Husein-paša's Mosque in Pljevlja was built between 1573 and 1594. It was named by Husein-paša Boljanić from the Boljanići village, which was close to Pljevlja. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful sacral monuments of Islamic architecture in Montenegro.
The mosque has a square basis above which there rises a low-pitched dome set on a cubiform pedestal. An open porch covered with three small domes was formed in front of the main façade. A minaret was added close to the southern side. After it being struck by lightning in 1911, it was rebuilt into a slimmer and higher one, which is now the highest minaret in the Balkans.
The interior of the mosque and the porch are decorated with rich, in polychrome painted ornaments with floral motifs and quotations from Quran. Mihrab, mimber and mahvil abound in ornaments made in stalactites and in customary Turkish perforations.
References:
Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet in the 12th century and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
The present keeps were the central point of a massive fortress. The southern keep is 28m tall, reinforced with turrets. The northern tower is slightly shorter at 23m. Both are flanked with circular turrets at the corners as well as semicircular buttresses. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. The Romanesque architecture is of a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed.