Mosque
Kuršumlija Mosque
Maglaj · Northern Bosnia
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Mosque
- COUNTRY
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- REGION
- Maglaj · Northern Bosnia
- DURATION
- Half a day – 1 day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Kuršumlija Mosque, formally the Jusuf-paša Mosque, is the most monumental building in the old part of Maglaj and, by its architectural conception, one of the finer Ottoman monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It stands in the čaršija beneath the fortress, a single-domed mosque whose name comes from the kuršum — the lead — that covers its dome. The building is the sacral centrepiece of the old town, and for a visitor it is the one to enter and read closely: the dome, the minaret, the stonework and the quiet interior that has served the town since the Ottoman sixteenth century.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The Kuršumlija Mosque was raised in the second half of the sixteenth century; the town’s heritage records two dates for its construction, 1560 by one account and 1580 by another, so the broader “second half of the sixteenth century” is the secure dating. A local legend holds that the mosque, like a former hamam beside it, was built with stone carried by hand from the Vis hill above the villages of Bakotić and Ulišnjak. The building has served the old town through the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav periods and remains the principal mosque of the čaršija.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The lead-covered dome — the kuršum that gives the mosque its name, the defining feature of its silhouette.
The minaret — the slender Ottoman tower beside the dome, the vertical landmark of the čaršija.
The stonework and the interior — the dressed stone of the walls and the quiet, carpeted interior of a working mosque.
The setting in the čaršija — the mosque among the stone houses and lanes beneath the fortress, the heart of the old town.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The Kuršumlija is the finest single building of Ottoman Maglaj and the sacral centre of the old town. For a visitor it is the place where the Ottoman layer of the town is read most clearly — a sixteenth-century mosque still in use, at the foot of the medieval fortress.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Kuršumlija Mosque
Kuršumlija Mosque, Maglaj, Northern Bosnia, Bosnia & Herzegovina
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Maglaj
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Maglaj town centre — small restaurants and ćevapdžinicas along the main streets near the riverfront, for ćevapi, burek and daily Bosnian cooking
Riverside cafés by the Bosna — quiet spots for Bosnian coffee and a break between the fortress and the čaršija
Old-town konoba-style eateries — small places in the čaršija for home-style meals and local hospitality
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Maglaj town — a small hotel or guesthouse near the centre makes the old town a short walk; the town is the natural base for a Maglaj visit
Doboj, 25 km north — a wider choice of hotels, for visitors pairing the two fortresses or touring the Bosna valley
Zenica or Sarajevo to the south — larger centres for visitors passing through the valley on a wider northern Bosnia trip
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
INTERESTS
Explore by what you love
PART OF
Keep exploring
The atlas goes on — more attractions, destinations and stories from every corner of the world.