In Sarajevo the Old Jewish Synagogue is a building with quite a simple architecuture, but a lot of history. A sign next to the entrance has a lot of information about it in three languages (Bosnian, Serbian and English):
OLD JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
Historic building
Sephardi Jews fleeing from the Reconquista in Spain and Portugal in 1492-1496 settled in the lands of the Ottoman Empire. Volume 2 of the sijil (official shari'a court records in Sarajevo) records that Jewish immigrations from Spain were living in Sarajevo in 1565. In 1581 the beylerbey of Rumelia, Sijavus pasha, built residential quarters for Jewish refugees, known as the Sijayus-pasha han (hostel). A synagogue was built in Velika avlija, alongside the hostel. The han was damaged by fire on several occasions; the last reference to its still standing dates from 1846.
The construction of the first religious building for Sarajevo's Jews, known as Il Kal Grandi, began in 1581, with permission from the Imperial Divan. The synagogue was damaged by fire on several occasions, with the worst damage in 1697 and 1788. The
building acquired its present-day appearance in the early 19th century. During World War II the synagogue was ransacked and demolished in 1941, after which it was used as a prison for Jews, and as a storehouse at the end of the war. In 1957 it was restored. In 1966 the synagogue was turned into the Jewish Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2003 the damage to the building caused by shells fired on Sarajevo under siege in 1992-1995 was made good.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments adopted a decision, to designate the historic building - Old Jewish Synagogue (Il Kal Grandi - Great Synagogue, or Il Kal Vjezu - Old Sinagogue) in Sarajevo, as the Nalional Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Damage to, destruction of, or seizure of the monuments as well as unauthorized exploration and other research on the monument are considered criminal acts.