Accomplished conservation and restoration works in the interior of Mišćina mosque in Sarajevo

4/25/2016



In the organization of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in co-operation with the German Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Majlis of Islamic Community in Sarajevo, in the Mišćina mosque in Sarajevo, the results of the Project of conservation and restoration works in the interior of this B&H National Monument have been presented.

The architect and the Project's co-ordinator of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Medina Hadžihasanović-Katana presented the results  of the Project of conservation and restoration works on the wall paintings- the coloured art wall paintings of Mecca and Medina, which are the unique examples of the art wall painting, then the works on the mihrab, mimber, mahfil and the entrance door.

            The Project  has been implemented by means of the donation ensured and provided in 2015  by the Federal Republic of Germany  throughout the programme of support for the projects in the field of culture, value of which is  72.717,76 BAM.

At the presentation of the Project's results, the following people addressed to ther journalists: His Excellency Christian Hellbach, the ambassador of  the Federal Republic of Germany in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirela Mulalić Handan, the assistant of the executive officer for heritage of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments and dr. Ferid ef. Dautović, the head imam of Majlis of Islamic Community in Sarajevo.

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The Kebkebir hajji Ahmed's mosque was built  in 1557. It is famous among people under the name of the Mišćina mosque, named after the famous and beloved muezzin Mišća who lived  in the 18th century.  The mosque was devastated in the fire caused by the prince Eugene of  Savoy's attacks on the city of Sarajevo, but it was renovated in 1700. The mosque was painted in 1870 by Mustafa Fagin, in the chronological sequence, the second and the most significant nakaš (the painter) in the family of Faginović. Mustafa Fagin was born in Sarajevo in 1839, and he died in Istanbul in 1900. On the wall of the Mišćina mosque, the unique examples of the wall art painting in Bosnia and  Herzegovina have been preserved. On the very paintings, the vedutas (the images that show in detail the part of the city) of Mecca and  Medina are presented, as well as the graveyard of Janet ul Bakki, which were derived, established and formed under the influence of studying and customs of the dervish's order and community, or to be more precise under the influence of the collection of humble prayers called litanies Dala'il al-Hayrat, which is studied in the Naqshbandiyyz dervish order, and which starts with these images.  

The art wall paintings of Mecca and  Medina, carried out and done in the secco technique, were considerably under threat of decay, so the works upon the consolidation of the paintings stabilized these valuable works.

The Mihrab, which has now been  utterly stabilized and consolidated, also used to be in a poor condition, as well as its sub-construction and the very painted decoration. During the work procedure, on the mimber, the abundant, exceptionally valuable, decoration in the form of the rum arabesque, was found, with the prevailing dominant red colour with the black outlines and traces of the green colour. It is presumed that it is also the work done by Mustafa Faginović. On the mahfil, the traces of the original coloured decoration were found, while the entrance door layer of the oil paint has been removed and the very entrance door has been protected by means of the substances having the protection features.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments coordinated all Project's activities, then financed the working up of the information sign-board, the design and printing of the leaflet and the posters. The conservation works upon the art wall paintings and upon other elements of the interior were done by the companies called Neimari Ltd (The Workmen Ltd) and Restauro, or to be more precise, they were done by the conservationists  Enes Halimić and Esad Vesković.

As it has been already mentioned, the Project has been implemented by means of the donation ensured and provided in 2015 by the Federal Republic of Germany throughout the programme of support for the projects in the field of culture, value of which is  €37.180,00 (72.717,76 BAM).

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bosnia and Herzegovina has donated to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 300.000 BAM so far, as the share in financing of the following projects:

  • Restoration of the monastery's church of the Holy Trinity– Vozućica, 
  • Restoration of the Ali-bey Kapetanović's mosque in Vitina, 
  • Construction improvement and restoration of the main gate at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Sarajevo and
  • the Conservation and restoration works in the interior of the Mišćina mosque in  Sarajevo.

The Projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina are carried aout and realized within the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs' programme aimed at the preservation of the cultural heritage. By means of the programme aimed at the preservation of the cultural heritage, Germany has been contributing to the preservation of the cultural heritage all around the world since 1981.