The Sarajevo Clock Tower ( Bosnian: ''Sarajevska sahat-kula'') is a clock tower in Sarajevo, the capital of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

. It is located beside

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque (, ) is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Built in the 16th century, it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkan ...

and is the tallest of 21

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...

s built in the country at 30 m. The clock shows lunar time, in which the hands indicate 12 o'clock at the moment of sunset, the time of the Muslim ''Maghrib'' prayer. A caretaker sets the clock's time manually once a week.

History

The tower was constructed by

Gazi Husrev-beg Gazi Husrev-beg ( ota, غازى خسرو بك, ''Gāzī Ḫusrev Beğ''; Modern Turkish: ''Gazi Hüsrev Bey''; 1480–1541) was an Ottoman Bosnian sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He ...

, a governor of the area during the Ottoman period. The earliest known documented mention of the tower dates to the 17th century in a work by

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty ye ...

. It was rebuilt twice, once after fire damage when the city was attacked by

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...

in 1697, and in 1762. In 1874 the clock was replaced by a mechanism made by

Gillett & Bland Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bel ...

of London. The previous Turkish mechanism was moved to the mosque in Vratnik. In 1967 the clock was repaired, and the hands and numbers on all four clock faces were

gilt Gilt may refer to: *Gilt, a young female domestic pig *Gilding, the application of a thin layer of precious metal *Gilt-edged securities, government bonds * ''Gilt'' (album), an album by Machines of Loving Grace *Gilt Groupe, a shopping website *G ...

National monument

In 2006 the clock tower was declared a national monument by a commission to preserve the country's heritage.

References

Buildings and structures in Sarajevo Clock towers National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourist attractions in Bosnia and Herzegovina Stari Grad, Sarajevo Baščaršija C {{BosniaHerzegovina-struct-stub