Gazi Husrev Bey's Library

The Gazi-Husrev-beg Library is a public library in Sarajevo, BiH founded in 1537. It holds one of the most important collections of Ismalic mansucripts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including many originally donated byGazi Husrev-beg. The collection survived the wars in Yugoslavia. The library also holds a sizable number of books, journals, newspapers, documents and photographs.

The library and the madrasas functioned for over three hundred years as one unit until, in 1863, the library was moved to its own room, where it stayed until 1935 when it was moved to the Sarajevo Muftis’s office outside the Careva Mosque. The library continued to grow until the whole building of the former mufti’s office was used for housing the library’s holdings.

Its new location was in the building in front of the Imperial Mosque. It was there until the beginning of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 when the safety reasons urged to be transferred to several, more secure locations in the City.

The complete book collections became larger because many individuals endowed or donated books to the Library. Sometimes the whole private libraries were given as a gift. A number of manuscripts and other valuable books, as well as several private collections, were purchased by the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina for this Library.