On the area of Skenderija and around the confluence of Kosevo creek, there was a small village with a brickyard in Roman times. It was inhabited during the Middle Ages as well, their was Stara Varos. That is evidenced by tombstone on Skenderija near the taxi stand, pulled out of the riverbed of Miljacka during works on the regulation of the riverbed.
“When Skender Bey Mihajlovc was a Bosnian governor for the second time from 1485 to 1490, he built Naqshbandiyyah tekke and imaret at the place of today’s Center Skenderija.
On the other bank on Miljacka, he built a big palace for himself, a caravansary with eleven shops on the ground floor next to it and connected all these properties with a bridge over Miljacka.
Skender Bey’s mahala formed around these objects, and it had its small square, approximately at the place of the today’s park on Skenderija in front of the Municipality Centar, and extended around the mosque on the other side of the river and bridge where today is Center Skenderija. At the same time, there was Cirkus Platz on this are in the Austro-Hungarian era“, said the historian and archivist Velid Jerlagic.
His son Mustafa Bey Skenderpasic built the first domed mosque in B&H nest to his father’s tekke in 1518, and left a large estate for its maintenance called Vesela Straza near the town of Akhisar (Prusac).
Already in 1960s, while there was a football field, the decision on the construction of the Cultural and Sports Center Skenderija was brought. The minaret was removed and the huge concrete bridge was built next to the famous Eiffel bridge.
During the 14th Winter Olympic Games, competitions in figure skating and ice hockey were held in Skenderija.
(Source: radiosarajevo.ba)
