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Aladža Mosque, Foča

438 m to city centre

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Description

Aladža Mosque, also known as the Colorful Mosque or the Mosque of Hasan Nezir, is one of the most valuable monuments of Ottoman architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was built in 1549 in Foča, on the banks of the Drina, as the first mosque in the country erected in the classical Ottoman style, and it was built by close associates of the famous Mimar Sinan. With its harmonious proportions and lavish interior decoration, it was among the most beautiful and important buildings of its time, and many later Bosnian mosques were built in its image.

The mosque also had a turbe, a šadrvan, and old nišani. The original building was destroyed in 1992, but thanks to exceptionally detailed documentation — drawings, photographs, and preserved fragments — it was faithfully reconstructed and ceremonially reopened on 3 May 2019. Today, Aladža once again stands as a symbol of restoration and as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Best time: year-round
Foča, on the Drina River
Status: national monument of BiH

Cultural Heritage

The first mosque in BiH in the classical Ottoman style
The work of close associates of Mimar Sinan (1549)
A model for many later mosques
One of the best-documented mosques in the country
National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2004)

Unique in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Aladža Mosque was the first mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina built in the classical Ottoman style, which made it a model for many later mosques across the country. Its restoration was considered one of the most complex cultural heritage reconstruction projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it was reopened in 2019 thanks to preserved original documentation and found fragments of the building.