Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the „Official Gazette of BiH“, no. 47/04.
Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 6 to 11 December 2003 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The historic site of the harem of the Stupnička (Hajji Salihija) mosque in Banja Luka is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the harem with nišan tombstones beside the Stupnička mosque.
The National Monument is located on cadastral plot. 851 (new survey), equivalent to c.p.. 186/8 (old survey), c.m. Banja Luka IV-7, municipality Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The mosque being built on the site of the Stupnička mosque destroyed in 1992 is not subject to protection since it has not been built in conformity with the state of the building before demolition and has not been rehabilitated in compliance with the Law on the Implementation of Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 9/02) and other valid regulations, standards and principles of protection, and thus does not meet the Criteria for the designation of property as national monuments (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03).
The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law referred to in the above paragraph shall apply to the National Monument.
II
The Government of Republika Srpska shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.
III
The following measures shall be implemented to protect the National Monument.
ـ the original use of the protected area shall not be altered;
ـ all fragments of the mosque that may be found on the dumps to which they were removed after demolition shall be recorded, conserved, restored to the mosque premises and displayed appropriately within the mosque complex;
ـ the epigraphic material of the burial ground shall be documented, the harem set in order and damaged tombstones repaired;
ـ the harem shall be fenced as originally done, using the principle of analogy.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.
V
Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of Republika Srpska and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.
VI
The Government of Republika Srpska, the Ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska and the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
VII
The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba)
VIII
Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.
IX
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH.
This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.
No: 07-6-1076/03
6 December 2003
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Ljiljana Ševo
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 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 and 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.
On 27 August 2002 the Commission received a petition from the Islamic Community of BiH, Majlis Banja Luka.
Pursuant to the provisions of the law, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
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:
ـ Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.;
ـ Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property;
ـ 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 and the current condition of the site are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The Stupnička (Hajji Salihija) mosque was built at the foot of Šehitluci hill in Donji Šeher on the right bank of the Vrbas, bu Miloš Obilić street (at the corner of former Nurija Pozderac and Pionirska streets), c.o. 851 (new survey), equivalent to c.p. 186/8 (old survey), c.m. Banja Luka IV-7, and is owned by the Board of the Islamic Community of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina(1)
Historical information
Following the erection of the Ferhad pasha mosque(2) and other public buildings in the Velika čaršija on the left bank of the Vrbas, with the construction of the bridge and transverse road from Pobrđe and the Arnaudija mosque through Velika čaršija, the Kastel fortress and beyond towards the south-western part of the town, the Donje Šeher or Lower Town area on the right bank of the river Vrbas began to develop, hastening the process of urbanization and extending the urban centre of Banja Luka.
Four decades after the formation of the Gazanferija mosque(3) and mahala, there developed on the right bank of the Vrbas the Mala or Lesser čaršija (Suki sagir)(4) and four new mahalas: north of Gazanferija Mejdan and Kul mahala, and south of this the Stupnička (Hajji Salihija) and Potočka (Hajji Perviz(5)) mahalas.
The mosque was called the Stupnička mosque by the people because of the stamping mills (stupa) located on that stretch of the Vrbas, used to process hemp and sumach(6), and the entire mahala acquired the same name(7). Hajji Salih repaired the mosque, as to which there is a legend, and the name derived from him as the renovator is used solely in works written on the mosque by academics.
In the census of mahalas for 1580 this mahala was listed as “Sutisnica” – Stupnica, and in the census of mahalas for 1604(8), it is called the “mahala of Hajji Alija’s mosque” with 87 houses(9), so it may be regarded as one of the oldest mahalas in Banja Luka. This document also shows that Alija was the founder of the mosque.
2. Description of the property
Architecture
Typologically, the mosque belongs to the group of mosques with wooden minaret. In 1983, Banja Luka had a total of eight mosques with wooden minarets, six in Donji Šeher and two in Novoseljia (Bećirbegović, 1999, pp. 125-126). Along with the Mehdibeg mosque (prayer space measuring 7.60 x 9.40 m), the Seferbeg mosque (prayer space measuring 7.20 x 8.00 m) and the Hajji Osman mosque (prayer space measuring 7.30 x 7.30 m) the Stupnička mosque belongs to the single space group of mosques with wooden minarets of which the central prayer space was larger than average(10).
The mosque had a rectangular ground plan extending lengthwise, with exterior dimensions of approx. 10.10 x 14.00 metres. The entrance sofas (total interior measurements approx. 3.55 x 9.70 m) were walled, and the sofa to the left of the entrance door, measuring approx. 3.55 x 2.85 m, was used for religious education. The central interior space measures 8.60 x 8.60 m(11)
The walled sofas(12) had windows extending over two floors, while the other walls retained their two rows of windows (a total of four windows on all the exterior façades other than the entrance façade), with the upper with round-arched lintels, and the lower rectangular in shape.
The building was built of quarry stone(13) with the walls about 75 cm thick. The walls were plastered both inside and out. The single hipped roof was probably originally clad with shingles, and later with plain tiles(14).
The mihrab was richly adorned with stalactites(15) and vertical fluting extending over the full height, while the crown of the mihrab was decorated with a stylized fleur de lis.
To the right of the mihrab was the wooden mimber (width of the base 75 cm, length of the base 290 cm and height to the dome approx 280 cm. The mimber terminates in a domed canopy with no drum.
The mahfil rested on wooden pillars and beams, with reinforcements on the pillars in the form of corbels. Two wooden pillars(16) carried the load of the mahfil via a wooden cross beam. The load bearing pillars of the mahfil were reinforced in the shape of corbels. The front mahfil, about 190 cm deep(17), had no projection for the muezzin(18).
The minaret was wooden, emerged from the roof and was somewhat narrower than those of other Banja Luka mosques, with covered šerefe and an alem (finial) with three pommels(19). According to written sources, almost all the mosques with wooden minarets in Banja Luka had newer minarets with very small openings on the šerefe (so-called blind minarets). All were octagonal, and were about 8 m high measured from the floor of the attic space to the alem of the minaret. The šerefe of the minaret was somewhat extended, and all the minarets were simple, without (Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 126)
It was obvious from a comparison of photographs(20) of the exterior appearance of the mosque that the pitch of the roof had been altered (from about 40 deg. to about 30 deg.); the roof structure had also been altered (the radical change to the roof pitch calling for concomitant major changes to the roof frame).
The mosque had a large harem, where burials began as early as the 16th century and are still taking place today. As a result, it contains various types of tombstones, from the oldest with “turbans” and calligraphic epitaphs to those that do not conform to the tradition in appearance and design. Several members of the Karabegović family are buried there: Omer efendi Karabegović, 1292 AH. (1875), Sakina, wife of Hajji Mustafa Karabegović, 1294 AH. (1877), Muhamed-beg, son of Hasan-beg Karabegović, 1295 AH (1878) (Mujezinović: 1988, [p. 224).
There are also a large number of nišan tombstones brought there from other places, and of particular interest are those relocated from the former Seyydija mosque (which exists only in the census of mahalas for 1605 and was on the left bank of the Vrbas close to the present-day Kosmos factory). Ayverdi also writes about this. It was demolished before World War I.
There is a small harem with about fifteen old nišan tombstones alongside the rebuilt mosque.
Nišan no. 1
Man’s stone nišan with turban, measuring 12 x 13 x 60 cm, with tarih in Arabic.
هو الباقي المرحوم و المغفور المحتاج الي رحمة ربه الغفور قره بك زاده محمد بك ابن حسن بك روحنه فاتحة سنة 1295
He is the Eternal. Karabegović Mehmed-beg son of Hasan-beg, rest his soul, forgiven, needing the mercy of our Lord who forgiveth. Fatiha for his soul. 1295 (1878).
Nišan no. 2
Broken man's stone nišan measuring 16 x 15.5 x 46 cm.
....قره بك زاده عمر افندي بن حسن بك روحيجون فاتحة سنة 1292
….Karabegović Omer effendi son of Hasan-beg. Fatiha for his soul. 1292 (1875).
Nišan no. 3
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 23.5 x 10 x 78 cm.
اه من الموت الموت شراب كل الناس شاربون قره بك زاده باشا بكن زوجسي قديره بنت بكر درويشيك روحنه قاتحة سنة 1317
O death. Death is a beverage that all shall drink. Kadira wife of Paša-beg Karabegović, daugher of Bećir Dervišić. Fatiha for her soul. 1317 (1899/1900).
Nišan no. 4
Man’s stone nišan with turban sunken into the ground, measuring 15 x 15 x 40 cm.
هو الباقي المرحوم و المغفور المحتاج الي رحمة ربه الغفور...
He is the Eternal. Rest his soul, forgiven, needing the mercy of our Lord who forgiveth. ….
Nišan no. 5
Damaged man’s stone nišan with turban, sunken into the ground, measuring 13 x13 x 40 cm.
هو الحي الباقي بنا لوقا لي توفي قره بك1326
He is the Eternal. Mukelefa daughter of Mustafaj-beg Karabegović, rest her soul. Fatiha for her soul. 1327 (1909).
FS>هو الباقي المرحومة مكلفه بنت مصطفي بك قربقويك روحنه الفاتحة سنة 1326
He is the Eternal. Mukelefa daughter of Mustafaj-beg Karabegović, rest her soul. Fatiha for her soul. 1327 (1909).
Nišan no. 7
Grave with only the footstone, a stone nišan measuring 26 x 8 x 85 cm.
Nišan no. 8
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 28 x 9.5 x 63 cm.
هو الباقي مرحومه قره بك زاده الحاجي مصطفي بكين زوجسي ساكنه خانم بنت ياشار بك روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1294
He is the Eternal. Wife of Karabegović hajji Mustafa, Sakina-hanum daughter of Jašar-beg. Fatiha for her soul. 1294 (1877).
Nišan no. 9
Man’s stone nišan with turban measuring 15 x 14 x 76 cm.
اه من الموت قره بك زاده مرحوم درويش بك روحنه ...
O death. Karabegović Derviš-beg, rest his soul. For his soul ….
Nišan no. 10
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 19 x 12 x 125 cm with epitaph in Arabic, part damaged.
هو الباقي المرحومه و المغفوره عايشا بنت الحاج .... زاده لروحها فاتحة سنة 1336
He is the Eternal. Aiša daughter of hajji, rest her soul, forgiven … Fatiha for her soul. 1336 (1917/1918).
Nišan no. 11
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 17.5 x 9 x 90 cm, with illegible epitaph.
Nišan no. 12
Grave with only the footstone nišan, measuring 24 x 11 x 68 cm.
Nišan no. 13
Nišan made of tufa, without epitaph, octagonal in cross-section, sides 19 and 6 cm, height 96 cm.
Nišan no. 14
Man’s stone nišan with turban measuring 18 x 16 x 40 cm, sunken into the ground.
The burial ground by the mosque is separated only by the road from the large burial ground still in use, with more than a thousand nišans, mainly of recent date. The older nišans in this part of the burial ground are:
Nišan no. 1
Man’s stone nišan with turban measuring 23 x 21.5 x 190 cm, with illegible epitaph.
زيارتدن مراد بردعادر .... عمر اغا بن عثمان اغا هركيك .... سنة 1296
The purpose of visiting a grave is prayer. ….Omer-aga son of Osman-aga Herkić. … 1296 (1879)
Nišan no. 2
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 26 x 12 x 154 cm, of fine workmanship, edged with a spiral band, with epitaph in nasta'liq Arabic script.
هو الحي الباقي زيارتدن مراد بر دعا در مرحومة هركيك امينه بنت عثمان اغا روحنه فاتحة سنة 1303
He is the Living, the Eternal. The purpose of visiting a grave is prayer. Herkić Amina daughter of Osman-aga, rest her soul. Fatiha for her soul. 1303 (1885/1886).
Nišan no. 3
Man’s stone nišan with turban, sunken into the ground, measuring 17 x 17 x 62 cm.
Nišan no. 4
Woman’s stone nišan measuring 25 x 14 x 115 cm.
هو الحي الباقي ....... مرحوم و مغفور لها عثمان اغا هرغيك خليله سي بشار خانم بنت علي بكر بكلر لي زاده ... سنة 1302
He is the Living, the Eternal. …. Wife of Osman-aga Hergić, Bašira-hanum daughter of Alija Bećirbeglerović, rest her soul, forgiven (the Arabic here uses the masculaine gender) … 1302 (1884/1885).
Nišan no. 5
Octagonal tufa nišan measuring 10.5 x 9 x 138 cm, with stone surround measuring 107 x 215 x 32 cm.
This burial ground also contains nišans transferred here from the harem of the Medreska mosque. These twelve headstone nišans are arranged alongside each other in a single row. Two of the twelve have tarihs.
Nišan no. 6
Man’s stone nišan with turban, measuring 22 x 18 x 120 cm.
هو الباقي المرحوم غازي فرهاد باشانك امام و حطيب مفتي زاده الحاج حافظ محمد افنديك روحنه بر فاتخة تاريخ وفاتي محرم الحرام سنة 1320
He is the Eternal. Imam i hatib gazi of the Ferhad pasha mosque, Muftić hajji hafiz Mehmed effendi. Recite Fatiha once for his soul. The date of his death is the month of Muharram of the year 1320 (1902/1903).
Nišan no. 7
Man’s stone nišan with fez, measuring 23 x 23 x 143 cm.
يا هو الموت شراب كل الماس شاربون و الكفن لباس كل النلس لابسون القبر باب كل النلس داخلون مرحوم راغب بن محي الدين اغا غوشيك روحنه الفاتحة سنة 1320
O He. Death is a beverage that all shall surely drink, the shroud is a garment that all shall surely wear, the grave is a door through which everyone shall pass. Ragib son of Muhjidin-aga Gušić, rest his. Fatiha for his soul. 1320 (1902/1903).
There is also a turbe in this burial ground, which contains no coffin, although the place where it would have stood can be seen. The whole turbe is in a fairly dilapidated state. It is not known who was buried here or how old the turbe is.
3. Legal status to date
The building was not under protection nor entered in the Register of monuments.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
No research works had been carried out prior to the demolition of the building. The mosque was renovated in 1897 (Bećirbegović, 1999, 124). No information is available about when the sofas were enclosed, but bearing in mind the year of renovation and the arrangement and size of the windows on the north-west entrance façade (windows across two storeys), it may be assumed that the exterior sofas were walled in in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Afer World War II the minaret was rebuilt and the roof structure and cladding replaced.
5. Current state of the property
The mosque was set on fire on 9 September 1993 when the roof and minaret burned down and the walls were damaged. It was completely destroyed in 1995.
On the date of an on site visit, 8 March 2003, the rough building works on the reconstruction of the building had been completed on the site of the destroyed mosque. The new building is of brick blocks, with reinforced concrete horizontal and vertical ring beams, window lintels and door lintels, walls about 25 cm thick, and with a new layout of the mosque space.
The building does not conform to the condition of the building prior to its demolition and has not been rehabilitated in accordance with the Law on the Implementation of decisions of the Commission and other valid regulations, standards and principles of protection. The works have been carried out without the approval of the relevant ministry or the agreement of the heritage protection authority (the municipal authority responsible for town planning has issued no planning consent).
III - CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.
The Decision was based on the following criteria:
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
E. Symbolic value
E.ii. religious value
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
ـ Copy of cadastral plan;
ـ Copy of land register entry and proof of title;
ـ Photodocumentation;
ـ Drawings.
Bibliiography
During the procedure to designate the harem of the Stupnička (Hajji Salihija) mosque in Banja Luka as a national monument of BiH, the following works were consulted:
Bećirbegović, Madžida, Džamije s drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mosques with wooden minarets in BiH) 2nd ed, Sarajevo, 1999
Bejtić, Alija, "Banja Luka pod turskom vladavinom", "Arhitektura i teritorijalni razvitak grada u 16. i 17. vijeku", (Banja Luka under Turkish rule, Architecture and territorial development of the town in the 16th and 17th centuries), Naše starine I (Annual of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of SR BiH), Sarajevo, 1953
Husedžinović, Sabira, "Džamije Banja Luke u planovima austrijskih ratnih karata iz XVIII stoljeća" (Mosques of Banja Luka in the plans of 18th c. Austrian war maps), Contributions to Oriental Philology 47-48, Oriental Institute, Sarajevo, 1999
Husedžinović, Sabira, "Vakufname – značajni istorijski izvori za upoznavanje urbane topografije Banjaluke XVI-XIX vijeka" (Vakufnamas – important historical sources for determining the urban topography of Banja Luka in the 16th-19th centuries), Journal of the Archives and Archivists’ Society of BiH, vol. 30,
Husedžinović, Sabira, study of the Stupnička (Hajji Salihija) mosque drawn up for the Commission to Preserve National Monuments on the basis of the material in the m/s of the unpublished work: „Dokumenti opstanka, džamije in Banja Luka“ (Documents on the survival of the mosque in Banja Luka), 2003
Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Izabrana djela II, Esnafi i obrti u Bosni i Hercegovini (1463-1878) (Selected works II, Guilds and crafts in BiH 1463-1878), Sarajevo, 1991
Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovina, kn. 2, Istočna i centralna Bosna, (Islamic epigraphics of BiH, vol. 2, eastern and central Bosnia), 3rd ed, Sarajevo, 1998 Architectural documentation originating from prior to 1995 (source: drawings from Dr Sabira Husedžinović)
Report by the Banja Luka Mufti’s office on the condition of the Islamic Community, religious and cultural buildings and vakuf property, Banja Luka, April 2000
(1) Details of cadastral plot and ownership taken from Land Registry entry no. 1046/5 issued by the Republika Srpska Authority for Geodetic and Property Law Affairs, Banja Luka branch, no. 10-952-2-5125/2003, of 13.10.2003.
(2) In 1579
(3) built in the late 16th century by Gazanfer, a feudal knight and military commander of the Bosnian pashaluk
(4) Mala čaršija evolved as the fourth čaršija following the Hunćanija (Emperor’s) čaršija, the Sofi Mehmed pasha čaršija and the Velika (Ferhad pasha) čaršija. The Mala čaršija trade and crafts centre had its own separate mosque which, because of its position in the Mala čaršija, acquired the name Sukija. It had three ground-floor shops, with the prayer space on the upper floor. Later the mosque was known as the Talina, for the eponymous imam who sold his own goods to a shop on the ground floor of the mosque.
(5) The vakufnama calls the settlement around this mosque the Jeni mahala or new mahala, which means that it was one of the last mahalas on the right bank of the Vrbas (Mujezinović, 1988, p. 224)
(6) a plant used to dye leather
(7) Stupnica mahala acquired its name from the occupation of the inhabitants of that part of town (Husedžinović, Sabira:1990, pp.95-115; data from Archives of the Board of the Islamic Community of Banja Luka)
(8) General census of the Bosnian sancak for 1604, Vol III (title of original: Defter-i-mufassal-i liva-i Bosna cild salis, Ankara, Tapu Kadastro, Kuyûd-1 Kadîme Arşivi TD 479), Sarajevo: Bosniac Institute Zűrich, Sarajevo Branch: Oriental Institute, 2000, pp. 422-423
(9) ibid (the census notes: “house: imam 1, married 65, bachelors 21”)
(10) Bećirbegović: 1999, str. 125-126
(11) Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 126; the identical dimensions for the interior space are given in the drawings taken from Dr Sabira Husedžinović
(12) there is no available data on when these sofas were enclosed. Bearing in mind that the mosque was renovated in 1897 (Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 124) and the arrangement and size of the windows on the north-west entrance façade (windows extending over two storeys), it may be assumed that the entrance portico was walled in in the late 19th or early 20th century
(13) …”They are stone built with walls about 70 cm thick”. (Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 126)
(14) …”All the mosques are tiled, but previously the roof cladding was shingles”. (Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 126)
(15) judging from a drawing of the mihrab, the vaulted part of the mihrab niche had decorations with geometric and floral motifs set in seven rows (drawings taken from Dr Sabira Husedžinović)
(16) square section pillars 15x15 cm, set in a single row 270-280 cm apart (source as n. 15)
(17) source as n. 15)
(18) “…In all the mosques in Donji Šeher the mahfil was of more recent construction without a projection for the muezzin.” (Bećirbegović: 1999, p. 126)
(19) source: photograph (Museum of the Bosnian Krajina,Banja Luka, Inv. no FIT 43)
(20) photograph Stupnička mosque in more recent times (source: Report by the Banja Luka Mufti’s office on the condition of the Islamic Community, religious and cultural buildings and vakuf property, Banja Luka, April 2000, and photographs of earlier date (source as n.19)
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