Description of the attraction
Bayrakli is the only surviving ancient mosque in Belgrade (during the Ottoman Empire there were about three hundred of them), but it is currently not operational. In 2004, the mosque was set on fire during the events in Kosovo and has not been rebuilt since then.
Meanwhile, Bayrakli is considered a monument of Islamic religious architecture. The mosque was built in the second half of the 16th century. Its name comes from the Turkish word "bayrak" ("flag"). The mosque received it in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when it was recognized as the main mosque in Belgrade. The duties of the muvekit, the servant of the mosque, also included hanging the flag on the minaret, and this was a sign of the beginning of prayer in all the prayer institutions of the city. The mosque was located in the district of Belgrade, which was called Zeyreka, and was the tallest building in this part of the city.
For two decades in the first half of the 18th century, when Serbia was under Austrian rule, there was a Catholic church in the building of the mosque. But after the re-conquest of Belgrade by the Turks, a mosque was reopened in the building.
In the second half of the 19th century, restoration work was carried out in Bayrakli, and in 1935 the building was taken under state protection as one of the oldest architectural monuments in Belgrade. During the Second World War, the building was repeatedly damaged during shelling, but after its end it was restored. In 1946, the building received another protection status - a cultural monument, and in 1979 it was recognized as a cultural monument of special importance.
The decoration of the mosque was modest; the building was built in the form of a cube, with a dome and a minaret. Nearby is the building of the madrasah and the library.
