Most Beautiful Ottoman Monuments in Belgrade | Old Belgrade Stories

From the fall of Belgrade in 1521, when our capital became part of the Ottoman Empire (during the era of the famous Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent) after decades of unsuccessful sieges, until 1867 when Prince Mihailo Obrenović finally "escorted" the Turks out of the city, more than 350 years had passed.

For almost three and a half centuries, with occasional Hungarian and Austro-Hungarian "episodes," Belgrade was a typical Turkish town, divided into džemats and mahalas, dominated by oriental architecture dotted with mosques with tall minarets (even 273), hammams, caravanserais, and other construction phenomena characteristic of the Ottoman Empire.

Unfortunately, as one of the most devastated cities in world history, Belgrade has not preserved much to this day. Most of these specific buildings disappeared in the whirlwind of numerous wars, others were intentionally destroyed in a liberation "zeal," while some were transformed to resemble European structures.

Therefore, today there are incredibly few material traces of the Ottoman era in Belgrade.

Bajrakli Mosque

Bajrakli Mosque is located at Gospodar Jevremova Street No. 11, in upper Dorćol. It was built in the late 16th century and is one of the oldest religious buildings in Belgrade. Throughout history, it has been desecrated and renovated several times, and after the Austrian conquest of Belgrade, under Eugene of Savoy, it was converted into a Catholic church. During these 20 years of Austro-Hungarian rule over Belgrade (1717-1739), the majority of Ottoman buildings in Belgrade were destroyed.

Bajrakli Mosque has had various names, usually named after the benefactors who renovated it, and it has carried its current name since the end of the 18th century. This is also the only active Islamic facility in Belgrade, and it includes a madrasa - an Islamic religious school. In March 2004, following the unrest in Kosovo and Metohija, the mosque was set on fire as a reprisal for the burning and destruction of Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo, but in the years that followed, it was largely restored. Recently, as part of the Museum Night event, the mosque opens its doors once a year to non-Muslim visitors and tourists.

Sheikh Mustafa's Tomb

Sheikh Mustafa's Tomb is located at the corner of Braće Jugovića and Višnjićeva streets, beneath Studentski Park. This mausoleum was built in 1783 in honor of the dervish Sheikh Mustafa, who is buried there. After centuries of neglect and abandonment, the tomb was restored in 2013 and has been open to visitors since 2015, as part of the Museum Night event.

Planetarium

Belgrade's Planetarium may not seem to have any connection to Ottoman architecture. However, if we take a closer look, we will realize that it is a converted Turkish steam bath, hamam, adapted for the needs of the Planetarium, which has been managed by the Astronomical Society "Ruđer Bošković" since 1970. The old Turkish bath housing the Planetarium is located in the Lower Town of the Kalemegdan Fortress and was built in the 18th century. Apart from the dome typical of Turkish hamam architecture, it bears no resemblance to an oriental building.

Ali Pasha's Tomb

Ali Pasha's Tomb is located in the Upper Town of the Kalemegdan Fortress. The tomb itself represents a kind of Islamic chapel. It was erected in 1784 at the burial site of Damat Ali Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1713 to 1716. In the mid-19th century, two commanders (muhafizas) of the Belgrade Fortress, Selim Pasha and Hasan Pasha, were also buried in the tomb. The tomb was significantly damaged during the First Serbian Uprising and acquired its present form after restoration in the 1920s.

Hamam of Prince Miloš

Hamam of Prince MilošHamam of Prince Miloš is located in Admirala Geprata Street. This building is distinctive because it was not built by the Turks but by Prince Miloš Obrenović himself in 1837, according to the design of his court architect Hadži Nikola Živković. The hamam contains all the authentic elements of Ottoman architecture necessary for bathing and relaxation - a šadrvan, kapaluk, halvat, hazna, and ćulhan. It is a protected cultural monument by law but nowadays it serves as an annex of a nearby restaurant.