The Islamic architectural heritage of the Ottomans in Sarajevo experienced significant fluctuations, particularly following the Ottomans' exit from Bosnia in 1878 and the subsequent Austro-Hungarian occupation. In the later stages, the Islamic character of the nation and its capital city encountered a relentless succession of misfortunes, as a variety of socio-political actors and ideological frameworks actively engaged in shaping the narrative and outcomes of these tumultuous events.[1] Ultimately, a ray of hope emerged following the country’s independence in 1992, which unfortunately was accompanied by a failed attempt of Serbo-Croat aggression that ended in 1995. The Islamic architecture bore the brunt of the recurring calamities. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the onslaughts against the identity of Sarajevo’s Islamic architecture were commensurate with the onslaughts against the city’s very identity and the overall identity of the country.
Figure 1. Vijećnica is the most recognizable Austro-Hungarian building in Sarajevo. (Wikimedia Commons)
Figure 2. Stained-glass ceiling, interior after restoration. (Wikipedia)
After more than four centuries as part of one of the greatest empires in the world, the Ottoman Empire, Bosnia became part of another great empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, following the 1878 occupation. Although Bosnia remained officially under Ottoman control until 1908, when it was officially annexed by the Austro-Hungarians, the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was drastic and filled with unprecedented challenges. Some of these challenges were existential and threatened everything the Bosniaks had built over the past four centuries. The change marked a shift from integration and equality to occupation and imbalance. Under the Ottomans, the Bosniaks asserted themselves more than ever and became what they were destined to be, while under the Austro-Hungarians, they had to fight to preserve what they had achieved, with little hope for further progress in an upward trend.[2]
The Austro-Hungarian occupation was unusual. It was neither a typical occupation, annexation, nor assimilation. Instead, it was a strange mix of all three. For three decades, Bosnia was de jure under the Ottomans but de facto under the Austro-Hungarians. Only after that period did the change become complete and official. This was not a sign of a planned transition, but rather a reflection of a complex problem that was difficult to resolve in a way that satisfied everyone involved.
At any rate, the latest occupation of Bosnia was not an end in itself, but a means to achieve a set of more complex geopolitical and civilizational goals. Situated at the intersection of the ambitions of several regional and sometimes global powers, Bosnia was never left alone or in peace. There was never a time when someone did not cast a glance at Bosnia’s attractive strategic position and vast geoeconomic potential, hoping to benefit from it. People eventually referred to this intersection as the point where East meets West; however, in reality, it was a place where different socio-political and military interests clashed. It was also the ground where major players fought, not only to resolve their own differences or satisfy their own ambitions but also to determine the fate of Bosnia and its people.
The interests of those protagonists were so overwhelmingly perilous and forceful that they completely disregarded the truth that the land, the people, the rich history, the vibrant culture, and the promising future they were so passionately concerned about did not belong to them. Instead, these elements rightfully belonged to the Bosniaks. However, in a harsh world where power and strength dictate what is right, and where the brutal law of the jungle – often referred to as social Darwinism or the survival of the fittest – dominates, the Bosniaks frequently found themselves abandoned and isolated, akin to castaways adrift in an unforgiving sea, while others arrogantly took it upon themselves to dictate their fate and future. After all, the idea of the East meeting the West is not as appealing in the context of Bosnia’s ongoing struggle for national survival as it is in contemporary discourses of national tourism and national economic development.
The reputation of the Austro-Hungarians in Bosnia is that they were both prolific and expert builders.[3] There is certainly nothing inaccurate in this claim, as the abundance of their buildings, each reflecting their signature flair, can attest to it. Many advanced Western architectural styles were generously imported to Bosnia, shaping the new urban landscapes. Some of the most prominent styles include Neoclassical, Romanesque Revival, Neo-Byzantine, Gothic Revival, Art Nouveau and Secession style. It seems obvious that since Sarajevo was the capital city of Bosnia, it received the most architectural attention and became the center of this architectural revolution.
Figure 3. Still from Callaway’s film Vijećnica. (Wikipedia)
The style of Islamic architecture championed by Austria-Hungary in Bosnia was Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish infused with elements of the Neo-Mamluk style. There were two chief reasons for this.
First, the Neo-Moorish style demonstrated the lasting significance of Islamic architecture, reflecting the ongoing importance of Islam and its peoples. It also highlighted the complex cultural exchanges that emerged from the rise of Romanticist Orientalism in Europe and the Americas after the mid-19th century.[4] Consequently, the architectural awareness of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was influenced by these spreading trends. The Neo-Moorish style resonated with a Western mindset that was increasingly drawn to diversity inspired by nonconformity.
“Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular. It was also to some extent a reaction against the Enlightenment and against 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism in general. Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary and the transcendental.”[5]
Romanticism aimed to create more open, diverse, and enriching intellectual and cultural environments than those offered by the increasingly rigid and dogmatic Weltanschauung of Western civilization. Therefore, Romanticism was eager to embrace the variety of ideas and emotional perspectives arising from the distortion and construction, followed by the gradual importation and imitation, of images from the Eastern world (the Orient). As a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between “the Orient” and “the Occident”, Orientalism was rather a synthetic concept generated and fueled by the fodder of the stimuli of colonialism.[6] In fact, colonialism and Orientalism were two sides of the same coin. Strictly speaking, the Orient proved attractive for the process of romanticization only after it had been subjected to the tedious process of colonial misrepresentation. This explains why Austria-Hungary felt a sense of connection and home-like comfort in its enthusiastic advocacy for the expansion of both colonization and the neo-Moorish architectural style in Bosnia. A distinct vibe of Romanticist eccentricity and defiance enfolded them all.[7]
Second, the Neo-Moorish style is reminiscent of the Islamic civilizational adventure in the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus, including modern-day Spain and Portugal), which ended in disaster for Muslims and resounding victory for Europe. This outcome marked a significant triumph for Europe over Muslims, shaping the character of future relations between the two sides. It can be argued that, except for the Ottoman expansionist golden age, Europe never lost its exultant attitude towards Muslims, consistently trying to impose a sense of defeatism and inferiority on them.
The word “Moorish” captures the sentiment well. It comes from the Greek root word “mauros,” meaning “black” or “very dark.” A Moor referred to a North African Berber, one of the groups living in Barbary. Barbary, in turn, meant “foreign lands” (especially non-Christian lands), from the Latin “barbaria,” meaning “foreign country,” derived from “barbarous,” meaning “strange, foreign.” Barbary then implied “Saracen (Muslim) nations on coastal North Africa,” suggesting that the people of those countries were considered barbarians (uncivilized Berbers).[8] The term “Moorish” also applied to the Arabic conquerors of Spain. Because they were darker in comparison to Europeans, their name in the Middle Ages became synonymous with “Negro.” Later, being the name of the nearest Muslims to Western Europe, the word was used indiscriminately with regard to all Muslims.[9]
Thus, for the West to resort to the Neo-Moorish architectural style as part of the repertoire of its imperialist-cum-modernist eccentricity was a statement-making move. It was a kind of victory parade and a display of war spoils, so to speak. Nobody could question its right to adorn itself with the laurel wreaths of success.
In this context, too, Austria-Hungary merely jumped on the bandwagon.[10] They emulated the patterns of the other Western powers with imperialist ambitions. What they did to Bosnia is akin to what, for example, Britain was doing in India, Malaysia and elsewhere. In the end, many parts of Europe and also the US ended up featuring diverse architectural expressions in the Neo-Moorish style not only as a form of architectural enrichment but also as a victory lap.
Diana Darke wrote about this: “The Moorish revival reached the peak of its popularity in the mid-nineteenth century as part of the Romantic movement, which sparked a fascination with all things oriental and exotic…In Bosnia, after the Austro-Hungarian occupation the new authorities decided to commission a series of Neo-Moorish public buildings in the hope of promoting a Bosnian national identity through ‘Islamic architecture of European fantasy’ that was neither Ottoman nor Slav. One example was the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, designed in pseudo-Moorish style with pointed arches. It was not, however, particularly successful, because the style had no previous connection to indigenous Bosnian architecture.”[11]
In addition, Austria-Hungary incorporated elements of the Neo-Mamluk architectural style, which originated in Egypt, into its Neo-Moorish style. This decision was both practical and dogmatic. It was practical because the two styles shared many similarities, allowing for a desirable enrichment of the Neo-Moorish style with the diverse vocabulary of the Neo-Mamluk style. It was also dogmatic because, just as the Neo-Mamluk style was used to surpass and dwarf the Ottoman style in Egypt, the Austro-Hungarians aimed to use their own hybrid Islamic architectural style in Bosnia for a similar purpose. Both efforts aligned, leading Austria-Hungary to believe they could learn from Egypt’s experiences with the Neo-Mamluk style.
It was due to this that Alexander Wittek (d. 1894), a prominent Austro-Hungarian architect who worked in Bosnia during the occupation and was involved in the most famous Austro-Hungarian project in Sarajevo, the City Hall building known as “Vijećnica” (later the National and University Library), was sent by his government to Egypt to explore oriental heritage. During his various study trips to Egypt, Alexander Wittek studied the Sultan Hassan mosque and madrasah, using them as models for his projects.[12] Parenthetically, it is evident that the mosque and madrasah of Sultan Hassan are esteemed as prime examples of Mamluk architecture, serving as a source of inspiration for the Neo-Mamluk architectural tradition. The complex boasts a multitude of creative architectural and artistic aspects and is widely considered one of the most impressive historical landmarks in Cairo.
There were two buildings in Sarajevo that most accurately represented the Austro-Hungarian Neo-Moorish style in Sarajevo: the City Hall building known as “Vijećnica” (1896), which was converted in 1949 to the National and University Library, and the Mekteb-i-Nuwwab (the School for Shari’a judges) (1887) which was changed to the Higher School for Islamic Shari’a and Theology (1937), then to the Faculty of Islamic Theology (1977), and finally to the Faculty of Islamic Studies (1992).
Figure 4. The style of Islamic architecture championed by Austria-Hungary in Bosnia was Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish infused with elements of the Neo-Mamluk style. (Wikimedia Commons) Figure 5. The Vijećnica building is massive, and its plan resembles a triangle. (Wikimedia Commons)
Vijećnica was designed and built by Karlo Paržik (Karel Pařík) from 1891 to 1892, Alexander Wittek from 1892 to 1893, and Ćiril Metod Iveković from 1893 until the building’s completion in 1894. The building was severely damaged during the 1992-1995 aggression. In fact, its destruction was a primary target of the Serb barbarity. Having served as a state library, it housed invaluable intellectual and cultural treasures, so its complete destruction would have advanced the Serb genocidal agenda by distorting history and undermining the cultural and religious identity of the Bosniaks. Indeed, the case of the Serb aggression could not be rationalized or defended by any sensible means and criteria. The deeply ingrained and unquenchable criminal tendencies exhibited by the Serbs could only somehow be promoted, even among their own ranks, through a continuous cycle of deceitful narratives and falsehoods that have persisted over time.
Destroying Vijećnica was part of the Serb intellectual and cultural genocide against Bosnia and the Bosniaks, which went hand in hand with the biological genocide. Andras Riedlmayer from Harvard University believes that the burning down of Vijećnica was part of an attempt to burn and erase the past. It was only one aspect of the Serb systematic campaign against the Bosnian intellectual and cultural institutionalized heritage.
The author said: “On 25 August 1992, Bosnia’s National and University Library, a handsome Moorish-revival building built in the 1890s on the Sarajevo riverfront, was shelled and burned. Before the fire, the library held 1.5 million volumes, including over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts; the country’s national archives; deposit copies of newspapers, periodicals and books published in Bosnia; and the collections of the University of Sarajevo. Bombarded with incendiary grenades from Serbian nationalist positions across the river, the library burned for three days; it was reduced to ashes with most of its contents. Braving a hail of sniper fire, librarians and citizen volunteers formed a human chain to pass books out of the burning building.”[13]
Figure 6. Vedran Smailović playing the cello in the destroyed Vijećnica, 1992. (Wikipedia)
The burning of Vijećnica was neither an accident nor a one-off event, as evidenced by the fates of other similar institutions. Andras Riedlmayer also wrote: “Three months earlier Sarajevo’s Oriental Institute, home to the largest collection of Islamic and Jewish manuscript texts and Ottoman documents in Southeastern Europe, was shelled with phosphorus grenades and burned. Losses included 5,263 bound manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Aljamiado (Bosnian Slavic written in Arabic script); 7,000 Ottoman documents, primary source material for five centuries of Bosnia’s history; a collection of 19th-century cadastral registers; and 200,000 other documents of the Ottoman era, including microfilm copies of originals in private hands or obtained on exchange from foreign institutions. The Institute’s collection of printed books, the most comprehensive library on its subject in the region, was also destroyed as was its catalog and all work in progress. In each case, the library alone was targeted; adjacent buildings stand intact to this day.”[14]
Following the war, the building was restored to its original appearance and reopened in 2014. According to its official website, the renovation began in 1996 and lasted until 2014, with the complete reconstruction carried out according to the original documentation. The reconstructed Vijećnica was officially opened on May 9, 2014, which is both the Day of Europe and the Day of Victory over Fascism, sending a clear message to the Serb and any other potential aggressors. Today, Vijećnica is used for festive occasions at both the state and city levels to promote events in culture, art, and the economy, with constant and occasional museum exhibitions, regular sessions of the City Council, and a variety of uses that seem to be greater than ever before.[15]
Figure 7-11. Vijećnica was severely damaged during the 1992-1995 aggression. Its destruction was a primary target of the Serb barbarity. Destroying Vijećnica was part of the Serb intellectual and cultural genocide against Bosnia and the Bosniaks, which went hand in hand with the biological genocide. (Source)
The Vijećnica building is massive. It has five levels: the basement, the ground floor, the mezzanine, and the first and second floors. Its plan resembles a triangle, whose pivotal part is an atrium topped by a glass ceiling, which is covered by a hexagonal dome. The dome’s frame is made of steel and is primarily covered with glass panels. It is an umbrella dome with six spines due to its unique polygonal shape. An ornamental crown without a finial caps the dome. This design resembles many domes of European churches and palaces, particularly those in the Gothic Revival and Neoclassical styles. It marks a clear departure from the Ottoman spherical domes that dominated Sarajevo’s skyline. The six-sided dome and the triangular building of Vijećnica are perfectly aligned, with the three sides of the dome running parallel to the building’s three sides (sections) and the remaining three sides of the dome facing and spanning the three corners of the building.
The atrium is impressive, which was obviously intended so as to render an already impressive building even more so. It links interior spaces and facilitates movement both horizontally and vertically. Upon entering the building, one transitions from relatively small and contained spaces into the atrium. Once that is done, the compactness of space suddenly opens up and a feeling of restraint turns into the feelings of freedom and elation. Inside the atrium, it feels as if one loses control of his emotions; instead, it is the building and the impressive interplay of its spaces, colors, lights, tones and textures that take over.
The atrium is surrounded by multi-leveled domed colonnades that serve as corridors to aid circulation and accessibility, while also providing a gradual transition from the atrium, a semi-public space, to the surrounding, more private areas. The colonnades feature intricately decorated rounded (upper floor) and pointed (lower floor) horseshoe arches, along with tiny spherical domes supported by pendentives. The arches are held up by two types of columns: the simple Doric style for the lower floor and the elaborate Corinthian order – also featuring what looks like the Andalusian Nasrid capital – for the upper floor.
Figure 12. Vijecnica 1941 Postcard. (Wikimedia Commons) Figure 13. Vijecnica at night 2007. (Wikimedia Commons) Figure 14. Image from page 89 of “Durch Bosnien und die Herzegovina kreuz und quer; Wanderungen” (1897). (Wikimedia Commons)
The decoration of these structural components is sumptuous and vibrant, employing a variety of floral and geometric patterns. With bright and lively colors, the atmosphere created is one of vivacity and joie de vivre. A visit simply feels enchanting and “controlled.” Since Vijećnica was originally a chief government institution, it clearly managed to convey a sense of authority in every way and in all aspects of human experience.
The absence of decorative aspects that display humanistic qualities, such as human figures or images, is readily apparent, as Islam unequivocally prohibits these forms. The fact that such elements were prevalent in other Austro-Hungarian architectural styles and artistic expressions indicates that the form of Vijećnica was meant to reflect “Islamic ideals” as much as possible.
Having said that, however, the lack of Islamic calligraphy, which is the most recognizable and powerful Islamic decorative medium for conveying explicit religious and inspirational messages, insinuates the type of Islam and Muslims that Austria-Hungary desired in Bosnia. It wanted them to be unclear and vague regarding their identity and aspirations, as well as lax and unregulated in their spiritual affiliation and moral commitment. It furthermore wanted them to be flexible, moldable and susceptible – dictated by the pressures of time and circumstances – with the national-cum-religious frame of reference they could fall back on being, in equal measure, abstract, inconstant and gullible.
It could even be argued that the Austro-Hungarian maneuvers were among the first attempts in Europe to shape and promote what later became known as moderate Islam and Muslims. The main objective was to influence Muslims with ideas of religious ignorance, superficiality and permissiveness. Throughout the annals of history, it has become abundantly clear that every European nation that successfully established a colonial presence in any segment of the Muslim world swiftly became adept at this nefarious practice, consistently striving to refine and enhance it to unprecedented levels of sophistication.
Figure 15. The colonnade in front of the main entrance. Figure 16. The overall decoration of the building is sumptuous and vibrant, employing a variety of floral and geometric patterns. With bright and lively colors, the atmosphere created is one of vivacity and joie de vivre. Figure 17. The atrium is impressive, which was obviously intended so as to render an already impressive building even more so. It links interior spaces and facilitates movement both horizontally and vertically. (Source)
The exterior of the Vijećnica building is as impressive as its interior, symbolizing a philosophy meant to be shared with both visitors and passersby, regardless of their religious or political dispositions. The exterior façade is adorned with a purely decorative ablaq design featuring horizontal red and yellow stripes. The yellow stripes, about 50-60 centimeters wide, are double the width of the red ones. In the façade of the main body of the building—excluding the slightly taller projections and corner towers—there are twenty-one yellow stripes and twenty red ones. The ten prominent arches on the southern façade also feature the ablaq design, which appears to be structural rather than merely ornamental.
The southern and main façade, perfectly aligned with the perennially flowing Miljacka River and one of the city’s main roads running alongside it, is the focal point of the exterior, containing the main entrance. In front of the entrance is a colonnaded portico comprising five slightly pointed horseshoe arches that rest on four columns and the walls at both ends. The colonnade is covered by seven small, beautifully decorated pendentive domes.
The colonnaded portico is flanked by two public fountains, which are recessed into the southern façade and placed inside tall, deep niches topped with muqarnas. These functional and decorative niches reflect similar ones used throughout the building. The fountains were designed to convey the welcoming spirit of Sarajevo, a city known for its many public fountains and facilities, and to mimic a key aspect of Islamic culture closely linked to Islamic architecture. This aspect is called “sabil,” which refers to a public fountain or water kiosk built to provide free drinking water to travelers and the public. The entire Muslim world is dotted with sabils.
The colonnade in question represents the part of a large architectural section that extends from the main southern façade. The projection resembles large portals and iwans, which are linked to grand entrances in Islamic architecture that lead into impressive buildings. The other two sides of the Vijećnica building also have projecting central sections; however, they are not as architecturally significant or artistically sophisticated as the former.
Figure 18. A visit to Vijećnica simply feels enchanting and “controlled.” Since it was originally a chief government institution, it clearly managed to convey a sense of authority in every way and in all aspects of human experience. (Wikimedia Commons)
When entering the building, one steps into a vestibule with a cluster of columns, pendentive domes and rounded horseshoe arches. There are four columns, nine domes and twelve arches. It stands to reason that, since the columns, arches and spherical domes of the colonnaded portico, vestibule and the colonnades around the internal atrium are almost the same in type, size and decoration, the purpose of the portico and vestibule is to gradually prepare a visitor for what awaits inside. They denote a sign of things to come and serve as a small-scale version of the building’s extravagant interior that can be witnessed from outside as well.
Right above the portico is a loggia that resembles the former in size and appearance. It also has five slightly pointed horseshoe arches supported by four columns and the wall at both ends. The ablaq technique has been used for the arches’ voussoir stones, while their spandrels are decorated with a series of simple yet exquisite abstract designs. Above these arches are five square panels containing circular windows featuring jallis with abstract geometric patterns. The remaining spaces of the panels are filled with decorative floral motifs similar to those of the spandrels below. As parts of the panels, the geometric patterns of the circular jallis and the floral motifs of the surrounding spaces are seamlessly integrated, creating a cohesive and harmonious composition.
This southern projection extending from the main southern façade is topped with a thick cornice of muqarnas (stalactite-like carving) that protrudes more than half a meter over the rest of the wall. At the very top edge of the walls of this massive extension, a crest of fleur-de-lis-shaped crenelations runs along the entire length. The muqarnas and crenelations, being notably magnificent and positioned at the top of the Vijećnica building, are among its highlights. They attract attention from near and far, easily capturing people’s interest and imagination. The rest of the southern façade and the entire building also feature muqarnas and crenelations in the same locations, but they are much smaller and less striking than those on the southern projection.
The three corners of the building are designed to resemble towers, each about six meters wide. Their façades are recessed, creating tall niches with multiple windows. These niches are topped with hoods adorned with muqarnas. While the eastern and western towers, flanking the main southern façade, feature a similar muqarnas design, the northern tower is slightly different, with less finery and density in its muqarnas. The external edges of all three towers are transformed into engaged fluted columns. These columns have shallow grooves that are straight at the bottom and top, but they curve upwards to the left at the right corners of the towers and upwards to the right at the left corners. The columns are nearly as tall as the main body of the Vijećnica building, making their presence striking and their ornamental appeal undeniable.
The upper level of the highest windows on the main southern façade contains slightly recessed muqarnas panels, which match the size of the windows below. In the center of the panels are five-sided polygons filled with low-relief interwoven floral designs. From these polygonal shapes, stalactite-like beams extend in all directions except downward, where the windows are located. These muqarnas panels have the same polygonal configuration as their central parts, creating a sense of immaculate equilibrium.
When looking at the panels, one cannot help but think of the Fatimid Aqmar mosque in Cairo, built in 1126. It was the first in the history of Islamic architecture to incorporate such motifs into the decorative routines of external facades, endowing them with rich layers of symbolic significance. The idea was later refined and integrated into the complex artistic and architectural vocabulary of the Mamluks. The motif diffuses roughly the messages of genesis, vitality and illumination.
Similar to the interior, the rich decoration of the exterior is also devoid of any humanistic tendencies. The decorative executions consist of individual floral and abstract themes or combinations of both, resulting in finely intricate arabesques that adorn the most strategic lintels, tympanums, spandrels, medallions and panels. Considering the overall design of the building, along with its major components and the complete outline of its external façade, Vijećnica itself becomes an elaborate decorative arabesque and a functional system that borders on a masterpiece, impressing, intriguing, enlightening and mystifying all at once. Perhaps not intentionally, the building somehow embodies the complicated and often strained relationship that exists between Bosnia’s past, present and future, a dynamic that appears to persistently linger and never truly dissipate.
Figure 19. The three corners of the building are designed to resemble towers, each about six meters wide. Their external edges are transformed into engaged fluted columns. (Wikimedia Commons) Figure 20. The colonnaded portico is flanked by two public fountains. This fountain is located on the right side. (Wikimedia Commons) Figure 21. Vijećnica is a functional architectural system that borders on a masterpiece, impressing, intriguing, enlightening and mystifying all at once. (Wikimedia Commons)
[1] Cathie Carmichael, A Concise History of Bosnia, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), pp. 38-39. Noel Malcolm, Bosnia A Short History, (New York: New York University Press, 1994), pp. 51-69.
[2] Mustafa Imamović, Historija Bošnjaka (History of Bosniaks), (Sarajevo: “Preporod”, 1997), pp. 351-352. Hamdija Kreševljaković, Sarajevo u Doba Okupacije Bosne 1878. (Sarajevo During the Occupation of Bosnia in 1878), (Sarajevo: Rekultura, 2021), pp. 104-107.
[3] Hamdija Kreševljaković, Sarajevo za Vrijeme Austrougarske Uprave (1878-1918) (Sarajevo During the Austro-Hungarian Administration (1878-1918), (Sarajevo: Rekultura, 2019), p. 114.
[4] Giese Francine; Varela Braga Ariane; Lahoz Kopiske Helena; Kaufmann Katrin; Castro Royo Laura; Keller Sarah, Resplendence of al-Andalus: Exchange and Transfer Processes in Mudejar and Neo-Moorish Architecture, Asiatische Studien – Etudes Asiatiques, 2016, 70(4), pp. 1307-1353, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/asia-2016-049, accessed on October 27, 2024.
[5] Romanticism, written and edited by the editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism, accessed on October 27, 2024.
[6] Edward Said, Orientalism, (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1978), pp. 30-70.
[7] Nedžad Kurto, Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine, Razvoj Bosanskog Stila, (Architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Development of Bosnian Style), (Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1998), pp. 32-41.
[8] Barbary, https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=barbary, accessed on October 27, 2024.
[9] Moor, https://www.etymonline.com/word/moor, accessed on October 27, 2024.
[10] Robin Okey, Taming Balkan Nationalism: the Habsburg Civilizing Mission in Bosnia, 1878-1914, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. v-vii.
[11] Diana Darke, Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, (London: Hurst & Company, 2020), pp. 332-333.
[12] Sanja Zadro, Architecture of Historicism and Art Nouveau in Mostar, https://www.cidom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Sanja-Zadro-Architecture-of-Historicism-and-Art-Nouve-in-Mostar.pdf, accessed on October 27, 2024.
[13] Andras Riedlmayer, Erasing the Past: The Destruction of Libraries and Archives in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, July 1995, https://web.archive.org/web/20120118204551/http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/Bulletin/bosnia.htm, accessed on November 1, 2024.
[14] Ibid.
[15] The City Hall, https://www.vijecnica.ba/en/home, accessed on November 1, 2024.
Figure 22. Vijećnica and National and University Library Plaque in Sarajevo Old Quarter. (Wikimedia Commons)
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