Gradaščević Tower, Bijela
Open-knowledge reference entry
Gradaščević Tower, or Gradaščevića kula, also "odžak", is a residential and fortification building dating from the Ottoman period in Bijela, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has been designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Location
The Gradašćević Tower with a courtyard and the courtyard walls is located in the settlement Bijela in the southern part of the Brčko District, on the last slopes of Majevica mountain.
History
It was built by Osman Pasha Gradaščević in the late 18th or early 19th century. The origin of Gradaščević family is not fully established, but it is well-founded that they came from Hungary and that they are not medieval Bosnian feudal lords, since they are nowhere mentioned in medieval sources about Bosnia. From 1730, when the Gradačac captaincy was formed, all the known captains came from the Gradaščević family. The final breakup between Captain Husein Gradaščević (better known as the "Dragon of Bosnia") and his brother Osman Pasha in 1831 took place in Bijela. Osman Pasha was for reforms proposed by Ottomans, and Hussein was for the anti-reform movement and Bosnian autonomy from the empire.
Kula (the tower) later became the property of Fadilpašić and Džinić bey-families, both from Sarajevo. Mevhiba Džinić and her family lived in it until June 10, 1948, when nationalization took place.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gradaščević Tower, Bijela” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.