MEKTEB VĀKIFA HENDE AHMED-AGE NA VRATNIKU
An elementary school in Vratnik: Waqf Henda Ahmedagha

Summary/Abstract: Among the warmhearted Sarajevans, who, each in his or her own way contributed during Sarajevo’s tumultuous 500-year-old history, was a prominent Sarajevan trader Hende Ahmed-agha (1853-1913). Even though, there were wealthier people than Hende Ahmed-agha, he himself built an elementary school- mekteb – in 1908 in Vratnik, Sarajevo, for male and female children under the same roof. By doing this the founder, for the love of God and prosperity of the people contributed very much to the educational development of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the time of Austro-Hungarian administration. The following waqfname bares witness to Henda’s waqf: - Transcript of istibdalname from year 1908. - Original waqfname from the year 1908 with supplement) amendment to waqfname with which waqif (legator) appointed another mutevelli (administrator of the waqf) - Transcript of the waqfname from the year 1910, which is in fact, appendix to the first waqfname. By the means of this document waqif strengthened his first waqf in Vratnik, giving to waqf a warehouse on new road (Nova testa). - Transcript waqfname - wasiyyetname (testament) from year 1913. These waqfname were written in Osmanli-Turkish flowery style language. Apart from that, one of the waqfnamas which is today kept in the Gazi Husrev-bey Library in Sarajevo shows that Ahmed-aga allocated 1/3 of his estate, after his death, for the building of two mektebs, male and female to be built under one roof in Vratnik. The mekteb from the year of 1908 still stands today, while the other one was not built because of the outbreak of the First World War.

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