The Great Mosque of Djenne is the largest mudbrick, or adobe, building in the world, standing on the flood plain of the Bani River in the city of Djenne, Mali. The current structure dates to 1907, built on the site of an earlier mosque that had stood since the thirteenth century and had fallen into ruin, and it is constructed in the distinctive Sudano-Sahelian style, with rammed earth walls reinforced by projecting palm wood beams called toron that double as scaffolding for the annual replastering. Each year, ahead of the rainy season, the whole community takes part in a festival to re-coat the walls with a fresh layer of mud plaster, a practice essential to the building's survival that has itself become a celebrated communal event. The mosque and the old town of Djenne were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
Facts
Building Type Completed Year Completed YearThe first mosque on the site was built around the 13th century, but the current structure dates from 1907, per Wikipedia. Height (m)The central tower is around 16 metres in height, per Wikipedia; this is the mosque's tallest tower, not a certified overall building height. Classification
Standing StatusSourced to the subject's own account Building Type
Building Type (category) Connections
Has Building Type
Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.
In Style
An Islamic architecture landmark.
The largest mudbrick building in the world, the definitive monument of Sudano-Sahelian architecture.
Uses Element
Source Wikidata: Great Mosque of Djenne
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Mali, located there.
Sources
1. Great Mosque of Djenne (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationlead section, opening sentence
is the largest adobe brick building in the world.
lead section, location sentence
The mosque is located in the city of Djenné, Mali, on the flood plain of the Bani River.
lead section, construction date sentence
The first mosque on the site was built around the 13th century, but the current structure dates from 1907.
Entity description and the lead of the Wikipedia article
The Great Mosque of Djenne is the largest mudbrick, or adobe, building in the world, standing on the flood plain of the Bani River in the city of Djenne, Mali. The current structure dates to 1907, built on the site of an earlier mosque that had stood since the thirteenth century and had fallen into ruin, and it is constructed in the distinctive Sudano-Sahelian style, with rammed earth walls reinforced by projecting palm wood beams called toron that double as scaffolding for the annual replastering. Each year, ahead of the rainy season, the whole community takes part in a festival to re-coat the walls with a fresh layer of mud plaster, a practice essential to the building's survival that has itself become a celebrated communal event. The mosque and the old town of Djenne were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
View the Source 2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundationarticle text, tower height sentenceQuote, article text, tower height sentence
The central tower is around 16 metres in height.
3. Wikidata: Great Mosque of Djenne
- Wikidata Q683632, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Wikidata Q683632, P571 claim (w-bbfill-artsarchag-0926)
- Uses Element: Adobe, Infobox material field: Adobe
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.