Chairman of the Commission

Dubravko Lovrenović

E l u c i d a t i o n

I – INTRODUCTION

            Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter referred to as Annex 8) and as property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of  BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

            Pursuant to Article V of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, and to a motion to designate the Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH in Mrkonjić-Grad a National Monument, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument,

II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION

            In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

Ÿ          Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property

Ÿ          Data on legal protection to date of the property

Ÿ          Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage if any, data on restoration or other works on the property if any, etc.

Ÿ          Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.

            The findings based on the review of the above documentation are as follows:

1. Information on the Site

Location

            The Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH are located in the centre of Mrkonjić-Grad on cadastral plot 26/63, cadastral municipality Mrkonjić Mrkonjić-Grad, Republika Srpska. The owner of the property is the Municipality of Mrkonjić-Grad.

Historical data

            The building was purpose-built in 1896 as business premises.

            It was in this building, on 25 and 26 November 1943, that the first session of the National Antifascist Council of the National Liberation of BiH – ZAVNOBiH – was held.  The session, which was also formally the organization’s inaugural assembly, was attended by 141 delegates of the total of 173.  ZAVNOBiH was founded as the central political representative body of the National Liberation Movement (NOP) and the highest authority of the national government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

            The building in which the first ZAVNOBiH session was held in 1943 belonged to the Gašić family, which had run a café in the building until 1941.  In August 1942 the building was turned into a Cultural Centre.  In 1953, by resolution of the Executive Council of SRBiH, the building was turned into a Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH.  As part of the preparations to mark the tenth anniversary of the first ZAVNOBiH session, the municipal authorities of Mrkonjić-Grad municipality carried out alterations to the building itself and its surrounding courtyard (removal of the roof, conversion of the interior, setting up an exhibit of historical documents, landscaping the area around the building).

Legal status to date

            By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH are registered as a monument of historic importance and were entered in the Register of Immovable Monuments as no. 301.

            The Republic Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka issued approval no. 01-290/2001 dated 31 August 2001 for a change of use of the building of the Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH for cultural purposes, pursuant to an application from JP Kioc “Petar Kočić”, Mrkonjić-Grad, no. 134/2001, dated 3 August 2001.

2. Description of the monument

            The monument consists of a house with an area of 160 sq.m. and a courtyard with an area of 150 sq.m., making a total of 310 sq.m. The building was originally owned by the Gašić family, but in 1957 the building and its accompanying courtyard were sold to the Authority in charge of the buildings of the Republican State authorities of NRBiH. The building is currently registered as socially-owned public property of Mrkonjić-Grad Municipality.

            The building was originally designed for commercial use and catering purposes, with the ground floor used as a storeroom.

3. Current state of the property

            On-site inspection revealed that the building suffered extensive war damage and is in very poor condition as a result of inadequate maintenance.  The building is currently not in use and is in danger of further deterioration.  All the movable items formerly in the building have either been destroyed or disappeared.

MOVABLE CULTURAL PROPERTY

            In 1953, two museum institutions were founded under the auspices of the National University in Mrkonjić-Grad, belonging to the category of historical memorial museums:

1.       The Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH

2.       The ZAVNOBiH Centre

            A permanent display was set up in 1968 in the Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH (in the house belonging to the Gašić family) with the assistance of the Museum of the Revolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (now the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina), to which alterations and additions were carried out in 1973.  All the original items on display (photographs, documents, proclamations, newspapers, drawings, personal and other effects of ZAVNOBiH delegates) were taken from the holdings of the Museum of the Revolution.  The other items needed to complete the appearance of the premises in which the session was held were acquired later in Mrkonjić-Grad, Petrovac and the surrounding area.

            By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Sites of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ZAVNOBiH museum and the house of the Gašić family in which the ZAVNOBiH session was held were proclaimed a cultural monument in 1971.

            The Museum and assembly rooms of ZAVNOBiH were charged with the acquisition of documentary material relating to the first ZAVNOBiH session, but the results were disappointing, because almost all the relevant material was in the Museum of the Revolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Institute of History.  The Museum thus served for educational purposes.

            The Museum had its own library, mainly covering issues relating to the ZAVNOBiH session.

INTERIOR OF THE ROOM WHERE THE FIRST ZAVNOBiH SESSION WAS HELD

III – CONCLUSION

            Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02), and with regard to the time frame (A), historic value (B), and symbolic value (E) of the site in question, the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-         Copy of cadastral plan with protection zones indicated

-         Copy of land register entry and ownership certificate;

-         Photodocumentation;

            The documentation annexed to the Decision is public and available for view by interested persons on written request to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bibliography

1.       Letter ref. A.N. 126-2/02, dated 25.04.2002. godine, from the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

2.       Archives of BiH 172-1/66;  ZAVNOBiH Museum in Mrkonjić-Grad – Reconstruction of interior,

3.       Archives of BiH;    Memorial Museum of the First AVNOJ ZAVNOBiH session in Mrkonjić-Grad – arrangement of building,

4.       Archives of BiH;  Assembly of Mrkonjić-Grad Municipality to the Museum of the  Revolution in Sarajevo,

5.       Archives of BiH;  Funding and maintenance of the ZAVNOBiH memorial centre in Mrkonjić-Grad,

6.       Private documentation of Dr. Dušan Otašević

7.       Data and description of documentation submitted by Mr. Gašić without reference to his name, since all documentation in his possession is part of the municipal archives

8.       Plan of the ZAVNOBiH Centre building,

9.       Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum,

10.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum,

11.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum; view of stage,

12.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum; view of left wall,

13.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum; view of right wall,

14.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum; view of rear wall,

15.   Reconstruction of interior of the ZAVNOBiH Museum; view of screen and display cabinet by entrance,

16.   Reconstruction of the hall where the first ZAVNOBiH session was held