_The Neighbourhood Mosque With Wooden Minaret in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The mosque with wooden minaret, porch and hip roof, represents the authentic building type which had been built on a large number through four centuries of the Ottoman period in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463-1878). These structures were constructed using locally available materials and construction techniques, all done by domestic builders. Sometimes numerous, small neighbourhood (mahalle) mosques constantly decay and disappear in last hundred years, as a result of incompetent appraisal and maintenance, violent or deliberate demolition, and also unacceptable intentions to build a new, larger and more modern mosque in place of an old one. This study aims to analyse four small neighbourhood mosques in the Tuzla region, dating back to the 16th and early 17th century, in terms of the authenticity of form, method of construction, similarity and differences with other matching examples in Bosnia, as well as problems and possibilities of their restoration, today’s use and proper maintenance. Dzindijska and Mejdanska mosque in Tuzla town, Atik mosque in Cive, and Dzebarska mosque, belong to a single space type with a two-story porch, both under the wooden pitched roof with integrated wooden minaret. After being worn out and with an altered look, the restoration works had given them back previous, more authentic form. As a valuable symbol of the cultural identity and continuity, this autochthonous mosque type can be preserved with sustainable methods and principles of the restoration, with due respect of the contemporary context, values and users’ needs.