Beledija, a building next to the Sarajevo City Hall, was built a little earlier than its big sister in 1892 as a municipal building. But over time, it got a different role, becoming a symbol of fear and terror for the people of Sarajevo.
Czech by birth, Sarajevo citizen by choice, architect Karlo Parzik designed the building expecting that it would be the most important building in the city, but it was not clear to him how in a city where there is such an imposing National Museumbuidling, which he also designed, they wanted such a small municipal building.
But very quickly, the authorities in Vienna realized that Sarajevo would not be a province on the border of the empire, and that a much larger and more imposing building would be needed for the city hall. Thus, Beledija, which means “town house” in Turkish, remained in the shadow of the much larger and more imposing Sarajevo City Hall.
Beledija thus became a city prison, particularly notorious for imprisoning anti-fascists and Jews during the Independent State of Croatia, as well as Young Muslims after World War II.
Before the World War II, political opponents of the then Yugoslav regime were imprisoned there, so Benjamin Finci, a member of the banned Communist Party, was arrested and, after torture, was thrown through the window of Beledija, from a height of ten meters. The case was characterized as suicide, and after World War II, the street between Vijecnica and Beledija was named after Finci.
The Ustasha authorities used Beledija to imprison and torture members of the partisan movement, including national heroes Vaso Miskin and Radojka Lakic. Testimonies say that the prisoners did not even get food, and the toilets were in a catastrophic condition.
“My interrogation lasted for 12 days. Day by day, and during the interrogation, I was beaten and tortured daily by the agents. After the interrogation, because I did not provide the specific information they were looking for, the agents took me to the basement where the other men and women were also brought… Torture was carried out here in such a way that the agents opened strong and cold showers, and after the shower, prisoners went to the hearing again, where they were beaten again, and when the prisoner fell unconscious, he was returned in the shower again. One of the methods of torture was putting salt in the prisoner’s mouth,” wrote Stefica Belak, recalling the days spent in Beledija.
The new Yugoslav authorities continued the old practice, so political opponents and those whom the regime at the time saw as enemies, primarily members of the Young Muslims, including the first president of the Presidency of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH), Alija Izetbegovic, were once again kept in Beledija.
At the end of the 1950s, the prison was dissolved, and the authorities did not have a clear plan for what the new purpose of the building would be. This was taken advantage of by some families from Sarajevo, who moved into the premises of the former prison. At first, the authorities evicted unexpected tenants, but later they issued permanent solutions, so some still live in Beledija to this day.
In 2004, the Beledija building was protected as a cultural heritage of the city of Sarajevo, and three days ago, the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic, announced that the main project of renovation and restoration of the Beledija facade had been completed. With the renovation, the building will get a new face and shine again in the same way that its creator, Karlo Parzik, had imagined. After decades of dark history, it is likely that Sarajevo’s Beledija will get another, much nicer role, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
