Baščaršija Mosque
Baščaršijski trg
Type: Architecture, Historical
Čolina Kapa on Mount Trebević offers a fascinating view of nearly all of Sarajevo and it was for this reason that the Austro-Hungarian authorities erected a military fortification, Bistrik Kula, on this very vantage point.
After the Second World War, Bistrik Kula lost its military function and in the 1960s it was entrusted to the Orion Astronomical Society. Between 1969 and 1972, Orion worked to establish the only astronomical observatory of its kind in BiH.
Two domes, which housed instruments used in observing the sky, were placed on the old fortification and a special observatory was installed next to the kula. This would serve as the base for the third dome, which measured eight meters in diameter.
The observatory, which gradually became one of the symbols of Trebević and Sarajevo, had everything astronomers might need when staying for several days, as well as a library and a photo lab.
The observatory was badly damaged during the last war and the process of reconstruction has been delayed due to a lack of funding.
Plans for the eventual reconstruction include the construction of a dome, the interior of which would serve as a multimedia space for giving lectures on astronomy.