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| Unassuming exterior of the Old Church |
Built in 1539, on even older foundations, the Old Orthodox Church is fascinating. It is an unassuming building on the outside, set just off a major street. The small and (in the winter) unattractive grounds host this church that seems regal on the inside. But it isn’t just the beauty of the site that surprised me, but the age of the structure and the fact it has housed an Orthodox Church for almost 500 years.
The Ottoman Empire was tolerant of non-Muslim inhabitants and religions for most of its rule. To advance in the ranks of government and bureaucracy, conversion was important, but for the people day to day, the Ottoman’s were quite supportive of other religions. This Church was built during Ottoman rule and has stayed Orthodox ever since. The delicate interior belies the humble exterior.
Sarajevo also supplied a sanctuary for the Sephardic Jews fleeing the Inquisition. The first Synagogue was founded in 1581. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt repeatedly until the famous Sephardic Synagogue of 1932 was built. It was destroyed by the Nazi’s in 1941.
The Ashkenazi Synagogue was built in 1902, when the Ashkenazi community came to Sarajevo with the Austrian Empire. It still stands in the Moorish Revival style popular in the early 1900s. (A style shared with the Sarajevo Library and Civic buildings in Mostar). The two variants of Judaism lived peacefully in Sarajevo for many years. Sarajevo once boasted a large Jewish population of Sephardic and Ashkenazi people, until both were decimated by the holocaust. Sarajevo’s Jewish population now numbers less than 6,000.
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Top and lower left, interior of the Old (Orthodox) Church. Lower Right, the Ashkenazi Synagogue
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