The Mosque Behrem-Bey's Madrasah

architects Zlatko Ugljen, Husein Dropić
project Mosque, Tuzla, Bosnia i Herzegovina
written by Ibrahim Krzović

 

The mosque of Behram-bey’s madrasah in Tuzla, designed by Zlatko Ugljen (assistant author Husein Dropić), is one of the new realisations of the post-war architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The origins of Behram-bey’s mosque and Behram-bey’s madrasah date back centuries to the Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current location of the mosque and the madrasah differs from the original site; their location has been shifting slowly, throughout the centuries.

 

Behram-bey’s madrasah, the theological school, was closed during socialist Yugoslavia. It reopened during the war, 1992-1995, in the former mining school, a late Modernist building from the era of social realism. Soon, it became obvious that theological education could not be conducted in such an inappropriate building. Also, the obligatory namaz or sallat (obligatory prayer) of pupils and teachers five times a day demanded a separate mosque.