Lotan Mosque

Lotan Mosque, also known as Lattan Mosque, is a late 15th-century Sultanate-era mosque located in the historic city of Gour in Malda district, West Bengal. Notable for its early use of glazed and enamelled bricks in Bengal, the single-domed structure features colorful tile work and traditional Bengali-Islamic architecture. Maintained as part of the Gour archaeological complex, it represents the architectural heritage of the Bengal Sultanate and attracts visitors interested in history and heritage architecture.

Visitors can expect a small, single-domed brick mosque set within the open archaeological landscape of Gour. The exterior is decorated with traces of glazed tiles and enamelled bricks in blue, green and yellow hues. The interior is simple with a single prayer hall. The site is surrounded by mango groves and ruins, with open grounds to walk around and view the structure from outside. It is typically visited as part of a heritage circuit of Gour monuments.

Lotan Mosque was built in the late 15th century during the Bengal Sultanate period, generally attributed to the reign of Sultan Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah (1474-1481). It is noted as one of the earliest mosques in Bengal to use glazed and enamelled bricks for decoration, marking a development in Sultanate architecture in the Gour capital region.

The mosque is an Islamic religious structure and an important example of Bengal Sultanate architectural style, reflecting the cultural and artistic traditions of medieval Gour as a capital city. It is part of the protected heritage ensemble of Gour that illustrates the region's historical architectural heritage.