Sebilj in Sarajevo

Fountain in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

This article is about sebil in Sarajevo. For other sebils, see Sebil (fountain).

Sebilj

The Sebilj in 2016

General information
Town or city| Sarajevo
Country| Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates| 43°51′35″N 18°25′52″E﻿ / ﻿43.859674°N 18.431218°E﻿ / 43.859674; 18.431218
Completed| 1753, destroyed by fire in 1852, reconstructed 1891
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Mehmed Pasha Kukavica born in Foča

The Sebilj is an Ottoman-style wooden fountain (sebil) in the centre of Baščaršija Square in Sarajevo. The original Sebilj was built by Mehmed Pasha Kukavica in 1753, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1852. It was reconstructed by the Austrian architect Alexander Wittek in 1891, and was relocated to its present site several metres away from the position of the earlier structure.[1] According to local legend, visitors who drink water from the fountain will return to Sarajevo someday.[2]

## Replicas

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A multinational collaborative public arts project created a life-size contemporary interpretation of the famous public fountain and landmark in Birmingham, using traditional Bosnian design and craft techniques, combined with modern digital technology.[3][4][5]

There is a replica of Sarajevo's Sebilj in Belgrade, Serbia, donated by the city of Sarajevo in 1989 as a gift ahead of the 9th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.[6][7] Another replica in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, was donated by the Bosnian community to the city of St. Louis for the city's 250th birthday.[8] A third replica is in Novi Pazar, also a gift from the city of Sarajevo. In Bursa, Turkey a replica of Sarajevo’s Sebilj was built as a symbol of friendship between the city of Bursa and the city of Sarajevo.

In 2018, another replica of the Sebilj was completed in the town of Rožaje, Montenegro.

## References

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1. ^ Clancy, Tim (2007). Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Bradt Travel Guide. ISBN 9781841621616.
2. ^ Steves, Rick; Hewitt, Cameron (10 July 2018). Rick Steves Croatia & Slovenia. ISBN 9781641710060.
3. ^ "Sebilj: An Arabic word for a kiosk-shaped public fountain". www.newgenerationarts.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009.
4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-04-10.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Tourist Organization of Belgrade – Sebilj Fountain Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ n.a. (n.d.). "Sebilj na Skadarliji". Nesvrstani.rs, Museum of African Art, Belgrade. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
8. ^ St. Louis Bosnians -

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sebilj.