At Mejdan Park

At Mejdan is an archaeological site on the left bank of the Miljacka in Sarajevo, near Ćumurija bridge. It was named after the hippodrome where horses were traded in the 17th century. In 1544, Hadži Alija Bakr-baba built a mosque, harem, and mekteb here, around which an educational and cultural center with a library developed. The mosque burned down in 1697, was rebuilt, and then set on fire again, but the locals rebuilt it every time.

After Austro-Hungarian rule began, the mosque was turned into a military warehouse in 1878 and demolished in 1895; the Kantamiri Library was torn down in 1897, and its books were transferred to the Gazi Husrev-beg Library. In 1905, a park called Filipovića trg was laid out, with a music pavilion from 1913 that burned down in 1941. After 1925, the site was given the status of a city park. Archaeological research in 2004 uncovered the frames of graves, walls, and remains of cobblestone paving. It was declared a National Monument of BiH.