Raižiai Mosque ( lt, Raižių mečetė) is a wooden

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

located in the village of Raižiai,

Alytus County Alytus County ( lt, Alytaus apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is the southernmost county, and its Capital (political), capital is the city of Alytus. Its territory lies within the Regions of Lithuania, et ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. The mosque was the only one to operate during the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

era. The mosque remains open, with local

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

religious gatherings during major holidays. The mosque serves as a center for activities for the 500 Tatars that live in the village. Since 1999, the mosque has been designated a cultural heritage site (unique code 24828). In the village of Raižiai there are several Tatar cemeteries, where

Lipka Tatars The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

of other nationalities are buried.

History

The mosque was first mentioned in sources dated from 1663, the current mosque was built in 1889. Renovated in 1993. The mosque houses the oldest remaining

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (built 1686). In 2010, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

, two sundials were installed near the mosque (constructed by Jonas Navikas), one of which shows the local time, the second in Grunwald,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

References

{{coord, 54.4798, N, 24.1877, E, type:landmark_region:LT, display=title Lipka Tatar mosques Lipka Tatars of Lithuania Mosques completed in 1873 Mosques in Lithuania

History

See also

References