Aladza Mosque in Foca

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

1. INTRODUCTORY PAGE

1.1.Country/Territory:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

1.2.Name of organisation compiling the information:

Commission to Preserve National Monuments

1.3.Contact name:

Mirela Mulalic Handan

1.4.email address:

mirela.m.handan@aneks8komisija.com.ba

1.5.Name and address of bulding(s) or site:

The site and remains of the architectural ensemble of the Aladza (Hasan Nazir) mosque in u Foca

Inventory reference number(s): Decision for designation of national monument No.: 06.1-2-1062/2004-6

Building type(s): architectural ensemble – the mosque

1.6.Main date(s):

Date of construction 16th century

Current use(s): Currently not in a use

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE SITE AND ITS MANAGEMENT

The Aladza (meaning ”painted”) Mosque in Foca was built in 1550/1551 in the town centre of Foca. Because of its architecture, structural proportions, and both engraved and painted geometric and floral decoration, Aladza Mosque was one of the most important monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. 

The Aladza Mosque belongs to the type of single-space domed mosque built in the classical Ottoman style, with an open exterior portico and a minaret abutting the right-hand side. It was built by Ramadan-agha, a chief representative (baş halife) of Koca Mimar Sinan, who was the leading architect of the Ottoman Empire (from 1548 to 1588).

The finest and most interesting decorative stone fittings inside the mosques of Bosnia and Herzegovina are those of the Aladza Mosque in Foca. 

In 1992 the complex of the Aladza Mosque in Foca was blown up and totally destroyed along with its associated buildings: the turbe (mausoleum) of Ibrahim, son of the founder of the mosque; the burial grounds to the east, south and west of the mosque; the tombstone of the founder, Hasan Nazir; the shadrvan  (fountain) in the wall of the courtyard; the stone wall to the south east; most of the stone wall to the south-west; and the south and west entrance gates. All the remains were taken away by lorry and scattered over a suspected mass grave. The whole area was then covered by soil.

Part of the nisan (tombstone) to the north west survived, as did the foundations of the mosque and the shadrvan (fountain). The foundations of the mosque are still visible at the site.

Aladza Mosque was declared a monument for the first time on 9 October 1950.

Twelve years later, on 18 April 1962, the Aladza Mosque in Foca with its associated buildings of the turbe of Ibrahim, son of the founder of the mosque, the surrounding burial ground and the tombstone of the founder Hasana Nazira, the sadrvan (fountain) in the wall of the mosque courtyard were placed under state protection.

The Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 1980 listed the property as a Category I cultural and historic property.

Until July 2004, the property was on the Provisional List of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Commission to Protect National Monuments designated the architectural ensemble of the Aladza Mosque in Foca as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina at its 15th session held on 7July 2004.

The Commission assumes that the major part of the material of the mosque can be found in the suspected mass grave. The mosque was thoroughly recorded during the 1970s and the documentation still exists. The Commission expects that it will be possible to make a precise identification of fragments and re-use them in the reconstruction. It will add the value of authenticity to the reconstructed monument.

Symbolic and ontologic value of the Aladza Mosque goes beyond the territory of the Municipality and even of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Andej Andrejevic, one of the most prominent historians of architecture from Belgrade, wrote a monograph about the Aladza Mosque stating that it can be considered the most important monument of its time in the Balkans. The start of its reconstruction will be a clear message to the war-torn community in Foca that justice and human rights prevail over destruction and crime. It will clearly show to the returnees that they can regain their basic human rights and especially the right to freely express their identity and religion in public. The architectural and artistic values of the mosque have a profound importance for the Bosnia-Herzegovinian identity which is in danger of falling into oblivion through both destruction and the imposition of new alien forms at the sites of destroyed monuments.

                                                                                        PTA carried by:

Commission to Preserve National Monuments

Local experts:

Mirzah Foco, Architect, Associate for Ensembles, Historical, Urban and Cultural Landscapes,

Emir Softic, Architect, Associate for Historic buildings

Dzenana Saran, architect conservator

 Mustafa Humo, Civil Engineer,

headed by Mirela Mulalic Handan, Project Coordinator, 

Sarajevo, 28th of October, 2005.