The Bosnian Sandžak-Bey Ferhad-Bey Vuković Desisalić built the Ferhadija Mosque in the 16th century. A settlement soon emerged around the mosque, but one could not even imagine that the street next to the mosque will later become the most frequent Sarajevo promenade.
The most famous street of Sarajevo nowadays features stunning Austro-Hungarian buildings, among which are the famous Market building and the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Of the Ottoman architecture, the only preserved facilities are the Ferhad-Bey’s Mosque and the Gazi Husrev-Bey’s bezistan.
Ferhadija is to Sarajevo what the Champs Elysées is to Paris, Stradun to Dubrovnik, Ilica to Zagreb, Knez Mihajlova to Belgrade. Its magic is in numerous stores, cafes, restaurants and other catering facilities, and walking down the Ferhadija you will not be able to avoid various street sellers and entertainers.
What Ferhadija is known for is the fact that the first electrical tram car started from here, driving from the former old railway station to the present Cathedral.
The name of this street has been changed several times through history. The Sarajevans used to call it Bečka Street (The Vienna Street), since it was so reminiscent of the Austrian capital. In 1928, its name was changed into the street of Prijestrolnasljednika Petra (The Crown Prince Peter Street), and that name stayed until 1941.
At the time of the former Yugoslavia, the street was named after the national hero Vasa Miskin. On December 6, 1994, by a decision of the Presidency of AVNOJ, Miskin was awarded the Order of National Liberation. He was declared a national hero only several days after his death, on July 26, 1945. After the war, in 1993, the main Sarajevo street returned its historical name Ferhadija, which remained to date.
(Source: faktor.ba)
