Gunja Mosque ( Croatian and Bosnian: ''Džamija u Gunji'') is the oldest active mosque in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

built in 1969. It is located in the village of Gunja in the Croatian part of

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

History

Today the Gunja Mosque is the oldest mosque in Croatia in continuous use. Historically, during the Ottoman rule, there was a significantly larger number of mosques in Croatia. At one point there were 250 of them, but as of 2014 only 3 structures remained standing. The largest and most representative one of them, Ibrahim Pasha's Mosque, is located in eastern Croatian town of

Đakovo Đakovo (; , , sr-Cyrl, Ђаково) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the (diákos) in Slavic form đak (pupil). The Hungar ...

but is today used as the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of All Saints. Another mosque in eastern Croatia, which today does not exist, was located in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

. It was the

Kasım Pasha Kasım Pasha or Kasim Pasha (; 1442–43) was an Ottoman general and governor, the ''beylerbey'' of Rumelia and one of the commanders of the Ottoman forces during the Crusade of Varna (1443–44). When Rumelian beylerbey and vizier Hadım Şeha ...

Mosque constructed after 1526 at the site of modern-day Church of Saint Michael. Most of the Ottoman structures in the region were systematically destroyed after the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...

Post-World War II history

In contemporary history the first Muslim refugees from eastern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

settled in Gunja in 1942 during

World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...

. They returned to Bosnia, but once they witnessed the extent of destruction some of them returned once again to Gunja. Some 50 Muslim families from

Velika Kladuša Velika Kladuša ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Кладуша, ; literal translation, lit. "Great Kladuša") is a town in the Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the far northwest of Bosnia, located on the border with Croatia. As o ...

settled in Gunja after the

Cazin rebellion The Cazin rebellion ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Cazinska buna, Цазинска буна) was an armed anti-state rebellion of peasants that occurred in May 1950 in the towns of Cazin and Velika Kladuša in the Bosanska Krajina region, as well as Slunj in ...

. During the existence of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

Muslim community in Gunja increased to 2,500. Seventy Muslim families moved to Gunja from

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War in 1995, Srebr ...

in the 1970s. Gunja was an attractive location for Muslim settlers from Bosnia as it functioned as a ''de facto'' suburb of the city of

Brčko Brčko ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, the Brčko District b ...

across the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

river. Local '' džemat'' was established in 1957 and was led by Abdurahman ef. Hodžić from

Ustikolina Ustikolina ( sr-cyrl, Устиколина) is a village and the seat of the municipality of Foča-Ustikolina, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A proposal to dam the Drina River at Ustikolina for a hydroelectric power ...

, who later returned to Ustikolina for health reasons. He was succeeded by Hazim ef. Hodžić from Vražići (who was earlier a prisoner for his membership in Young Muslims) but he also left for

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. As of 2013, it has a population of 107,715 ...

leading local community to unite with the one in the Atik Mosque in Brčko. At the same time the community decided to form an initiative to build a mosque and started the process once all permissions were issued. 3134 square meters of land for the new mosque was granted by the Čandić family. The Mosque in Gunja was completed in 1969 after 14 months and functioned as the only active mosque in Croatia until Zagreb Mosque was completed in 1987. Current

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

of the Gunja Mosque was constructed in 1999 based on the Neo-Ottoman design done by Faruk Muzurović which strictly followed historical examples of

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

leading to some criticism over the lack of creativity. The Mosque in Gunja was damaged during the

2014 Southeast Europe floods Between 13 and 18 May 2014 a low-pressure cyclone designated ''Tamara'' and ''Yvette'' affected a large area of Southeastern and Central Europe, causing floods and landslides. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered the greatest damage, as t ...

. The site was visited by ambassadors of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to Croatia who were led by mufti of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. While local religious leadership requested and expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of reconstruction funding from the

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

, object was ultimately reconstructed by an €165,000 donation of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Since 2017 the mosque organizes annual ''Evenings of Spiritual Music'' in which students from elementary school in Gunja as well as representatives of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

and

community from the village and the rest of the region take part. On the occasion of 50th anniversary of the Gunja Mosque local Muslim religious leader

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Idriz ef. Bešić received life achievement award of the Vukovar-Srijem County for 38 years of his service in Gunja.

References

{{coord missing, Croatia Mosques in Croatia Bosniaks of Croatia Mosques completed in 1969 1969 establishments in Yugoslavia Religious buildings and structures in Vukovar-Syrmia County

History

Post-World War II history

See also

References