Kazandžiluk

Kazandžiluk is one of Sarajevo’s oldest and most recognizable streets and it used to be part of the much larger Kazandžijska Čaršija, which took up the nearby streets, Luledžina and Oprkanj.

Sarajevo’s metalworking čaršija first formed in the first half of the 16th century (sometime after 1528) on land belonging to the wealthy artisan and goatherder, Sagrakči Hajji Mahmud, who is best remembered for building the mosque on Ulomljenica St.

Kazandžiluk takes its name from the kazandžijas, master metalworkers and coppersmiths who first started producing kettles for the army and then later began making other copper vessels and items for everyday use (ewers, pitchers, coffee pots, metal table tops, trays). At the height of Ottoman Sarajevo’s “Golden Age”, coppersmiths were producing around a hundred different kinds of items.

Nowadays, Sarajevo coppersmiths offer a far more limited selection, but Kazandžiluk, with its irresistible charm, continues to attract a lot of attention, especially from tourists, who can be found bustling along this street nearly every season of the year.