Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkans. Being the central Sarajevo's mosque since the days of its construction, today it also serves as the main congregational mosque of the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque was built in 1530 as the central object of the Beg's endowment, which also included a maktab and a madrasa (Islamic primary and secondary schools), a bezistan (vaulted marketplace), a hammam (public bathplace) etc. It was the first mosque in the world to receive electricity and electric illumination in 1898 during the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The mosque belongs to the type of complex-spaced, multi-domed mosques and it is a represent of the Early Period of Classical Ottoman Architecture (sometimes referred to as Early Istanbul Style). The central rectangular space, framed by high walls and covered with a dome resting on pendentives, represents the spine of the structure, while lower extensions lean to it and expand the volume of the interior space. The qibla side of the mosque is extended with a rectangular space which is covered by a semi-dome resting on two highly developed muqarnas structures. They stand in function of pendentives, reducing the rectangular outline of the ground level to the near semi-circle shape in level of the semi-dome. This area houses central architectural elements with religious purposes: mihrab, minbar and kursi and, being open to the central space with a huge arch, represents the focal point of the mosque.
The exterior is dominated by the main dome, topped out only by a simple, yet monumental minaret. The entry side is marked with a portico resting on four wide columns and covered with little domes, only the central one, above the portal, being a bit greater than others, and resting on muqarnas-adorned pendentives, in contrast to others which are laid on simple, plain-surfaced pendentives. The monumental portal is richly decorated with muqarnas, as well as columns' capitels.
During the Siege of Sarajevo, Serbian forces purposely targeted many centers of the city's culture, such as museums, libraries, and mosques, and fired on them generally. As the largest and best known, the Beg's mosque was an obvious target. Having suffered a significant amount of destruction, the reconstruction of the Mosque started with foreign help in 1996, right after the war. The old and faded layer of Austro-Hungarian decoration was removed and, since remains of older, historical layers of decorative painting weren't found, a completely new interior was designed and applied by Bosnian calligrapher Hazim Numanagić in 2001/2002. Austro-Hungarian decoration, performed mostly in pseudo-Moorish style, remains only on the portal of the Mosque today.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.