Banja Luka
The Ferhadija was built in 1579 by Ferhad Pasha Sokolović, the first beylerbey of Bosnia, who made Banja Luka his capital. It was considered one of the most…
The Ferhadija was built in 1579 by Ferhad Pasha Sokolović, the first beylerbey of Bosnia, who made Banja Luka his capital. It was considered one of the most beautiful mosques of the sixteenth century in the Balkans, and was the heart of a complex of endowments in the town. On 7 May 1993 the mosque was blown up by Bosnian Serb authorities, together with the Arnaudija and the other mosques of Banja Luka, and the rubble was dumped. Using recovered stones and the original plans, it was rebuilt and reopened on 7 May 2016, exactly 23 years later. It stands again in the centre of Banja Luka with its graceful dome and slender minaret.