Baria Mosque

Baria Mosque is situated at the village Baria under Pirganj Thana of Rangpur district. It is about 8 kilometers northwest from the Thana headquarter and about 3 kilometers west of the Tomb of Shah Ismail Gazi at Ismailpur (Badadargah). The mosque is well preserved.

This three-domed rectangular mosque has been raised on a low plinth. It is built entirely of brick and plastered with lime mortar. Externally, including its corner towers, it measures 15.10 meters from north to south and 6.50 meters from east to west. Internally, it is 11.40 meters by 3.50 meters. The walls of the mosque are 1.25 meters thick. The inner face of the walls is plastered with lime mortar. The outer face of the side walls is divided into horizontal and vertical panels. The facade wall of the mosque is provided with three arched doorways, the central being larger than the side ones. Each of the side walls has a single arched window.

The qibla wall contains a semi-circular mihrab in the axis of the central doorway. The mibrab has a concave body, while a half domical vault covers the upper part. The backside of the mihrab is projected and flanked by pilasters with a kalasa base and a half-rounded body. The pilasters extend up to the parapet level.

The three square bays in the interior of the mosque, formed by two wide transverse arches, are covered with three domes with octagonal drums. The corners of the square bays are filled with triangular pendentives. The brick courses of the pendentives are arranged so symmetrically as to create a beautiful ornamental pattern on the face of the pendentives. The drums of the domes are ornamented by a band of blind merlons. The top-most parts of the domes are crowned by full-blown lotus flower designs with a peak of amalaki, kalasa and lotus buds. A low parapet wall runs all around the roof.

There are four corner towers at the four angles of the mosque. Having kalasa bases and half-rounded body, they all extend beyond the roof level and are topped over by kiosks. A veranda and a ma'zina are two recent constructions.

The mosque does not contain any inscription. Stylistically, it seems to have close resemblance with the Mithapukur mosque at Mithapukur, the Kamdia mosque at Govindaganj, the Nayarhat mosque at Lalmonirhat, and the Kazitari mosque at Pirgachha in the greater Rangpur district. Its architectural features suggest a period in the beginning of the later half of the 18th century. [Sultan Ahmad]