AN ATTEMPT TO CONSTRUCT A NATIONAL STYLE IN ARCHITECTURE ON THE EXAMPLE OF ELČI IBRAHIM-PASHA MADRASA

Elči Ibrahim-pasha served as a Bosnian vizier in Travnik from 6 March 1704 to August 1705. During his service in Travnik he commissioned several public and business buildings, a maktab and a madrasa. The original Elči hadži Ibrahim-pasha madrasa was built in 1704. It was a small building in the shape of letter L, where mudarrises had 15 akčas salary. It had six rooms, which served as a boarding school for students and dervishes. Upon the arrival of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Travnik, like other towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, experienced urban transformation. Construction of Lašva-Bugojno railroad required demolition of the old madrasa building, which was located on the route of the railroad. In return, Provincial Government allocated funds for building a new madrasa, which was opened in 1895. Ćiril M. Iveković was appointed architect of the new building. The new building was constructed in the style which literature typically refers to Pseudo-Moorish, Neo-Moorish or Orientalizing.  

The madrasa had an inner courtyard, which is now covered, and a mosque with two minarets and a kitchen were built next to the madrasa. The minarets were demolished in 1918, and reconstructed in 2019.

The Orientalizing style in which the madrasa was built and its monumentality were its main features. By its appearance and dimensions, the building was much different from architecture of Travnik and dominated over the urban landscape of the town. The visible characteristics of the Orientalizing style on the building of the madrasa include decorative stripes in red and yellow color on the facade, two-colored arches over the entrance door and onion domes on the minarets. The decorative elements on the madrasa were not characteristic of the previous architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina; they can rather be found in the countries of north Africa and Moorish Spain. Double-pitch and quadruple-pitch roofs, as well as the dome on the mosque are the few links with local architecture which had existed in Travnik before the arrival of Austro-Hungary.

The principle of combining decorative elements from distant Islamic countries with constructive elements from Western and Central Europe ultimately shaped a building which seemingly looked strange, foreign and exotic compared to other buildings in its surroundings, as if parts of it had been displaced from Spain and Egypt and connected again in the town on the river Lašva.

The question arises as to why the architect used an architectural style which was not close to local tradition and architecture. Reasons are many, and are based on political intentions of the Empire. Conceptual designers of pseudo-Moorish style were foreign architects, typically educated in Vienna, who moved to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the authority of the Provincial Government, their aim was to find or construct a unique national style in architecture, characteristic of all the three religions and the single “Bosnian nation”. The new authentic appearance was supposed to present the country as attractive, same as colonies in North Africa and, at the same time, use the architecture to demonstrate the progress of the country which was achieved during Austro-Hungarian rule. It was challenging due to the fact that Bosnia lay on the European continent, where the East and the West, Orient and Occident, met, and where Islam had the closest contact with Christianity. It was believed that local population would more easily accept a style with decorative elements, which drew origin from other Islamic countries, due to the already existing Islamic tradition in Bosnia. Many buildings were constructed in the same style and with the same political intention, e.g. the Town Hall in Sarajevo (1892–1894), the Town Hall in Brčko (1892), Sharia Judge School in Sarajevo (1887), Gymnasium in Mostar (1894).

Although architecture from Ottoman period prevailed in the country, architects did not rely on the features of the found architecture, but rather used elements from other Islamic countries and periods. Such an approach was aimed at cutting ties with the Ottoman Empire to show that cultural progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina began with Austro-Hungary. Elements from Islamic tradition were used with the intention to establish a dialogue with Muslim population, whom the government considered as allies in the fight against nationalism and separatism. Consequently, the Monarchy supported reconstruction and foundation of new madrasas and allowed Muslims to continue schooling. As part of the policy, Bosnian language was introduced into madrasas as a subject, with the aim to educate staff who would work as public servants and, at the same time, to shift away from Oriental languages which had been studied before.

Elements of pseudo-Moorish style were used for some other buildings in Travnik as well: Court building, the Varoška Mosque, former coffee shop „Lipa“, Lutvo's (Rudolf's) coffee shop, Elementary School at Čabruša and some residential-tenement buildings, such as the one in Bosanska Street number 191.  

At present, buildings in pseudo-Moorish style, which used to be political means of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for achieving its cultural mission have become significant cultural-historical monuments which testify of merging and intertwining of cultural influences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The institution, as well as the building itself, of Elči hadži Ibrahim-pasha madrasa in Travnik are the evidence that the occupier accepted Islamic tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina and used it for their political aims, while the architects were given the opportunity to use the artistic expression to shape the visual identity of the tradition.

References:

• Bejtić, Alija (1942), Elči hadži Ibrahim-pašin vakuf u Travniku – prilog kulturnoj povijesti Travnika, Sarajevo: Tisak nove tiskare Vrček.

• Krzović, Ibrahim (2004), Arhitektura secesije u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing – Biblioteka kulturno naslijeđe.

• Kraljačić, Tomislav (1987), Kalajev režim u Bosni i Hercegovini (1882-1903.), Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša.

• Kurto, Nedžad (1988), Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine: Razvoj bosanskog stila, Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, Međunarodni centar za mir.