagić's, Hajji Ibrahim-aga Šarić's, Hajji Ahmed-aga Lakišić's, Hajji Ahmed-aga Pitić's, and Hajji Muhamed-aga Spahić's mektebs, the mekteb by the Hajji Memija mosque in Cernica, the mekteb in Memina (Cernica) mahala, the mekteb in Buka medrese, the mekteb in the Koski Mehmed-pasha medresa, and the Čišić mekteb.  (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 73)

Mekteb by the Hajji Memija mosque in Cernica

            This mekteb is a typical example of a single-roomed mekteb. The mosque was built in the 17th century, but it is not known if the mekteb is of the same date. It was built in the mosque courtyard and consisted only of a classroom (Bećirbegović, 1974, p. 257; Zvonić, 2000, p. 151).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Hajji Memija Hadžiomerović mosque in Cernica in Mostar as a national monument.

Mekteb by the Nezir aga mosque

            In the early 19th century, the Hajji Muhamed-aga Spahić mekteb was built close to Nezir aga’s mosque, to the west. It remained in use until 1901, when it was turned into a private house, and in 1951 was pulled down and earthed over, as was the mosque.

            More detailed information on this complex may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Nezir-aga mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Symphony orchestra (former Cernica sibjan-mekteb)

            The building is in the old town centre, close to the Old Bridge, by the river Neretva, in Cernica.  The site on which it stands has an area of about 900 sq.m. and is designated in the cadastre as c.p. 5666, c.m. Mostar II. The building lies north-east/south-west.

            It was built of stone with load bearing walls 50 cm thick and partition walls of brick 12 cm thick.  The floor joists between the storeys were of timber, and a stone staircase led to the upper floor  The roof was wooden, clad with sheet metal.  The windows and doors were wooden.

            The building was erected in 1898 in the pseudo-Moorish style. The ground floor front façade was decorated with rectangular panels with simple geometric motifs. The roof cornice area was pierced by small arched windows. It was used by various institutions between its construction and its demolition: the Cernica sibjan mekteb, the mekteb ibtidaija/mekteb-i iptidai, the mufti’s office, the vakuf commission, the primary school and the symphony orchestra.

            In 1992 the building was shelled and set on fire. In 1997 a facsimile reconstruction of the building was carried out, with the interior arranged to revive the activities of diplomatic offices in Mostar (City Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Mostar).

Karađoz beg mekteb

            This mekteb was located close to the eponymous mosque at the corner of Central (Fejić Brothers) and Solaković streets. It was built prior to 1570, as revealed by Karađoz beg’s deed of endowment, in which he orders that a mualim be installed in the mekteb with a daily wage of five dirhams. The mekteb was demolished in 1892, and on the site, and that of the former Karađoz beg han and imaret, a large two-storey building was erected in 1894, known as the Vakuf Hall (Hasandedić, 2000, p. 14).

            More detailed information on this building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

MEDRESAS    

            As far is known, a medresa was built in all of BiH’s larger towns from the early 16th century on. Medresas were secondary and higher schools providing religious and shari’a law education and teaching oriental languages. They were organized boarding schools. They were built, as were mektebs, on the initiative of individuals as vakufs, and as a result vakufnamas are the most important documents providing details of medreses. A study of the layout of these buildings reveals that the following types of medresa were built in BiH: enclosed, with an inner courtyard; U-shaped medresas; L-shaped medresas; elongated medresas; and dershana medresas (dershana: classroom, lecture room).

            In Mostar there were nine medresas for which certain facts are known:

  • the Karađoz beg medresa, built between 1557 and 1570;
  • the Koski Mehmed pasha medresa, built around 1620;
  • the Ćejvan beg (Ćejvan-ćehaja) medresa, built after 1558;
  • the Roznamedži Ibrahim efendi medresa, built around 1612;
  • the Derviš pasha Bajezidagić medresa, built around 1601;
  • the Hajji Balija medresa, built after 1612, rebuilt in the 19th century;
  • the Mostarac (Darusseade) Ahmed aga medresa, built before 1654;
  • the Hajji Velija (Deli) medresa, built before 1648;
  • the Buka medresa, probably built in the late 16th century;
  • the Hanikah medresa of Sheikh Ismail Opijač, built in 1668

The only one of the nine that has survived is the Karađoz beg medresa, but there is a known reconstruction of the ground plan for the Roznamedži medresa (Bećirbegović, 1974, pp. 251-283).

With the exception of the Buka medresa, common to all these medresas is that they were built right beside a  mosque. All were built of hewn stone and had gabled roofs clad with slabs, with the exception of the Karađoz beg medresa, with characteristic tall chimneys. In front of each medresa was a porch with its roof formed by an extension of the main roof, resting on several slender pillars. Outside was a spacious courtyard (Kasumović, 1999, p. 187).

All the medresas of Mostar on which there is any information were small buildings with between four and ten small rooms and one large one, the lecture room or dershana. The smaller rooms were used to house the pupils and the larger ones for classes. In some medresas one room, usually larger than the pupils’ rooms, was set aside as a library (kutubhana). By 1918 all the medresas had ceased to be used as such. Some of them were demolished and some of them were used, after World War II, as housing for the poor (Stanić, Sandžaktar, 1967, p. 87).

Some of the medresas in Mostar were vaulted and were probably clad in sheet lead, like the Karađoz beg medresa, which was probably removed for the needs of war. Instead of sheet lead, the medresas were roofed with stone slabs on a gabled roof, with rubble spread on the exterior vault beforehand to level the roof. One of the features typical of Mostar’s medresas is their tall chimneys over almost every room. The walls of the medresas were built mainly of hewn and pointed sandstone and tenelija (a local oolitic limestone rock), and the vaults of a combination of dripstone and tenelija. There is no specific information available about who built them, but they were probably local craftsmen (Stanić, Sandžaktar, 1967, p. 90).

Karađoz beg medresa

The medresa was built on the left hand side in the courtyard of the eponymous mosque in such a way as to appear to have its own courtyard with a šadrvan fountain, but in fact forming a single architectural complex with the fountain shared between the two buildings (Kasumović, 1999, p. 189).

            More detailed information on this building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Koski Mehmed pasha medresa

            Until February 1951, a hanikah medresa of the same vakif stood immediately facing the mosque some ten metres to the north. The exact year when the hanikah medresa was built is not known, but it was certainly built after the completion of the mosque in 1617. (Hasandedić, 2000, pp. 22, 27, 28).

            More detailed information may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Ćejvan beg (Ćejvan-ćehaja) medresa

            This was one of the oldest medresas in Mostar, and was built with funds from the Ćejvan-ćehaja vakuf. It stood on Velika Tepa to the right of the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque, hard by the left bank of the Neretva (Kasumović, 1999, p. 187).

            More detailed information on the building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Roznamedži Ibrahim efendi medresa

            The largest medresa in Mostar was the Roznamedži Ibrahim efendi or Kreso medresa, which stood opposite the eponymous mosque, not far from the left bank of the Neretva. 

            More detailed information on this complex may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Rozmamedži Ibrahim efendi mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

SERBIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

            There is evidence that there was a Serbian school in Mostar as long ago as the late 18th century. In 1850 there was a two-roomed Serbian school right by the old church on Suhodolina, known as the Old Mostar school, which had 150 pupils that year; the teacher was Jovan Miličević (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 87). This building was the Serbian girls’ school, built by the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, who sent 400 roubles (120 ducats) for its maintenance every year until 1878. The school was in Suhodolina below the new Orthodox church, and had a courtyard surrounded by a high wall, and a garden. When a new school was built in Carina in 1910, pupils from the old school moved into the new building and the one in Suhodolina was closed (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 88).

            A Serbian primary school was built in Marshal Tito and Alica Ruzalik streets in Mostar to a 1909 design by Đorđe Knežić, in the then modern Art Nouveau style (Krzović, 1987, p. 220).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic monument of the Serbian primary school in Mostar as a national monument.

GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL

            One of the largest buildings to be erected in the 19th century was built on the High Street opposite the Ćejvan ćehaja mosque to the order of Mustafa Komadina on the site of the former Kalhan han, which was demolished in 1891 (Miletić, 1997, p. 47).

            The building was erected between 1893 and 1901 by the businessman, and later Mayor of Mostar, Mujaga Komadina, and later sold to the Municipality. The construction works were divided into four stages: the first was the construction of the main building of the girls' school on the corner of High Street and Kalhan street; the second was to extend it along the High Street; the third entailed bulding a wing at right angles along Kalhan street; and finally a sports hall and playground were added, connecting with the upper school courtyard. (Karahasanović, 2003, p. 43).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic monument of the Girls’ high school in Mostar as a national monument.

SECULAR BUILDINGS

Buildings dating from the Ottoman period

Sahat-kula or Clock tower

            The legator Fatima kaduna Šarić built the clock tower in Mostar before 1636, at the edge of the čaršija on an elevated site, enabling it to be seen from most of the town. It is 16,0 m high and has five storeys. The old clock remained in use until 1926, and from 1981 the building was in use, fully restored and with a new clock installed (Pašić, 1989, p. 54).

            More detailed information on the tower may be found in the Decision designating the Historic monument of the Clock Tower in Mostar as a national monument.

            Piped water supplies – it is not known when exactly Mostar acquired its first water main, but it was certainly before 1610. Until then, the inhabitants took their water direct from the Neretva and Radobolja, which were clean until the introduction of mains sewers.

            Until the water pipes and drinking fountains were installed, some legators stipulated that special officials be appointed whose job was to bring water to fill the water-butts in the courtyards of the mosques throughout the day. This water was used solely for abdest, the ritual ablutions before prayer.

            It can be ascertained from the surviving deeds of endowment that the vakufs of Ćejvan and Nesuh Vučijaković, founded in the mid 16th century, had such officials. The service continued to be provided even after 1610 when Mostar acquired piped water.

            Barrels – some legators left small legacies for special officials to be appointed to bring water in barrels to the busiest parts of the čaršija;

            Đerizi (channels) – a whole network of channels developed very early in the western part of Mostar between Zahum and the Neretva. Cernica was formerly crisscrossed by a dense network of channels flowing through the courtyards of many houses and gardens and discharging into the Neretva. Until piped water was introduced, the water from these channels was used for the needs of the household.

            Cisterns – until the water main was built, and even afterwards, in some quarters of Mostar cisterns were built from which the inhabitants drew their water. It is not known exactly how many were built prior to 1878 nor where they were located.  It is known that there were cisterns in the courtyards of several mosques: the Husein hojja, Bajezid hojja, Hajji Velija, Čurći Ahmed and Hajji Salih Temim mosques. These cisterns were demolished and filled in at the same time as the mosques to which they belonged. There is a cistern by the Muslibegović house in Brankovac, built at the same time as the house in 1876. This is not only the most recent cistern dating from the Ottoman period, but also the only one in the town to have survived.  It was constructed so that water could be extracted from it with a bucket and also flow through a tap set below the cistern in the basement of the building (Hasandedić, 1980, pp. 129-131).

            Water mains – during the Ottoman period, two water mains were built in Mostar. One ran from Bakšim to Ilići, and the other from Djevojačka voda to Carina. The first had about sixty outlets and supplied the entire western part of Mostar and part of the eastern area with water.  The second had only fifteen outlets and supplied Carina to Mejdan with water (Peez, 1891, p. 45).  The water main ran through pinewood pipes about 1.20 m long, which were cut in Borci above Konjic. The water main from Djevojačka voda also supplied three šadrvan fountains and twelve drinking fountains outside the mosques in Carina and at various crossroads. In 1885 the Austro-Hungarian authorities built a new water main from the source of the Radobolja, which initially had 53 outlets. With the arrival of the Austro-Hungarians the water main in Carina was neglected and abandoned and ceased working (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 132). The new water main was built according to the pressure system (Peez, 1891, p. 19).

            Šadrvan fountains – these were built only in the courtyards of mosques, medresas, tekkes and hamams. They were designed not only to provide water for abdest before prayer but also to adorn these courtyards. Mostar’s šadrvans were similar to others built prior to 1878 in this part of the world, consisting of a small basin from which the water overflowed into a larger, from which in turn it ran out through six or eight spigots. All Mostar’s šadrvans had pyramidal slab-covered roofs resting on six or eight stone columns linked by arches. There were five well-known šadrvans in Mostar: outside the Karađoz beg, Koski Mehmed pasha, Ćejvan ćehaja and Hafiz hojja mosques, and outside the Roznamedži Ibrahim efendi medresa, which was the largest and most beautiful in Mostar. The only ones to survive now are those outside the Karađoz beg and Koski Mehmed pasha mosques, where they are still in use (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 135).  All these šadrvans are on the left bank of the Neretva, and except for the Ćejvan ćehaja and Koski Mehmed pasha šadrvans, were supplied with water from the pipe running from Djevojačka voda to Carina. There were also šadrvans in the Sinan pasha and Ćejvan ćehaja hamams and in the tanner by the Old Bridge. These šadrvans were of the enclosed type and were used only by visitors to the baths and by the tanners working in the tannery.

            Sebilj – these are charitable public fountains constructed in the form of a small square kiosk from which water is drawn by copper ladles. Their name derives from the fact that they stand alongside public ways (sabil is the Arabic for road), and their water was used primarily by passers-by. Mostar is one of the few places in BiH that had such facilities. Mostar’s sebilj differed from those of other places in not being located in a purpose-built building and not having water piped from a spring but brought from the Neretva in barrels. The inventory of the sebilj consisted of barrels and ladles. Prior to 1732, Osman, son of Husein, built a sebilj in the ground floor of the minaret of the Kanber aga mosque in Luka, which was fed by water from the Neretva raised by a winch alongside the Neretva not far from the mosque. It is not known exactly when it ceased being used, but it was demolished in 1916 at the same time as the mosque (Hasandedić, 1980, pp. 139, 140).

            Česme or drinking fountains – just before World War II more than sixty public drinking fountains were in use  in Mostar. In 1913 a public convenience was built on the main street in Velika Tepa at the very top where it forks towards the Old Bridge, to a design by Dragutin Kohler.  This was demolished after World War II and metal kiosks now occupy the spot. On the east wall at the very edge of the outer pavement a fountain was installed which was dismantled in the 1960s when the public conveniences were demolished (Miletić, 1997, pp. 86, 92).

            Česmanski vakuf – during the Turkish period, Mostar had a functioning “česmanski vakuf”, an institution that is not found anywhere else in BiH. It is not known when it was first established and by whom; only that several people endowed funds the income from which was used to repair the mains water system. The vakuf was abolished in the late 19th century and all its assets transferred to the Karađoz beg vakuf (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 141).

HAMAMS

            Many larger towns in BiH had public baths during the Ottoman period. Only Sarajevo, Foča and Travnik had more baths than Mostar, which had two hamams, one by the old Sinan pasha mosque quite close to the right bank of the Neretva and the other somewhat further away from the left bank, right by the tannery and Tabačka mosque. The first hamam belonged to Sinan pasha’s vakuf and the second to that of Ćejvan ćehaja. Both were built for a single sex, men only or women only, or were used at different times of day, or on different days, by men and by women. The Mostar hamams were substantial buildings of hewn stone with domed roofs (Kreševljaković III, 1991, pp. 63,20).

            Only one of these two baths still exists. They were founded prior to 1664, when they are first referred to by Evliya Çelebi (Çelebi, 1996, p. 467). Both were unisex, so men and women could not use them at the same time. One belonged to the Sinan pasha vakuf on Mejdan by the eponymous mosque, and the other to Ćejvan ćehaja's vakuf, by the tannery (Hasandedić. 1980, p. 143).

Ćejvan beg hamam

            The Ćejvan beg hamam is on the right bank of the Neretva very close to the tannery and Tabačica mosque. It is not known exactly when it was built or when it fell into disuse. It was built later than 1558, for there is no mention of it in Ćejvan beg’s deed of endowment; and earlier than 1664, when Evliya Çelebi mentions it in his travelogue (Kreševljaković III, 1991, p. 65; Hasandedić, 2000, p. 47).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Tabačica mosque with tabhana in Mostar as a national monument.   

HANS AND CARAVANSERAIS

            Hans were built in or very close to the čaršija. They were mainly used as resting places and overnight hostels for kiridžija/kiracı or travelling merchants with horses and their caravans, but also for doing business.  When the custom of drinking coffee and providing alcoholic drinks in the hans took hold in this part of the world, the hans turned into cafés and inns.

As well as hans, towns, villages and roadsides would have musafirhanas, often charitable institutions where travellers could not only spend the night but also receive food for themselves and their horses at no charge.

Both han and caravanserai are words taken from the Persian. Han (khan) means a building where travellers could spent the night, which is the same as the meaning of caravanserai. The difference between a han and a caravanserai was that in a han travellers paid for their overnight stay and for heating in winter, while overnight accommodation in a caravanserai was free, but travellers had to provide their own food and heating. In addition, there was at least some basic furniture in a han, but none in a caravanserai. (Kreševljaković III, 1991, pp. 255-269).

The erection of hans in Mostar dates from the earliest days of the town’s development.  Mostar’s hans were built to the same pattern as other hans in this part of the world, consisting of a ground floor with stabling for horses and an upper floor with rows of rooms for travellers to spend the night. All had a spacious courtyard, usually with a drinking fountain, which was entered from the street. Known hans were the Ćejvan ćehaja, Karađoz beg, Koski Mehmed pasha, Džinović, Kalhan, Ševo, Hindo and Ćirić hans and the Hotel Europa. All of them, except the latter, were closed soon after the arrival of the Austro-Hungarians, and either demolished or converted into housing by the end of the 19th century (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 157).

The oldest han in Mostar was built by Ćejvan ćehaja prior to 1558, and was below the cave in Kujundžiluk. Others were the Karađoz beg han (before 1570) opposite his mosque, the Koski Mehmed pasha han or caravanserai, the Džinović (Kalhana) han, the Ševo han, the Hindo han, the han in Kulluk, the Ćirić han, the Čadro han, the Lelek han, the Balto han and the han of the Orthodox parish. Trade was conducted in most of the hans in Mostar. All were closed soon afer the Austro-Hungarian occupiation, and demolished or converted by the end of the 19th century (Pašić, 1989, p. 57).

Caravanserais (representative hans) in major trade centres were always two-storey, and had an inner courtyard similar to a square atrium. There were porticos around the atrium on all four sides. The ground floor had storerooms for goods and stabling for horses, and the upper floor rooms for sleeping and a café. Koski Mehmed pasha’s han was the largest in Mostar, and had many of the features of a caravanserai.

With the arrival of the Austro-Hungarians, all the hans in town were closed. The buildings were later destroyed, and new ones with different architectural features and used for different purposes were built on the sites (Tuzlak, 2002, p. 24).

The only surviving han is the Europa, at the start of Kujundžiluk, while the Hindo han on the bank of the Radobolje by the Small Bridge has been reconstructed (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 33).

Koski Mehmed pasha caravanserai (Čardagija han)

            In the autumn of 1954, during the demolition of some dilapidated buildings to erect two blocks of flats, the remains of a huge old building were discovered, the original purpose of which it was hard to determine. A little further along, in the former Radulović basement, four imposing columns were discovered, made of carefully cut stone, which from their dimensions and workmanship must have belonged to some architecturally important and substantial building (Čelić, Mujić, 1956, pp. 261-264).

            More detailed information on this building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque and medresa in Mostar as a national monument.

Hindo han

            This building is a good example of a smaller han. It was built in the 17th century and destroyed during the 1960s. It stood at the end of the bazaar below the Nezir aga mosque in Josovina, 100 m south-west of the Old Bridge, on the bank of the Radobolja. It was a two-storey building with a stone-built ground floor and half-timbered upper floor. The stone ground floor with small windows was used for storing goods and for stabling. The upper floor, with a view of the Neretva, was used as overnight accommodation for guests. The building had a hipped roof clad with stone slabs. It was reconstructed as part of the Rehabilitation of the Historic Neighborhoods project led by AKTC/WMF. The building had townscape value, with its major quality the location with a view of the Old Bridge and the Neretva (Rehabilitation of the Historic Neighborhoods, 2001, p. 58).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Priječka čaršija in Mostar as a national monument.

Karađoz-beg han

            Hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz erected a han opposite his mosque, at the corner of Srednja (Braća Fejić) and Solaković streets. All that is known is that it was built prior to 1570, since it is mentioned in his deed of endowment.

            More detailed information on this building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar as a national monument.

Hotel Europa han

            This building stand on Kuluk street in Kujundžiluk. It had two rooms on the upper floor and three shops on the ground floor. The main entrance to the han was from Marshal Tito street and the side entrance from Kuluk street. It was given the name Hotel Europa after 1878. It is the only han building dating from the Ottoman period to survive. In about 1950 major conservation and restoration works were carried out on the building, when it was turned into a café.  (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 161).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Kujundžiluk čaršija in Mostar as a national monument.

Buildings dating from the Austro-Hungarian period

National Bank

            The branch of the National Bank in Tito street, Mostar, was erected in 1910 to a design by the architect Josip Vancaš. It is in the Secessionist style, and the design marks the start of this architect’s interest in this subject (Krzović, 1987, p. 129). It stands in Tito street in Mostar. In 1958, another floor was built on the terrace above the ground floor of the building to the east, which in architecture and the use of materials fits perfectly with the existing structure. The building was used as a bank until 1980, when it was turned into the local League of Communists’ headquarters. A certain number of alterations and extensions were then made to the northern part of the building, by the courtyard. The building was damaged in early 1992 but it should be possible to restore the majority of its architectural forms. The design and decoration on the National Bank were inspired by the Secessionist movement, the Austrian variant of Art Nouveau, the influence of which is visible in the organic forms around the windows and eaves. The striking entrance is also inspired by Secessionist motifs, and makes the bank one of the most recognizable buildings in Mostar. It should be restored to its original use of financial services (Karahasanović, 2003, p. 43).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic monument of the National Bank in Mostar as a national monument.

Council offices

            The design for the conversionb of the mayor’s house into council offices in Tito street, Mostar, was by Josip Vancaš, and is in the Secessionist style (Krzović, 1987, p. 129).

            This building is one of the examples of monumental architecture from the Austro-Hungarian period that created different street fronts in Tito street (Karahasanović, 2003, p. 26).  In 1898 work began on a large office building on the High Street to a design by Josip Vancaš, on the site of the former Džinović han, which burned down in 1896. The owner of the building, Mujaga Komadina, rented the building out to the Austro-Hungarian army. The ground floor was later used for commercial purposes. During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the well known firms of Tivar and Bata had shops there, and in 1936 the Korzo cinema was opened there on the north-eastern corner. The cinema remained open until 1957, and the design for the alteration of the building was by Miroslav Loose. The upper floors of the building were used for educational purposes, with the teacher training college and primary school located there, and other schools as well for a time. For many years, until 1992, the Mostar municipal council offices were housed there.The building was destroyed in May and June 1992 (Miletić, 1997, p. 53).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic monument of the Council offices in Mostar as a national monument.

Vakuf Hall

            This unique building was unusual in uniting two different predominant styles in the architecture of the Austro-Hungarian period in Mostar. At first glance it is a large masonry building divided into three blocks and three storeys, typical of the neo-classicist style. The ground floor is rusticated, with rectangular windows arranged in the manner of the Council offices, but a more detailed inspection reveals the ornamental scheme, which is not so classical.

            This combination of the Renaissance solidity of the building with Islamized ornamentation is an original local variant of the Bosnian oriental style, to be seen also on the Gymnasium building in Mostar and the Town Hall in Sarajevo. The building dominates this part of Fejić Brothers street both in size and in its lively exterior decoration (AKTC&WMF, 1998, p. 103).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic monument of the Vakuf Hall in Mostar as a national monument.

Bishop’s Palace – Metropolitan’s Palace

            The Metropolitan’s Palace was built in 1903 for the Orthodox bishop on one of the highest points on the east side of Mostar, so that it is visible from almost every major point in the town. It is an excellent example of the manifestation of multicultural life in Mostar at the beginning of the 20th century, and an elegant symbol of Mostar’s pluralism. Grandiose, elegant and monumental, the palace is also significant as a symbol of urban religious pluralism. It should continue to be used for religious and similar purposes by the owner, the Serbian Orthodox community. It is owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Zahum Herzegovina provenience.

            More detailed information on this building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Bishop’s Palace or Metropolitan’s Palace in Mostar as a national monument.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Mahalas – residential complexes

            Mahalas were residential zones with their own mosque, shopping centre, school and other local institutions. Every mahala had its own administrative and social system of security that contributed to the identity of the mahala itself and its high degree of internal cohesiveness. The poorer inhabitants were always under the patronage of rich families from the neighbourhood, which meant that there were no extreme social differences.

            In Mostar, unlike the čaršija, which developed as densely concentrated by the Old Bridge over a short space of time, residential quarters arose freely outside that context over a longer period. As the town grew, so too the number of mahalas increased. The first residential microregion emerged not far from the Old Bridge, around Mejdan square, where the provincial governor Sinan pasha built a mosque in 1474. Three years later, as recorded in the Tapu tahri defter, Mostar had 19 houses.

            The greatest population growth occurred in the mid 16th century, in line with the rapid economic growth of the town. In 1566 Mostar had a few mahalas on the left bank with their own masjids and four Friday mosques. In 1633, it had 24 mahalas (sidžil of the Mostar kadija no. 1, in the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo), and by 1670 had reached population numbers that would barely increase until the Austro-Hungarian occupation (Pašić, 1989, p. 73).

            It may be deduced from the number of mosques that Mostar had 32 mahalas at the end of the 18th century. The mahalas on the left bank of the Neretva are:

  • Sinan pasha (878/79 AH – 1473/74) extending from the Sinan pasha mosque towards the Old Bridge to below Kula/Tower
  • Brankovac (Vučijaković mosque, 1518)
  • Ćejvan ćehaja (959/60 AH – 1552/53) extending from the eponymous mosque to Luka, i.e.. Kamber aga mahala
  • Karađoz beg (965 AH – 1557/58) extending from the eponymous mosque towards Sinan pasha mahala
  • Mehmed ćehaja (1592) close to the Hotel Neretva upstream north of the hotel
  • Bajazit Hojja (before 1612) around a masjid, at the corner of Šarić Brothers and Bajat Brothers streets (above the Clock Tower)
  • Hajji Balo (before 1612) around a mosque on the plateau of Šarić and Čišić Brothers streets and Sirkina sokak in Brankovac
  • Ibrahim efendi Roznamedžija (before 1620) on the corner of Fejić Brothers and Kreso streets
  • Kjose Jahja hojja (before 1620) on Musalla
  • Tere Hajji Jahja (before 1620) around a mosque on the corner of M Balorda and Hakal streets in Carina
  • Memi Havadža (before 1632) around a mosque on the corner of M Balorda and Krpo Brothers streets in Carina at the top of Vejzović street on the site of the A & E clinic
  • Fatima Kadun (before 1633) around a mosque, in Cernica on the corner of M Tito and Demirović streets south of the Public Health Institute, now a parking lot
  • Hafiz Havadža (before 1633) around a mosque at the corner of M Tito and Risto Miličević streets
  • Husein Havadža (before 1633) around a mosque at the corner of M Tito and Huso Maslić streets by the old council offices behind the Workers’ Hall, in the park
  • Ibrahim aga Šarić (1637) around the eponymous mosque
  • Kamber aga, with a masjid (before 1648) in Luka, right by the Komadina (Luka) bridge
  • Hajji Velija, with a masjid (before 1648)
  • Ahmed Čurćija, with a masjid (before 1650) in Bjelušine about 50 m south of the south-east tower of Divizija
  • Kotlevina, with a masjid (before 1651) in Luka, on the corner of Čelebić street and Šarić mahala
  • Hajji Husein Kotlo (before 1760) around a mosque in the southernmost part of Luka, close to the Hajjis' sofa, opposite the present day Medical  School
  • Ali pasha Rizvanbegović, with a masjid (before 1847)

The mahalas on the right bank of the Neretva are:

  • Nezir aga (before 1550) around the eponymous mosque, in Šemovac above the Radobolja by the Crooked Bridge
  • Derviš pasha (1592) around the eponymous mosque, in Podhum close to the Catholic church
  • Jahja Esfel, with a masjid (before 1620) around the masjid, about 200 m south of Komadina (Luka) bridge on the right bank of the Neretva, in the Predhum quarter
  • Sevre Hajji Hasan (before 1621) around the eponymous mosque, in Predhum in Donja (Lower) Mahala, opposite the Ibrahim aga Šarić mosque
  • Hajji Ali beg Lafo (before 1633) around a mosque at Raskršće, corner of P Drapšin and M Gupac streets
  • Baba Bešir (before 1633)
  • Hajji Memija – Cernica (before 1650) around the mosque in Cernica
  • Ali Havadža – Raljevina (before 1633) around a mosque, right by the left bank of a branch of the Radobolja
  • Hajji Ahmet beg Lakišić – Ričina (1650) around a mosque
  • Ziraja (Aršinović) with a masjid (before 1651) at the start of the Predhum quarter by the road leading to Komadina (Luka) bridge in Ograda
  • Čevro, with a masjid (before 1686)
  • Zahum – covering present day Zahum (Hodžić, 2000,p. 82-84)

The town developed first on the left bank right by the čaršija, after which it extended southwards and northwards along that bank, then across the river to the right bank by Hum hill on the right bank of the Radobolja; it was not until the mid 17th century that it extended also to the left bank of the Radobolja. With the arrival of the Austro-Hungarians, the town expanded on the right bank of the Neretva northwards, where there was ample space for building both public buildings and private houses. Here the railway station and hospital were built. At this time the town was divided into eight zones: Carina, Brankovac, Bjelušine, Old Town, Luka, Cernica, Podhum and Zahum (Pašić, 1989, p. 77).

According to Peez: “The city of Mostar is now divided into eight mahalas, of which five are on the east bank of the Neretva. Carina (the customs post) is the northernmost area. Luka is at the extreme south. The two mahalas constitute the longitudinal axis of the town.To the south east, Brankovac marches with Carina and ascends to Stoca hill. The southern extension of Brankovac is Bjelušine (named after the white limestone that appears there), an old Serb mahala, and further south still ascends steeply up the cliffs of Old City. On the west bank, further to the north is Cernica, at the very south is Predhumlje, and Zahumlje extends westward. This is the new part of town. In the old days Mostar was divided into 33 mahalas” (Peez, 1891, p. 9).

Because the features of their natural and social environment that influenced them were the same in so many ways, Muslim and Orthodox Christian houses built in Mostar have many elements in common. Muslim houses were strictly isolated from the street, whereas Christian ones were more open to the street. This, however, is the only real difference to be sensed in the urban layout of the streets between the Muslim and Christian parts of the mahalas. A good example of this is the streets in Bjelušine. In their arrangement of space inside the house, Christian houses differed somewhat from Muslim ones, but retained to a large extent all the formal elements of the latter. The cult of the neighbourhood was one of the basic principles influencing the evolution of people’s private way of life in this part of the world.  The philosophy of this type of building was deeply social and deeply humanist (Pašić, 1989, p. 81).

The current state of Mostar’s mahalas is one of dilapidation of the housing fund and an obsolete municipal infrastructure. As a result, only four mahalas have survived, and within them all that has survived is the urban matrix and the odd house, structure or feature from the Ottoman period. The major surviving mahalas are:

  • Bjelušine and Brankovac – arising from the merger of several smaller mahalas in the early 17th century. It has about 150 housing units and a few examples of traditional residential architecture, one of them being the Muslibegović house
  • Cerica – one of the oldest mahalas, dating from before 1650. This mahala now has about 220 housing units, with only fragmentary elements of traditional architecture surviving (In Rudinčeva street)
  • Luka – dating from before 1768, and containing about 250 housing units; to the south it joins Tekke (a residential area). This mahala, too, has lost most of its features, but the area on the slope has retained part of the value of the mahala. Here stands the Kajtaz house, one of the finest examples of residential architecture of the Ottoman period in BiH;
  • Biščević sokak – a group of residential buildings in the very centre of town that has retained a large part of its authenticity, in which the most important is the Biščević-Lakišić residential complex right on the bank of the Neretva (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 26h)

The basic value of the mahalas today is their urban matrix and townscape, as well as their specific social life. Very few buildings and details have managed to retain their authenticity and, as a result, significant architectural value. The current situation is the result of the position of the mahalas in the urban fabric, formed as they were along the river in the very centre of town, and becoming “trapped” in that fabric as the town later developed. The most intensive ravages and changes to the mahalas took place during the past ten years, first as the result of war action and later because of unsuitable and illicit building works. This has led to almost irremediable damage to these structures, and the only possible solution is the rehabilitation of individual buildings and repairs to the present condition to prevent their further decline.

The streets in the mahalas are somewhat narrower than elsewhere, more austere in their formal expression, and have just one basic function – as means of getting from place to place. In structure and function these streets can be compared with Mediterranean mediaeval streets, but they differ from them in the strict separation between commercial and residential quarters, and in the more human scale of the streets. The layout of the streets is purely organic and adapted to the terrain – streets running from the main commercial and pedestrian streets, gradually branching into smaller side streets and sokaks leading through the mahala. The gradation is from primary streets to secondary streets and all the way to culs de sac. These streets have no urban furniture. One of their roles is to provide shade (from their walls and greenery) and light (it was the custom to hand a lantern by each courtyard gate) (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 26).

Four basic types of house can be distinguished:

  • houses that have retained their traditional appearance from the Ottoman period
  • buildings dating from the Austro-Hungarian period
  • buildings erected after the Austro-Hungarian period, between the two World Wars, and right up to the 1960s and 70s
  • buildings dating from the mid 1980s to the present day.

Buildings dating from the Ottoman period

            With their conquest of the Balkan lands, the Ottomans introduced their own influences on house building and the formation of settlements. The non-Muslim part of the population also made a significant contribution to the evolution of the house in every region, particularly as the result of the great involvement of local craftsmen. In the 18th and 19th centuries regional characteristics became strongly emphasized in certain places. These differences in the formation of various types of residential building also arose from the use of local materials, adaptation to weather conditions, and the assimilation of existing local customs.

            Houses extended into the exterior space and consisted of enclosed and semi-enclosed areas.  The rows of windows enabled features of the exterior space to be “borrowed” to form part of the interior decor. Nature became part of the architectural composition (Pašić, 1989, p. 93).

            Mostar’s residential architecture dating from the time when Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Ottoman Sultanate is shaped by two basic elements: the rooms, and a central hallway both separating and connecting the rooms, known as the hajat. As well as providing a means of getting about the house, the hajat also served as a place where members of the household could come together, and seating was provided to the side, to avoid blocking the walkway. As it evolved, the seating area acquired various forms. The rooms were separate units designed to fulfil the basic functions of the house – each room was used for sleeping, working and eating, and each required its own corresponding service area. These rooms were replicated, so creating the basic layout of the Ottoman house. The main feature common to the different types of house is their layout. The main living area was always on the upper floor.  When the building had only one storey, it would always be raised above ground level to protect it from damp; piers were often used for this purposes, with the space beneath left empty.

            The division of the house into the haremluk/haremlık (the private family quarters or women’s quarters) and the selamluk/selamlık (the business or men’s quarters) derived from the desire to separate the interior of the Ottoman house from the outside world.  In layout, in larger buildings the haremluk and selamluk were separate, though interconnected, houses. In smaller buildings the men’s quarters occupied one or two rooms, which did not have the effect of altering the layout, because the division related only to the use of the rooms. In other cases, two or more standard-type houses would be interconnected in a specific way. The result of this was to increase the number of hajats (Pašić, 1989, p. 96).

            The most important elements of the layout for a study of the typology of the buildings are the rooms, hallways and stairways. The combination of these led to different types of layout:

  • without a hallway – the most primitive type, consisting of a room or several rooms in a row, entered from the pavement or courtyard. These were mainly found in the southern regions and were not widely used;
  • with exterior hallway – this is the first stage in the evolution of the layout. A covered hallway linked the rooms. This was inherited from the Hittites and Greeks. The hallway was open-sided, with pillars instead of a wall. This type of open hallway is still to be found as a gallery in warmer regions. There are many sub-types, depending on the number of rooms and whether there are oriel windows or other additions to the corridor;
  • with interior hallway – this is a further stage in the evolution of the layout, and is the most common in Ottoman Turkey. It is also known as a double-sided layout, because it arose by adding another row of rooms on the outer side of an exterior hallway. In earlier variations of this type, the hallway is merely a roofed area with two open sides, the roof supported by pillars. In later variants, these openings were enclosed by panes of glass.  The hallway is often fitted with seating at both ends. Alcoves (eyvans or ivans) are sometimes found in this type of house as an addition to the hallway.  Sometimes they are set between two rooms, with the doors to the rooms facing them to provide a quieter atmosphere in the hallway.  Staircases were set in these eyvans or in the hallway, to one side. Variants could include having an additional hallway, one or two eyvans, an angled hallway, various numbers of the different elements, closed or open walls to the hallway, and the disposition of the staircase
  • with central hallway – this is the final stage in the evolution of the layout. The hallway is in the middle surrounded by rooms on all four sides. This made the hallway the area least exposed to outside influences. Variants of this type depend on whether the hallway was enclosed on all four sides, with stairways in eyvans between the rooms, with two or three eyvans, a layout with elongated hallway, two staircases one at each end of the hallway, and the differing contours of the hallway (Pašić, 1989, p. 97).

The heart of all the buildings studied was a room with a part-open antechamber or hajat, repeated on the upper floor with a room or chamber above the ground floor room and an attic above the hayat. The next stage in the evolution was a symmetrical ground plan: room-hajat-room, or on the upper floor chamber-attic-chamber. The layout was not necessarily symmetrical, depending on the site on which the building was erected. In the next stage, the ground plan consists of four parts arranged in a square, of which one is the hajat and the others are three rooms. Off the hajat is a smaller room, the width of the door, than the one set diagonally, so that one can enter the second room. The room set at an angle to the hajat was usually the mutvak (kitchen). Above this room, on the upper floor, was a gallery for drying fruit and meat. A somewhat further evolved type had a larder (ćiler, hudžera/hücre) between the room and the mutvak, to the side of the hajat. Further evolution led to the hajat being enclosed on the third side by another room. A more complex variant of this type is when the larder was behind the hajat (Pašić, 1989, p. 109).

            A distinct stage in the evolution of the house was the duplication of the basic room-hajat-room, producing a deep hajat with two rooms on each side, the attic space facing the courtyard used as a jazluk or kamerija/kameriye (a room used in summer). A specific type is the house where part of the ground floor was used as an araluk/aralık (an area between two entrance gateways).

            Larger houses consisted of a repetition of the same units, with no division of the rooms according to their function. The difference between the rich and the poor was in the wealth of treatment of the same elements (dividing rooms into larger and smaller, dividing the house into summer and winter quarters, into family quarters and guest quarters, but never into different residential functions).

            Members of different generations and marital status lived in the same house, which led to attempts to ensure that the layout of the house could be easily divided, by making every room multifunctional. Ground floor rooms and upper floor chambers were used for residential purposes.

            The chimneys leading from the fireplace and stoves had not only a functional but also an aesthetic value for the exterior appearance of the building, and reflect all the features of regional architecture.

            There were other kinds of houses in Mostar apart from those occupied by a single family – the double house, two complete apartments on one floor with a shared room, or individual houses in a row of three apartments under one roof with the third achieved by converting a double house. All had the same layout as a one-family house and used the same materials, construction and interior features, so that although they date from various periods they appear to have been built at the same time. They were particularly common in Mostar in the second half of the 19th century.

            The Ejubović house on Mejdan could also perhaps be treated as belonging to this group of specific residential buildings in that part of it was the home of the kadi and the rest was the courthouse (mehćema). This latter part is now used for residential purposes (Pašić, 1989, p. 133).

            The construction of two-storey houses was simple: walls above walls, rooms above rooms, with the ground floor layout repeated on the first floor. The house usually had a solidly built ground floor and a much lighter-weight upper storey. In the late 19th century, with other alterations, people began digging out basements and using the attic space beneath the roof, a departure from the previously usual type of house with two storeys – ground and first floors. A great many different but harmonious materials were used to build the house. All the materials were local, from the nearest building site – stone of various types from the immediate neighbourhood or even in the town itself, and wood from eastern Herzegovina.

            The structural approach was simple: the structure was divided into load bearing (solid ground floor walls, solid and half-timbered upper storey walls, beams in the roof space), weight-bearing floors, and the roof.

            The foundations were of quarry stone, at least 50cm deep, with lime mortar as binder.

            The walls of the ground floor were usually of stone, 50-80 cm thick, with lime mortar as binder.  When the stone used was quarry or rubble stone, they were plastered and whitewashed. If it was more finely dressed ashlar, with larger flat surfaces, it would be pointed and left exposed.  Both plastering and pointing might be combined in the treatment of the façade.  Ashlar was rarely used for houses, and when it was it was almost always for details such as the quoins, window surrounds and door arches. Most Ottoman-period buildings were plastered and even the interior fittings were whitewashed. Stone has a purely structural purpose here.

            Wood, on the other hand, invariably retained its natural appearance and structure, both when used as a structural element and when forming part of the architectural décor. Wooden tie beams known as hatula were used to give extra rigidity to the walls, set in the walls as they were built with two joined together at the same height. They were also placed over the windows and doors if some other method was not used. Beams over the openings were laid over the full depth, but another treatment was a stone semi-dome over the openings, with a finish of moulded plaster.  A frame of a pair of beams was set on the ground floor walls, between which the floor joists were fitted. The weight bearing capacity of this structure depended greatly on accuracy of execution. If the beams were not laid on the wall or if the span was too wide, it was reduced by introducing a pillar with a headtree (for example the barleysugar pillar in the centre of the hajat of the Kolaković house). 

            The ćošak or doksat – oriel window – fitted into the frame of the building, with its load bearing elements consisting of extensions of the floor joists. It was usually a single-row longitudinal and transversal load-bearing structure, the two generally joined by braces.

            The first-floor windows do not generally match in either appearance or disposition those of the ground floor. The ground-floor windows are smaller, in the stone wall, with flat lintels on the outside and relieving niches on the inside, whereas the first-floor windows are larger and often arched. Depending on the type of wall they belong to, the windows may be lower and fewer (in stone walls) or larger and more numerous (in timber-framed walls). The window frames are wooden and consist of the frame and the čerćive (bars – US muntins) into which the glass is set.  These are routed, grooved, stoppered and given appropriate mouldings. The wooden mouldings or čerćive are slightly thicker and wider, and very light. The windows are usually single-sash, generally set flush with the wall, but if they are fitted with mušebak (lattice screens) or metal grilles they are set back in the wall. They open casement-style if in a stone wall, and horizontally in thinner timber-framed walls, with a movable lower section that lifts up over the top section.  Ground floor windows are fitting with demiri, cast-iron bars, set into the wall or into the wooden frame. The upper floor windows often have lattice screens or wooden shutters to keep the sun out. There are two kinds of shutters, exterior, which are double, and interior, which slide horizontally (Pašić, 1989, pp. 137-152).

            The windows on the façades were fitted with four or six small panes of glass. In traditional Ottoman architecture they have substantial frames. As a rule they would have a single thin glass pane and would thus have a thinner frame and a crossbar within the sash. These crossbars would be no more than 2cm or so thick, while the frame would be 6-8 cm thick. The lintel above the window was often left exposed as a decorative feature. The windows terminated in moulded cornices 5-7 cm thick. All the fittings were of matt black wrought iron, and the windows were closed by swivelling latches top and bottom (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 77).

            The roof cladding consisted of limestone slabs, 30-80 cm in size and ideally 2-5 cm thick, laid on close-set slats or rafters. Lime mortar was spread between the slabs, which were laid diagonally to facilitate rainwater draining off the roof.  It was difficult to handle the ridge, which led to simpler roofs being chosen, usually gable roofs “na lastavicu”, or hipped on larger buildings.  The ridge is clad with a grooved ridge-stone or samari. The roof valley was handled by laying the rafters around the valley fan-wise creating a rounded valley. Stone cladding is heavy and lies inert on the roof timbers. The pitch of the roof is shallow, so the attic space is not used. Where necessary, a stone-clad roof would have dormers, constructed by displacing a few slabs, which are held up by stone to allow smoke to escape through the gap. The main façade of the house would usually have projecting eaves supported by struts. The projecting eaves and shallow pitch of the roof made guttering unnecessary (Pašić, 1989, p. 149).

            Houses were richly decorated, with carvings on the doors and windows and highly ornate ceilings, dolafs (wall cupboards), musanderas (built-in cupboards along an entire wall), šiša (slatted) ceilings, wall panelling, chests and so on. All the furniture was also richly carved – items such as sinija/sini (low round tables used for eating from) and peškun/peşkun (small side-tables also used for seating). Various kinds of wood were used (beech, walnut, lime, maple, deal) with stylized floral, geometric and calligraphic motifs in repetitive, intertwining, symmetrical patterns (Idrizbegović, 2003, p. 81).

Alajbegović house

            Built in the 17th century, the Alajbegović house is a traditional two-storey stone and timber built house. The Alajbegović  house is a valuable and very rare example of traditional Ottoman architecture with shops on the ground floor and residential quarters on the first floor.  

            More detailed information on the building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Alajbegović house in Mostar as a national monument.

Kajtaz house

            The property is in Gašo Ilić street and was built at the end of the 18th century. The selamluk or men’s quarters has a ground and an upper floor. The house is one of the largest surviving Ottoman period residential ensembles in Mostar.

            More detailed information on the building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Kajtaz house in Mostar as a national monument.

Bišćević-Lakišić House

            This building stands in Bišćević street very close to the left bank of the Neretva, and was built in the late 18th/early 19th century. The entire complex evolved gradually from the 17th century on.  It is an example of local architecture of Balkan Ottoman expression, and one of the most important housing complexes of that period in Mostar. 

The complex as a whole consists of two parts: the selamluk and public courtyard, represented by the Bišćević house, and the haremluk or private quarters, represented by part of the Lakišić house.

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Biščević-Lakišić house in Mostar as a national monument.

Muslibegović house – petition (Tadžudin Muslibegović, Mostar)

            This house stands on Osman Đikić street in Brankovac and is one of the last Turkish-period houses in Mostar; it is also the largest and most monumental residential building to have survived to this day from the Ottoman period. 

            More detailed information on the building may be found in the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Muslibegović house in Mostar as a national monument.

Sheikh Jujo’s house on Mejdan

            In the late 17th century the Mostar muderis and mufti Mustafa Ejubović (Jujo) built a two storey house on Mejdan close by the former Sinan pasha mosque and courthouse (mehćema), pledging it as the residence of the kadija serving in Mostar. During the rule of Alija Rizvanbegović, the house came into his hands, and he repaired it and pledged it for the same purpose, as revealed by the inscription incised on a plaque in the wall to the right of the entrance to the building.

            Between 1878 and 1888 the building housed the municipal hospital.  In 1960, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Mostar carried out the necessary conservation works on the building, when it was registered as a cultural monument. It is now used as a private dwelling (Hasandedić, 1980, p. 166).

            Sheikh Jujo’s house on Mejdan bears a long chronogram in Turkish verse incised on a stone plaque measuring 42 x 72 cm. Frequent whitewashing has made the inscription almost illegible.The year the house was built is given as 1309 AH (1891/92). The inscription refers to kadija Hafiz Hasan Hadžiefendić, who was kadija in Mostar at the end of the 19th century.  According to H Hasandedić, the inscription was composed by Hamza Sulejman ef Puzić, muderis and epigraphist (Mujezinović, 1998, p. 277).

Persa Čorović’s house

            This house is the birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović, and stands on the left bank of the Neretva, very close to the Mujaga Komadina or Luka bridge.

            The birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović (1875-1919) is an interesting example of the new architectural expression influenced by the Mediterranean Dalmatian school of the early 19th century. It was built of ashlar stone, with three storeys; with its main façade facing the street and biforate upper windows, it is entirely different from other houses of the Ottoman period and more reminiscent of Venetian architecture markedly influenced by the Dubrovnik school (Karahasanović, 20003, p. 44).

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Historic building of the house of Persa Ćorović (the birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović) in Mostar as a national monument.

Konak – residential complex

            The Konak apartments were built in the early 20th century as a residential property with apartments to let and a large shop on the ground floor. The building was carefully sited by the main access facing the Serbian Orthodox church, with a good view of the Old Bridge and the historic centre of Mostar. It is one of the finest examples of mixed residential and commercial use from the period of economic expansion that followed the Austro-Hungarian occupation of the town. There is no prototype building from that period where the residential quarters are so strictly divided above street level. (Regulatory Plan for the preservation and development of Mostar Old Town, 2001, pp. 20-21).

            The property was built with flats to let and large commercial premises at street level, suitable for all kinds of trade. The three owners, the Đokić, Bilić and Pešto families, were the leading Serb families in Mostar from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. At first the residential quarters of the building belonged to the Đokić family, with the business premises jointly owned by all three. Ownership of the property remained unchanged, but the tenants came and went.

            More detailed information on this building will be set out as part of the Decision designating the Architectural ensemble of the Konak residential complex in Mostar as a national monument.

 

3. Legal status to date

            The regional plan of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 registered and categorized the urban ensemble of Mostar as a 0 category (world heritage standard) monument.  The urban ensemble of Mostar was taken to be the area from Carina bridge to the tobacco factory in the broad sense, and the area of Potkujundžiluk with the Old Bridge and towers in the narrower sense. Within the ensemble, individual monuments were also subject to protection: a church, monastery, six mosques, one masjid, the hamam, the clock tower, the Old Bridge with its towers, the Crooked Bridge, the medresa, the old Serbian school, the bishop’s palace, two burial grounds by mosques, a turbe and several residential buildings.

            The regional plan of the Republic of  Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 registered and categorized the Old  Bridge as a 0 category monument.

The regional plan of the Republic of  Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 registered and categorized the Karađoz-beg, Koski Mehmed-pasha, Vučijaković, Šarić and Roznamedži mosques, the old Orthodox church, the Cathedral, Sheikh Jujo’s turbe, the old Orthodox cemetery in Bjelušine, the old Serbian school, the Karađoz-beg medresa, the Clock Tower, the Crooked Bridge, the Baths and the Hotel Neretva as category 1 monuments.

The regional plan of the Republic of  Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 registered and categorized the Kotlo masjid, the burial ground by the Karađoz-beg mosque, the Ćejvan-ćehaja hamam, the mekteb by the Hajji Memija mosque in Cernica, the Bišćević, Kajtaz and Muslibegović houses and Musala square as category 2 monuments.

The regional plan of the Republic of  Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 registered and categorized the Šarić mosque, and parts of the Roznamedži and Koski Mehmed-pasha medreses as category 3 monuments.           

Pursuant to the law, and by Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of BiH in Sarajevo, no. 507/53 of 1953, the Muslibegović house in Brankovac in Mostar was placed under protection as a cultural monument.

The following properties are included on the Provisional List of national monuments of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments:

o        as no. 375, old Orthodox church – designated 30 June 1998,

o        as no. 376, Tabačica mosque – designated 30 June 1998,

o        as no. 377, Old Bridge with towers – designated 30 June 1998,

o        as no. 385, Kajtaz house – designated 30 June 1998,

o        as no. 389, Kriva ćuprija (Crooked Bridge) – designated at the Commission's 11th session in 1999

o        as no. 387, remains of the Orthodox Cathedral – designated 1-2 July 1999,

o        as no. 407, Roznamedži mosque – designated 22-23 September 1999,

o        as no. 408, Roznamedži Ibrahim-efendi medresa – designated 22-23 September 1999,

o        as no. 409, Clock tower – designated 22-23 September 1999,

o        as no. 410, Symphony orchestra (former mekteb) – designated 22-23 September 1999,

o        as no. 411, old Orthdox cemetery in Bjelušine – designated 22-23 September 1999,

o        as no. 390, Bišćević house,

o        as no. 391, Cernica Sibjan mekteb,

o        as no. 392, Ćejvan-ćehaja mekteb,

o        as no. 396, Nesuh-age Vučijaković mosque,

o        as no. 398, Karađozbeg mosque,

o        as no. 399, Karađozbeg medresa,

o        as no. 400, Karađozbeg mekteb,

o        as no. 402, Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque,

o        as no. 403, Koski Mehmed-pasha medresa,

o        as no. 404, Kujundžiluk čaršija,

o        as no. 406, birthplace of Svetozar Ćorović.

 

            The Commission to Preserve National Monuments has so far adopted the following decisions designating properties as national monuments:

-     Historic building of the Synagogue in Mostar, no. 08/2-6-7/03-1, designated at the 9 th session, held on 1-7 July 2003;

-     Cemetery ensemble of the old Orthodox cemetery in Pašinovac in Mostar, no. 08.2-6-1038/03, designated at the 10th session, held on 7-11 October 2003;

-     Cemetery ensemble of the old Orthodox cemetery in Bjelušine in Mostar, no. 08.2-6-1037/03, designated at the 10th session, held on 7-11 October 2003;

-     Architectural ensemble of the old Orthodox church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Mostar, no. 08.2-6-965/03-3, designated at the 10 th session, held on 7-11 October 2003;

-     Site and remains of the historic building of the Orthodox Cathedral church of the Holy Trinity in Mostar, no. 06.2-2-1067/03-3, designated at the 12 th session, held on 20-26 January 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque and medresa in Mostar, no. 07.1-2-8/04-3, designated at the 12th session, held on 20-26 January 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Roznamedži Ibrahim-effendi mosque in Mostar, no. 02-2-94/04-1, designated at the 13 th session, held on 2-8 March 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Nezir-aga mosque in Mostar, no. 02-2-569/03-3, designated at the 14th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque in Mostar, no. 02-2-95/04-1, designated at the 14th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Bičević-Lakišić residential complex in Mostar, no. 09-2-92/04-1, designated at the 14 th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Karađoz-beg mosque in Mostar, no. 07.1-2-113/04-1, designated at the 14th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Historic monument of the Clock Tower in Mostar, no. 07.1-2-1005/03-14, designated at the 14th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Bishop’s Palace or Metropolitan’s Palace in Mostar, no. 07.1-2-999/03-1, designated at the 14th session, held on 4-10 May 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Muslibegović house in Mostar, no. 09-02-1001/03-1, designated at the 15th session, held on 6-10 July 2004;

-     Architectural ensemble of the Old Bridge and towers in Mostar, no. 07/1-602-903/03-29, designated at the 15th session, held on 6-10 July 2004.

 

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

            Since March 1998 the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the World Monuments Fund have been developing a number of complementary planning and rehabilitation activities on the historic area of Mostar. The project is based on cooperation with the city authorities in Mostar and involved drafting three key documents:

-     agreement on joint work on the reconstruction of the Old Bridge and Old Town in Mostar, signed by the Government of FBiH, the City of Mostar, the World  Bank and UNESCO in Washington on 30 April 1999;

-     agreement on drafting a regulatory plan for the preservation and development of the Old Town in Mostar, dated 26 May 2000;

-     Memorandum on the establishment of the Stari Grad Agency for the preservation and development of the historic centre of Mostar, dated 14 July 2000 (Regulatory plan for the preservation and development of the Old Town in Mostar, 2001, p. 1)

1952:

-     intervention to the towers of the Old Bridge and minor works to the bridge itself

-     repairs to the lead cladding of the Pod lipom mosque and repairs to top of minaret

-     removal of dilapidated roof of exterior portico of the Karađoz-beg mosque

-     replacement of pillars and slabs on portico of the Roznamedži mosque

-     works on partial restoration of doksat on the Biščević house

-     making good the courtyard of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque

1953:

-     completion of works on the Roznamedži mosque, renovation of portico and repair to roof

-     examination of roof structure on part of storehouse by the Old Bridge

-     restoration of large and part repairs to small oriel window on the Bišćević konak

-     works to convert the house of Persa Ćorović nee Šantić into a memorial museum

-     roof of Tabačica mosque made good

1954:

-     reconstruction of side walls and dome, placing new tufa cornice on hamam

1955:

-     restoration part of shops and storehouses in Potkujundžiluk čaršija

-     minor works to the tannery

-     renovation of kanat doors in the čaršija

-     renovation of roof structure of the Kajtaz house

-     new roof slabs on the Ćorović house

-     repairs to the old Orthodox church

-     restoration of the mimber in the Vučijaković mosque

-     repairs to lead roof of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque

-     slab cladding and adaptation of tower by the bridge

1956:

-     repairs to foundations of the Old Bridge

1958:

-     continuation of works on the old Mostar čaršija, reconstruction of some buildings in Potkujundžiluk

-     leading and injection on the Old Bridge

-     converting the Vučijaković mosque into storage for museum holdings

-     works on setting tower on right bank of the Neretva in order

-     reconstruction of café on Mala Tepa

1963:

-     repairs to the Old Bridge

-     conservation of the Karađoz-beg medresa

1966:

-     start of restoration of the Crooked Bridge, completed 1967

1967:

-     conservation works on the Karađoz-beg mosque

1969:

-     conservation works on the Karađoz-beg mosque

1970:

-     works to reconstruct the portico of the Karađoz-beg mosque (Naše starine XIII, 1972, pp. 30-36)

1997:

-     Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Mostar in association with UNESCO drew up a plan for the protection of the entire town of Mostar as a monument and the reconstruction of the historic quarter of the Old Town

-     works on the minaret of the Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque under supervision of the Institute in Mostar

1998:

-     rehabilitation of building in Priječka čaršija – collaboration between Institute in Mostar and Aga Khan Trust for Culture and World Monuments Fund (AKTC&WMF)

-     reconstruction of complex of the Nezir aga mosque – collaboration between Institute in Mostar and Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), project documentation drawn up by Institute in Mostar

1999:

-     reconstruction of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque – supervision by Institute in Mostar, investor Ministry of Culture of Republic of Turkey

-     reconstruction of the Tabačica mosque – under supervision of Institute in Mostar, project documentation drawn up by Institute in Mostar

2000/2001:

-     reconstruction of the Café Europa – supervision by Institute in Mostar, investor Islamic Community

2001:

-     reconstruction of the Crooked Bridge on the Radobolja by Institute in Mostar and UNESCO

-     reconstruction of shops in Kujundžiluk – collaboration between Institute in Mostar and Cultural Heritage without Borders CHwB, project documentation drawn up by Institute in Mostar

-     consolidation and restoration of the Lakišić house – agreement between Institute in Mostar and AKTC&WMF

2002:

-     project to regulate the bed of the river Radobolja– Institute in Mostar and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resources Management, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton

-     renovation and reconstruction of cultural and historical heritage buildings of Serbian Orthodox parish Mostar – old Orthodox Church – Institute in Mostar

-     regulation of endangered part of bed of river Radobolja on P6 section – Oručević bridge – supervision of works by Institute in Mostar, investor City of Mostar.

 

5. Current condition of the site

An on site visit in July 2004 ascertained the following:

            A project is under way for the renovation of the historic centre and individual monuments since 1988, with completion of the project planned for 2004.

            As part of the rehabilitation programme for the historic centre, rehabilitation projects have so far been carried out on the following buildings:

-     Koski Mehmed-pasha mosque, Nesuh-aga Vučijaković mosque, Ćejvan-ćehaja mosque, Roznamedži Ibrahim-efendi mosque, Nezir-aga mosque, Hajji-Kurt (Tabačica) mosque, Hajji Memija Hadžiomerović mosque in Cernica, old Orthodox church, Jewish synagogue, Mausoleum of Osman Đikić, Kriva ćuprija on the Radobolja (in Priječka ćaršija), Mekteb by the Hajji-Memija mosque in Cernica, Ćejvan-beg medresa (present-day Karađoz-beg medresa), Koski Mehmed-pasha medresa, Symphony orchestra (former Cernica sibjan-mekteb), Ćejvan-beg hamam, Muslibegović house, Bišćević-Lakišić house, House of Persa Ćorović, Hindo han, Han Hotel Evropa, Tepica (Café Luft), shops in Kujundžiluk, Clock Tower – buildings renovated and currently in use for their proper purpose

-     Hajji Mehmed-beg Karađoz mosque – all rehabilitation works completed, formal opening planned for 23 July 2004

-     Complex of the Old Bridge and towers – all rehabilitation works completed, formal opening planned for 23 July 2004

-     Ćejvan-beg hamam – all rehabilitation works completed

  Buildings not yet rehabilitated:

Buildings for which project documentation for rehabilitation has been drawn up and is expected to be implemented in 2004:

-     Bishop's palace and Metropolitan's residence – buildings in a state of ruin and exposed to the elements.

Buildings on the list of 21 priorities for rehabilitation drawn up by the city authorities in Mostar. This list includes the following buildings:

-     Serbian primary school, Alajbegović house, National Bank, Konak – residential complex, Cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, Girls’ High School – the buildings are in a state of ruin and no works have been undertaken to rehabilite them since they were damaged during the war. They are exposed to the elements which is endangering their structure.

 

III.  CONCLUSION

 

Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.  Time frame

B.  Historical value

D.  Clarity

D.ii. evidence of historical change

D. iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

D. v. evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

E. Symbolic value

E.iii. traditional value

E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people

H. Rarity and representativity

H.i. unique or rare example of a certain type or style

H.ii. outstanding work of art or architecture

I. Completeness

I.i. physical coherence

I.ii. homogeneity

 

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-     Copy of cadastral plan

-     Copy of land register entry and proof of title;

-     Photodocumentation;

-     Drawings

The documentation annexed to the Decision is public and available for view by interested persons on written request to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Bibliography

 

            During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

 

1891.    Pec, Karlo, Mostar i njegov kulturni krug – Slika grada iz Hercegovine, (Mostar and its cultural circle – image of a town from Herzegovina) F.A. Brokhaus, Lajpcig, 1891.

 

1911.    Dr. Truhelka, Ćiro, Tursko-slovjenski spomenici dubrovačke arhive, (Turko-Slav references in the Dubrovnik Archives) Sarajevo, 1911.

 

1928/29. Jewish almanach, Statistics for Judaism

 

1933.    Dr Ćorović, Vladimir, Mostar i njegova Srpska pravoslavna opština, (Mostar and its Serbian Orthodox community) publication of the Serbian Orthodox community of Mostar, Belgrade, 1933.

 

1951.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hrecegovini, II, Mostar (1463.-1878.), (Guilds and trades in BiH II, Mostar (1463-1878)) Zagreb, 1951.

 

1953.    Neidhart, Juraj and Čelić, Džemal, Stari most u Mostaru – arhitektonsko-urbanistička problematika konzerviranja i restauriranja mosta i okoline te korigiranje udaljenijih objekata, koji optički priparaju okolini mosta, (Old Bridge in Mostar – archictectural and town planning problems of the conservation and restoration of the bridge and surroundings and correction of more distant buildings visually part of the bridge surroundings) Naše starine I, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1953.

 

1953.    Zdravković, Ivan, Opravka kula kod Starog mosta u Mostaru (Repairs to the towers by the Old Bridge in Mostar), Naše starine I, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1953.

 

1954.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Stari hercegovački gradovi, (Old Herzegovinian towns) Naše starine II, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1954.

 

1956.    Mujić, Muhamed, Stari mostarski vodovod, (The old Mostar water main) Naše starine III, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1956.

 

1956.    Čelić, Džemal, Mujić, Muhamed, Jedna novootkrivena građevina starijeg doba u Mostaru, (A newly discovered building from Mostar's past) Naše starine III, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1956.

 

1957.    Grabrijan, Dušan, Neidhart, Juraj, Arhitektura Bosne i put u savrameno, (Architecture of Bosnia and the road to modernity) Ljubljana, 1957.

 

1959.    Šabanović, Hazim, Bosanski pašaluk, (The Bosnian pashaluk) Sarajevo, 1959.

 

1959.    Findrik, Ivan, Uređenje kule Starog mosta u Mostaru, (Making good the tower of the Old Bridge in Mostar) Naše starine VI, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1959.

 

1964.    Ćirković, Sima, Herceg Stefan Vukčić-Kosača i njegovo doba, (Herzeg Stefan Vukčić-Kosača and his times) Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts, special publication, vol. CCCLXXVI, Dept. of social sciences, bk.48, Belgrade, 1964.

 

1964a.  Ćirković, Sima, Istorija srdenjovjekovne bosanske države,(History of the mediaeval Bosnian state) Belgrade 1964.

 

1965.    Čelić, Džemal, Enterijeri, pitanje njihove zaštite i adaptacije, (Interiors, issues of protection and adaptation) Naše starine X, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1965.

 

1967.    Krsmanović D., Dolarović H., Langof Z., Sanacija Starog mosta u Mostaru (Repairs to the Old Bridge in Mostar), Naše starine XI, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1967.

 

1967.    Stanić, Radomir, Spomenici monaha i monahinja iz XVII i XVIII vijeka na pravoslavnim grobljima u Mostaru, (17th and 18th century tombstones of monks and nuns in Orthodox cemeteries in Mostar) The Herald, official gazette of the Serbian Orthodox Church, no 3, Belgrade, March 1967.

 

1967.    Stanić, Radomir, Prilog proučavanju starih mostarskih zanata, (Contribution to the study of old Mostar crafts) Journal of the National Museum of BiH, Ethnology, n. Series, Vol. XXII, Sarajevo 1967.

 

1967.    Stanić, Radomir and Sandžaktar, Meliha, Konzervacija Karađoz-begove medrese u Mostaru, (Conservation of the Karađozbeg medresa in Mostar) Naše starine XI, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1967.

 

1969.    Čelić, Džemal and Mujezinović, Mehmed, Stari mostovi u Bosni i Hercegovini, (Old Bridges in BiH) Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1969.

 

1970.    Hasandedić, Hivzija, Nekoliko zapisa iz orijentalnih rukopisa Arhiva Hercegovine, (Some notes from oriental manuscripts of the Archives of Herzegovina) Supplements of the Oriental Institute, vol. XVI-XVII, Sarajevo, 1970.

 

1972.    Papić, Mitar, Školstvo u Bosni i Hercegovini za vrijeme Austrougarske okupacije (1878-1918),(Education in BiH during the Austro-Hungarian occupation 1878-1919) I.P. Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1972.

 

1972.    Četvrt stoljeća službe zaštite spomenika kulture i prirode u Bosni i Hercegovini, (A quarter century of service to the protection of cultural and natural monuments in BiH) Naše starine XIII, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1972.

 

1974.    Anđelić, Pavao, Srednjovjekovna župa Večenike-Večerić - postanak Mostara, (Mediaeval county of Večenike-Večerić) Journal of the National Museum of BiH in Sarajevo, new series, vol XXIX, Sarajevo, 1974.

 

1974.    Bećirbegović Madžida, Prosvjetni objekti islamske arhitekture u Bosni i Hercegovini, (Educational  buildings of Islamic architecture in BiH) offprint from Contributions to Oriental philology XX-XXI, Sarajevo, 1974.

 

1976.    Čelić, Džemal, Drvorezba u Bosni IHercegovini, (Wood carving in BiH) Most 11 – magazine for culture and social issues, Federation of cultural societies for Herzegovina, Mostar, 1976.

 

1978.    Dinić, Mihajlo, Zemlje hercega Svetog Save.(Land of herzeg St Sava) in Srpske zemlje u srednjem veku (Serbian lands in the middle ages), Belgrade, 1978.

 

1978.    Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, Gradska naselja srednjevjekovne Bosanske države, (Urban settlements of the mediaeval  Bosnian state) I.P. «Veselin Masleša», Sarajevo, 1978.

 

1980.    Institute for architecture, town planning and regional planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, Prostorni plan Bosne i Hercegovine; Faza «B» - valorizacija prirodne i kulturno-historijske vrijednosti, (Regional plan for BiH, Stage B: valorization of natural and cultural and historical values) Sarajevo, 1980.

 

1980.    Hasandedić, Hivzija, Spomenici kulture turskog doba u Mostaru, (Cultural monuments of the Turkish period in Mostar) IRO «Veselin Masleša», Sarajevo, 1980.

 

1981.    Stanić, Radomir, Groblje na Bjelušinama u Mostaru, (Cemetery in Bjelušine in Mostar) Hercegovina 1, cultural heritage magazine, Mostar, 1981.

 

1982.    Stanić, Radomir, Nadgrobni natpisi iz XIX vijeka na Bjelušinskom groblju u Mostaru, (19th century tombstone epitaphs in Bjelušine cemetery in Mostar) Hercegovina 2, cultural heritage magazine, Mostar, 1982.

 

1982.    Regional Planning Institute - Mostar, Urbanistički plan Mostara,(Plan of Mostar) Sinteza, Mostar, 1982.

 

1983.    Stanić, Radomir, Nadgrobni spomenici sa natpisima iz XVII i XVIII vijeka u groblju na Pašinovcu u Mostaru, (17th and 18th century tombstones with epitaphs in the cemetery in Pašinovac in Mostar) Hercegovina 3, cultural heritage magazine, Mostar, 1983.

 

1983.    Miletić, Karlo Drago, Mostarski mostovi na Musali i Luci, (Mostar's bridges in Musala and Luka) Hercegovina 3, cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 1983.

 

1984.   Stanić, Radomir, Natpisi na spomenicima u groblju na Pašinovcu u Mostaru, (Epitaphs on tombstones in Pašinovac cemetery in Mostar) Hercegovina 4, cultural heritage magazine, Mostar, 1984.

 

1984.    Čelebić, Edin, kulturne prilike u Mostaru krajem XIX i početkom XX vijeka, (Cultural circumstances in Mostar in the late 19th and early 20th century) Hercegovina 4, cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 1984.

 

1984.    Papić, Mitar, Školstvo u Bosni i Hercegovini (1918-1941), (Education in BiH 1918-1941) Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1984.

 

1984.    Ratković, Aleksandar, Srednjevjekovni Mostar i problematika njegovog istraživanja, (Mediaeval Mostar and problems of research) Naše starine XVI-XVII, Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1984.

 

1984.    Andrejević, Andrej, Islamska monumentalna umetnost XVI veka u Jugoslaviji – kupolne džamije, (16th century Islamic monumental art in Yugoslavia – domed mosques) Faculty of Philosophy Belgrade, Institute for the History of Art, Belgrade, 1984.

 

1987.    Miletić, Karlo Drago, Mlinice na ušću Radobolje u Neretvu (Mills at the confluence of the Radobolja with the Neretva), Hercegovina 6, cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 1987.

 

1987.    Krzović, Ibrahim, Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine 1878-1918., (Architecture of BiH 1878-1918) Art Gallery of BiH, Sarajevo Winter event, Sarajevo, 1987.

 

1988.    Archaeological lexicon,  vol 3, region 24, various entries, Sarajevo, 1988.

 

1989.    Pašić, Amir, Prilog proučavanja islamskog stambenog graditeljstva u Jugoslaviji na primjeru Mostara, Koliko je stara stambena arhitektura Mostara autohtona pojava, (Contribution to a study of Islamic residential architecture in Yugoslavia, the example of Mostar, To what extent is the old residential architecture of Mostar an indigenous phenomenon) doctoral dissertation, Zagreb, 1989.

 

1990.    Andrejević, Andrej, Neimar Hajredin i njegov rad u Hercegovini, (Neimar Hayruddin and his work in Herzegovina) Hercegovina – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 1990.

 

1990.    Miletić, Karlo Drago, Italijanska reokupacija Mostara (septembar 1941.-juni 1943.), (The Italian reoccupation of Mostar, September 1941 – June 1943) Hercegovina – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 1990.

 

1991.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Izabrana djela II – Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini (1463-1878), (Selected Works II – guilds and trades in BiH 1463-1878) Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1991.

 

1991.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Izabrana djela III – banje, vodovodi, hanovi i karavansaraji, (Selected Works III – baths, water mains, hans and caravanserais) Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1991.

 

1994.    Pašić, Amir, Islamic Architecture in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture (IRCICA), Istanbul, 1994.

 

1996.    Čelebi, Evlija, Putopis – odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, (Travelogue – extracts on Yugoslav lands) Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1996.

 

1997.    Miletić, Karlo Drago, Mostar – susret svjetskih kultura, (Mostar – encounter of world cultures) Association of municipalities with Croat majority, Chief Secretariat of HDZ BiH, Mostar, 1997.

 

1998.    Project Coordination Unit (PCU) Mostar, Nomination for the World Heritage List, PowerPoint presentation, Mostar, 1998.

 

1998.    Rakić, Svetlana, Ikone Bosne i Hercegovine (XVI do XIX vijek), (Icons of BiH 16th to 19th century) Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Belgrade, Belgrade, 1998.

 

1998.    Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine, (Islamic epigraphics of BiH) vol III, Sarajevo-Publishing,  Sarajevo, 1998.

 

1999.    A Joint Conservation Project of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture's Historic Cities Support Programme & The World Monuments Fund, Reclaiming Historic Mostar: Opportunities for revitalization, 15 Donnor Dossier for Conservation of the high Priority Sities in the Historic Core, New York - USA, Istanbul - Turkey, 1999.

 

1999.    Kasumović, Ismet, Školstvo i obrazovanje u bosanskom ejaletu za vrijeme osmanske uprave, (Education in the Bosnian eyalet during the Ottoman period) Islamic cultural centre, Mostar, 1999.

 

1999.    Okuka/Šoše, Miloš/Meho, Bosna i Hercegovina prije 100 godina u riječi i slici, (BiH 100 years ago in words and pictures) Wings of hope, Sarajevo-Munich, 1999.

 

1999.    Bublin, Mehmed, Gradovi Bosne i Hercegovine – milenijum razvoja i godine urbicida, (Towns of  BiH – a millennium of development years of urbicide) Sarajevo Publishing, Sarajevo, 1999.

 

2000.    A Joint Project of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture's Historic Cities Support Programme, Geneva & The World Monuments Fund, New York City, Rehabilitation of the Historic Neighborhoods, Planning for the Historic City of Mostar – Scope of Works and Current Activities, 2000.

 

2000.    Ayverdi Dr. Ekrem Hakki, Avrupa'da Osmanli Mimari Eserlera Yugoslavya II, 3. kitab, Istanbul, 2000.

 

2000.    Ratković, Aleksandar, Novi podaci o mostarskoj tvrđavi,(New facts on the Mostar fortress) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Hodžić, Sabit, Nekoliko podataka o mostarskim mahalama i strukturi stanovništva, (Some details of Mostar's mahalas and population structure) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Zvonić, Zlatko, Revitalizacija kompleksa Ćejvan-ćehajine džamije u Mostaru, (Revitalization of the Ćejvan ćehaja mosque complex in Mostar) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Zvonić, Zlatko, Rekonstrukcija i revitalizacija kompleksa Nezir-agine džamije u Mostaru, (Reconstruction and revitalization of the Nezir aga mosque complex in Mostar) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Zvonić, Zlatko, Sanacija Sahat-kule u Mostaru, (Repair of the Clock Tower in Mostar) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Aličić, Azer, Sevri Hadži Hasanova mosque u Mostaru, (Sevri Hajji Hasan's mosque in Mostar) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Bahtijarević, Nihad, Istraživački radovi na zidnom slikarstvu Karađoz-begove džamije u Mostaru, (Research works on the wall paintings of the Karađoz beg mosque in Mostar) Hercegovina 11-12 – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Mandlbaum, Zoran, Veličanstven pomen nevinim, (Magnificent monument to the innocent) Most, magazine for education science and culture, Mostar, no. 122 – 123, 2000.

 

2000.    Ratković, Aleksandar, Novi podaci o Mostarskoj tvrđavi, (New facts on the Mostar fortress) Hercegovina 11-12, Archives of Herzegovina Mostar and Museum of Herzegovina Mostar, Mostar, 2000.

 

2000.    Hasandedić, Hivzija, Mostarski vakifi i njihovi vakufi, (Mostar's vakifs and their vakufs) Majlis of the Islamic Community Mostar, Mostar, 2000.  

 

2001.    Mønnesland Svein, Vipotnik Matjaž, 1001 dan – Bosna i Hercegovina slikom i rječju kroz stoljeća, (1001 days – BiH in images and words through the centuries) Sypress Forlag 2001, Oslo – Norway, 2001.

 

2001.    City of Mostar, Municipality Stari Grad, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva & World Monuments Fund, New York, Regulacioni plan očuvanja i razvoja Starog Grada u Mostaru, (Regulatory plan for the preservation and development of the Old Town in Mostar) World Monuments Fund, New York City, 2001.

 

2001.    City of Mostar, Management plan Starog Grada u Mostaru – upravljanje, finansiranje, planiranje, intervencije, (Management plan for the Old Town in Mostar – management, finansing, planning, interventions) City of Mostar, 2001.

 

2001.    Hadžismajlović, Vefik, Edmund Misera – gradovi i krajevi Bosne i Hercegovine na akvarelima 1880-1883, (Edmund Misera – towns and regions of BiH in watercolours 1880-1883) Bosniac Institute –Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation, Sarajevo, 2001.

 

2001.    Šarić, Salko, Likovna pozornica Mostara, (Mostar's art scene) Centre for culture, Mostar, 2001.

 

2001.    Zvonić, Zlatko, Slikarstvo džamija Mostara, (Painted work of Mostar's mosques) Mostar's art scene, Centre for culture, Mostar, 2001.

 

2000.    A Joint Conservation Project of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture's Historic Cities Support Programme & The World Monuments Fund, Rehabilitation of the Historic Neighborhoods – Muslibegovića Complex, Planning for the Historic City of Mostar – Scope of Works and Current Activities, Draft Report January 2002.

 

2002.    Ševo, Ljiljana, Pravoslavne crkve i manastiri u Bosni i Hercegovini do 1878. godine, (Orthodox churches and monasteries in BiH to 1878) City of Banja Luka, Glas Srpski, Banja Luka, 2002.

 

2002.    Bernik, Stane, Arhitekt Zlatko Ugljen, International Portrait Gallery Tuzla, Tuzla, 2002.

 

2002.    Tuzlak, Lejla, Komercijalne strukture u Mostaru – historijski pregled i mogući razvoj, (Commercial structures in Mostar – historical overview and possible development) master's thesis, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 2002.

 

2003.    Idrizbegović, Aida, Arhitektonske smjernice – Upute za intervencije u Starom gradu u Mostaru, (Architectural guidelines – guidelines for interventions in Mostar's Old Town) master's thesis, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 2003.

 

2003.    Karahasanović, Maida, Očuvanje i razvoj graditeljskog naslijeđa u Ulici Maršala Tita u Mostaru, (Preservation and development of the architectural heritage in Marshal Tito Street, Mostar) master's thesis, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 2003.

 

2003.    City Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Mostar, Rad Zavoda za zaštitu kulturno-historijskog i prirodnog naljeđa Mostar u periodu od 1994. do 2003.godine, (Work of the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Mostar 1994-2003) brochure, Mostar, 2003.

 

2003.    Demirović, Senada, Značaj ulice u historijskog jezgri grada, evolucija kroz stilske periode i redizajn u savremenom kontekstu: Ulica Braće Fejića, Mostar, (Significance of the street in the historic centre of town, evolution through stylistic periods and redesign in the modern context: Fejić Brothers Street, Mostar) master's thesis, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 2003.

 

2003.    Zvonić, Zlatko, Sanacija Koski Mehmed-pašine džamije u Mostaru, (Repairs to the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque in Mostar) Hercegovina – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2003.

 

2003.    Pamuk, Serhat, Slikana dekoracija Koski Mehmed-pašine džamije u Mostaru (prilog rekonstrukciji slikarstva),(Painted decorations of the Koski Mehmed pasha mosque in Mostarcontribution to a reconstruction of the painted work) Hercegovina – cultural and historical heritage magazine, Archive of Herzegovina, Mostar, 2003.

 

2003.    City of Mostar, The Old Town in Mostar – Management Plan, Mostar, 2003.

 

2003.    PCU Mostar, Probni projekat kulturnog naslijeđa – Rekonstrukcja Starog mosta u Mostaru, (Pilot project of the cultural heritage – Reconstruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar) PowerPoint presentation,Mostar, 2003

 

Institute for the protection of the cultural, historical and natural heritage of BiH, Centre for Heritage, Tradicionalni detalji sa objekata kulturno-historijskog naslijeđa u Bosni i Hercegovini (Traditional details from buildings of the cultural and historical heritage in BiH)

 

 

 

 



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