Status of monument -> National monument

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 3 to 9 May 2005 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The site and remains of the architectural ensemble of the Kizlaraga  mosque in Mrkonjić Grad is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot. nos. 26/84, 26/82-1 and 26/81-1, title deed no. 524, cadastral municipality Mrkonjić Grad, Mrkonjić Grad, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by 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 (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 9/02) 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 Government of Republika Srpska shall be responsible for providing the resources needed to draw up and implement the necessary technical documentation for the rehabilitation of the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (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 are hereby stipulated:

• the architectural ensemble of the Kizlaraga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad, consisting of the mosque, šadrvan fountain and surrounding fence with gate, shall be reconstructed if, during the course of drawing up a project and conducting research, the minimum appropriate project documentation is found to exist.  Rehabilitation may be replaced by reconstruction to the extent possible in conformity with the Law;
• all original fragments of the mosque found on the site or on other sites to which they were removed after the destruction of the building (the tombstones were removed to a garbage dump in current use Grabež) shall be registered and recorded, conserved, and reintegrated into the reconstructed building by the method of anastylosis,
• all fragments discovered that are too badly damaged to be reintegrated or cannot be reintegrated for other justifiable reasons shall be displayed appropriately within the mosque ensemble,
• prior to the start of reconstruction, the surface layers of soil shall be removed in order to uncover the original foundation walls, and a detailed survey, repair and consolidation of the original parts of the foundations and walls shall be carried out,
• all usable material found from the original building shall be rebuilt into the mosque building, and missing parts for which there is document shall be made of the same or similar materials as the originals using the method of repristination,
• all missing elements for which there is no reliable documentation shall be dealt with under the project in such a way as to ensure that there interpolation is plainly identifiable,
• all parts of nišan tombstones that may be found shall be presented within the ensemble where there were graves prior to its destruction,
• on all the plots adjoining the protected area, the only construction permitted is of residential buildings of ground floor and one upper floor (i.e. with a maximum height of 6.50 m. from floor level of the ground floor of the building to the top of the roof structure above the first floor).  No extensions to existing buildings in the contact zone of the National Monument shall be permitted,
• the site of the protected National Monument shall be fenced off and provided with the proper noticeboards, and all parking and any operations apart from the original use of the property and the operations provided for by this Decision are prohibited.

                 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 – 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: 06.1-02-141/05-1

3 May 2005.

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 8 April 2002 the Commission received a petition from the Ministry for Town Planning, Housing, Utilities, Construction and the Environment of Republika Srpska, and proceeded to carry out the procedure for designating the preoperty as a national monument pursuant to Article 5 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

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:

• Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of title deed no. 542, c.m. Mrkonjić Grad, Municipal Assembly of  Mrkonjić Grad, no 138/03 dated 4 March 2003, and copy of 3 March 2003),
• the current condition of the property,
• data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs,
• historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision,
• 1987 Regulatory Plan for the centre of Mrkonjić Grad.

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

1. Details of the property

Location

            Mrkonjić Grad stands on the intersection of the Split-Banja Luka and the main Jajce-Bihać road(1),  60 km from Banja Luka and 25 km from Jajce, at an altitude of 591 metres above sea level.

            The Kizlaraga mosque stands in the centre of Mrkonjić Grad.The plot on which it was built is bordered by Sime Šolaje street to the east and by Kralja Petra Square (formerly 25 November street) to the north and north-west.The Mrkonjić Grad Municipal Council offices are about 20 m. to the north-west of the mosque.

            The buildings in the zone contiguous with the National Monument, as well as the buildings standing along the above streets, are two storey (ground and first floor) (+ attic).   

Historical information

            With the formation of a new urban settlement on the site of the village of Gornja Kloka between 30 December 1589 and 8 January 1590, the kasaba (town) of Novo Jajce (Yaytse Yenice)(2) came into being, later to be known for several centuries as Varcar Vakuf(3), until 1925 when, during the time of the first Yugoslavia, it was given the name Mrkonjić Grad(4). The vakufnama (deed of endowment) of the Kizlaraga vakuf was registered on 11-20 February 1595 in Istanbul(5). 

            From the 16th century onwards, the ancient names of the various quarters of the town also came into being: Imamovac mahala (after the first vakuf imam), Mečet (after the small wooden mosque), Kolobara (the old market), Zavakuf (the part of town behind the vakuf), Rijeka (Rika), Zborišće (assembly site), Uspolje (the road to Trijebovo via the Suljinovac spring) and many other names of parts of the town(6).

            The mosque was commissioned by Mustafa aga (son of Mehmedbeg son of Abdulvedud)(7), the court kizlaraga(8). He built and endowed several buildings in Gornja Kloka: a mosque, a mekteb, a caravanserai with 20 rooms(9), 24 shops, a water main(10) and a number of manuscript books; all these are listed in his vakufnama.

            “For the maintenance of the buildings and for paying the vakuf officials, he endowed 647,000 akčas in cash, of which 59,040 were to be spent on salaries, and 615,060 to be in circulation, with a 10% profit, this to be used for covering routine maintenance costs.” (11)   

            The travel chronicler Evliya Çelebi, who journeyed through the lands of former Yugoslavia in the mid 17th century, writes:

“It is a hās of the pasha and dukedom in the Bosnian eyalet, and is located below Crna gora(12).To the west it marches with the territory of Zadar(13). It is a large varoš. It has eleven mahalas and two thousand houses with wooden roofs, with vineyards and gardens. It has several mosques, one tekke, a hammam(14) and a sufficient number of shops. This area is very close to the frontier, and there was not a single fort in the environs. When Sejdī Ahmed-paša was Bosnian valija, the Venetians torched the settlement and ransacked many places(15), but Sejdī Ahmed-paša subsequently personally rebuilt it. Since watchtowers have been erected on all four sides and the inhabitants take it in turns to keep watch all night, they feel safe. Around the šeher are many vineyards; the climate is very pleasant.” (16) 

            It is not known exactly when the mosque was built, but on the basis of the information in two documents the rough date can be established. It is clear from Kizlaraga’s vakufnama, dated Jumada al-akhira 1003 AH (11-20 February 1595) that the mosque had already been built by then, while the inscriptions on šamadans (17) dating from 1001 AH (1592/93) reveals that the mosque could have been built prior to 1592. All this suggests a date for the mosque of 1591-1595. (18)    

            There were two šamadans in the mosque, one of which was original and the other a true copy(19). Both were incised with the identical text on the copper section, starting at the widest point, with a diameter of about 60 cm, and extending up to the point with a diameter of about 30 cm:

“May it be clear to the enlightened hearts of those who submit to God that this šamadan was endowed by the aga of the imperial court [lit. aga of the court of good fortune – darusseade agasi] hajji Mustafa aga, who built a mosque in Novo Jajce (Yenice-i Yaytse) – may the light of his heart shine for ever and may the  foundation of his greatness endure for eternity – for the love of Allah who gives light to all, seeking to please the Lord Who governs all things and who is omnipotent, and issued this decree: To those who remove it from this mosque and display stubborn resistance to the vakif’s decree, may all the misfortunes of this world fall upon their heads.” (20) 

            The mosque was renovated in 1873 under the supervision of the mutevelija (manager) of the Kizlaraga vakuf, Adžemović Muhamed, as recorded in the inscription above the entrance door in naskh script in verse:

”This mosque, which had become dilapidated, was renovated

with funds from the property of Darus-Seade hajji Mustafa-aga’s vakuf

The renovation ensued under the control of mutevelija hajji Muhamed effendi Adžemović,

And thus this decorated mosque was revived in 1290.” (21) 

            Repairs to the mosque were carried out in 1883, 1899 and 1925. After the mosque was built, a large carpet (kilim) was brought from Istanbul, weighing 200 to 300 kg, which was laid on the mosque floor and which Austrian soldiers cut into four pieces in 1878 while looting the town; one of these pieces is still in the Art Museum in Vienna (Kunstmuseum). (22)     

            Adžemović Muhamed was mutevelija of the Kizlaraga vakuf, his grave was by the minaret, and his nišan tombstone gives the yeaer 1310 (1892) as the year of his death. There were a number of other tombstones without epitaphs beside the mosque.(23) Following Adžemović, the mutevelija of the Kizlaraga vakuf was Mula Alija Arnautović. (24)   

            The Kizlaraga mosque was set on fire and dynamited in 1993, and then demolished, and the material was taken away to a garbage dump in Grabež. (25)   

2. Description of the property

Architecture

            At the time of its destruction in 1993, the architectural ensemble of the Kizlaraga mosque consisted of the mosque, the šadrvan fountain in line with the central axis of the mosque, the tomb of Adžemović Muhamed, mutevelija of the Kizlaraga vakuf, beside the minaret, and a number of nišan tombstones with no epitaphs. The complex was surrounded by a low metal fence, and the entrance gate was also in line with the central axis of the mosque, running north-west/south-east.

The Kizlaraga mosque belonged to the group of single-space domed mosques with portico with small domes and a stone-built minaret.

The portico with sofas, roofed with three small domes, occupied the entire width of the outside entrance wall. All three domes were at the same level, with a height of approx. 8.40 m to the alem (finial) (26). The bay below the domes measures 3.22 x 3.55 metres. There are low stone sofas to either side of the mosque door, measuring approx. 5.30 x 4.30 m. The portico and its domes rested on four massive stone columns with a diameter of approx. 40 cm and a height of 3.60 m, set on square bases measuring 50 x 50 cm with a height of 60 cm. Between the columns, and between them and the mosque wall, were round stone arches, 160 cm in height, with horizontal steel ties. The domes rested on octagonal drums about 60 cm high; the sides of the octagon were 130 cm in length.

The building has a square ground plan, with exterior dimensions of 11.66 x 11.63 m. The solid walls are stone-built, plastered and whitewashed inside and out, with a thickness of approx. 0.95 m. The transition from the wallls to the dome, with a span of approx. 9.50 m, is effected via trompes 2.50 m in height and a drum 2.00 m in height. The trompes are framed by boldly moulded round arches.

All the volumes of the exterior form of the mosque terminate in moulded stone string courses, which feature on the places where the roof cladding projects over the vertical surfaceof the wall. All the domes, like the mosque steeple, were clad with sheet metal.

The central mosque area was domed, with the vertex of the dome at a height of approx. 14.50 m above floor level, and a height to the finial on the exterior of approx. 15.00 m. The drum is approx. 0.70 m thick, with an exterior height to the string course of approx.1.80 m. The drum had four oculus windows with an exterior diameter of approx. 80 cm.

The fourteen-sided stone minaret was approx. 2.00 in diameter towards the base, and approx. 180 cm in the shaft, and was built by the right-hand outside wall. The entrance to the minaret was in the right-hand corner of the prayer space, below the mahfil. The base of the minaret was a hexagonal prism with a height of 5.10 m, the sides of which were approx. 1.40 m in length, and the transition from the base to the body of the minaret was 2.70 m in height and terminated in a shallow moulded stone string course. The fourteen-sided shaft of the minaret was slightly tapering, with a height to the lower edge of the šerefe parapet of approx. 10.80 m. The join between the shaft and the šerefe was executed in finely finished stone blocks giving the impression of a bowl. The šerefe parapet, which was 1.10 m high, was composed of simple stone slabs with a pronounced moulded string course top and bottom, and with lamps mounted on the vertical joints of the parapet slabs. The barrel of the minaret, which was approx. 5.00 m in height measured from the upper edge of the parapet to the steeple, terminated below the steeple in a frieze of blind arcades with pointed arches. The steeple was 5.00 m in height, and was topped by a lead alem(finial) with two equal-sized pommels. The finial terminates in a japrak (vineleaf). The total height of the minaret from ground level to the base of the alem was 29.70 metres.

The interior of the mosque was lit by 23 windows, simple in shape, arranged in four rows. The first and second rows had eight windows each, the third three (the entrance facade had none in the third row), and the fourth consisted of the four oculus windows of the drum.

The mihrab was carved into the wall in the form of a semicircular niche with a radius of approx. 50 cm; it was approx. 2.70 m in height and terminated in four rows of stalactites.

The mosque had a front mahfil, 2.70 m deep, resting on pillars and with a semi-elliptical central projection for the muezzin.

The šadrvan fountain(27) stood outside the mosque in line with the entrance gate and portal. It had a wooden roof resting on eight pillars set in vertices of regular octagonal form (the diameter of the circle inscribed in the octagonal was 4.30 m) with sides 1.83 m long. It stood on an octagonal stone pedestal 16 cm high; the diameter of the circle inscribed in the octagonal pedestal was 4.40 m. Between every other pair of wooden uprights was a wooden bench approx. 45 cm wide. The canopy over the šadrvan was in the form of a shallow octagonal pyramid; the height from ground level to the eaves was approx. 4 m, the eaves projected out by 85 cm, and the total height from ground level to the base of the finial topping the roof was 4.86 m. The alem finial itself had three pommels and was 1.84 m in height. The stone body of the šadrvan itself was an octagonal prism in shape, articulated by two moulded string courses. The fountain had four spigots, a surrounding channel, and four stone footrests.

3. Legal status to date

By Ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR BiH in Sarajevo, no. 905/51 dated 24 October 1951, and Ruling no. 02-762-3/62 dated 18 September 1962, the Kizlaraga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad was placed under state protection and entered in the Register of immovable cultural monuments.

            The 1980 Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina listed the Kizlar-aga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad as a Category I cultural and historical property.

            The property is on the Provisional List of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the name Kizlar-aga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad, serial no. 427.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works         

According to document № 65.280/I 1899(28),  repairs to the mosque were to be carried out in three stages in order to spread the overall cost of repairs over three fiscal years. The document states:

 “Since the Provincial Government is aware that . . .it is impossible to cover all these building costs in a single year, the Provincial Government has allocated these repairs to three separate stages, thus: the works for this year would consist of removing the rotten wooden roof beneath theh dome and walling the empty spaces this gives rise to, followed by fitting iron cramps, replacing or repairing the roof and fitting guttering, in the sum of:

bill of costs(29) item no. 1          fl. 233,88

bill of costs item no. 5               fl. 177,58

bill of costs item no. 6               fl. 90,09

bill of costs item no. 7               fl. 350,00

bill of costs item no. 17             fl. 109,40

bill of costs item no. 18             fl. 74,46

rounding up                              fl. 164,59

Total                                        fl. 1.200,00

Building stage II

During this building stage the walls could be plastered and painted, and the doors and windows done, in the sum of:

bill of costs item no. 2               fl. 495,13

bill of costs item no. 3               fl. 61,89

bill of costs item no. 4               fl. 170,00

bill of costs item no. 8               fl. 342,40

bill of costs item no. 9                 fl. 192,08

bill of costs item no. 10               fl. 70,00

bill of costs item no. 11               fl. 120,00

bill of costs item no. 12               fl. 136,00

bill of costs item no. 13               fl. 68,00

bill of costs item no. 14              fl. 24,00

bill of costs item no. 17              fl. 109,40

bill of costs item no. 15              fl. 136,00

bill of costs item no. 16              fl. 30,00

bill of costs item no. 19              fl. 70,00

rounding up                              fl. 184,50

Total                                        fl. 2.100,00

Building stage III

During this stage the šadrvan could be repaired and a wall built around the harem, as follows:

bill of costs item no. 21              fl. 400,00

bill of costs item no. 22-24        fl. 900,00

Total                                        fl. 1.300,00

Overall total 4600 florins.

If funds are available, stages I and II or II and III could be carried out together.  It is therefore suggested . . . that in regard to the attached bill of costs and blueprint in . . . the forthcoming repairs be undertaken immediately in the above-described stages so that in stage I all the repairs indicated be carried out this year without fail, and as regards the rest, in . . . session of the Provincial Vakuf Commission that the said [works] be proposed in the first place as the most necessary expenditure on the items and the maintenance of the mosque etc. Report back promptly on what has been done and return the attached.

Dated 11/06/1899

            A letter(30)  from the Main Board of the Provincial Vakuf Commission in Sarajevo(31)    sent on 27 June 1899, ref. 2.576 ex 99., to the Provincial Government, reveals that in 1899 the budget of the Provincial Vakuf Endowment allocated the sum of 10,000 florins for “the maintenance of mosques and other religious buildings in the country.” Of this sum, 3,000 florins were earmarked for essential repairs to 44 mosques in Sarajevo, and 5,921 florins for repairs to 20 mosques in other counties in the country, with the remaining sum of 1,079 florins earmarked for urgent and indispensable repairs. In the light of the observation that “the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf has become dilapidated in parts, and the said parts are so important that they must at once be repaired, failing which they risk causing the collapse of the building itself. The necessity of these repairs was identified on site by experts of the Supreme Provincial Government, who have reported extensively to [this body] with their warrant,” the Board resolved to exceed the budget item for the maintenance of mosques by 1,200 florins in order to carry out indispensable repairs to the Kizlaraga mosque.

            A letter(32)  from the Provincial Vakuf Commission in Sarajevo  sent on 13 July 1899, ref. 2.808 ex 99., to the Supreme Provincial Government, reveals that “a technical expert from here,” who had been sent to Varcar Vakuf to inspect the condition of the mosque, had judged which were the most important works required urgently to prevent the building deteriorating further, and estimated that these works would cost 1,350 florins. In the same letter, the Commission requests the Government to order that the district technical expert from Varcar Vakuf oversee the urgent repair works to the mosque. The Commission recommended that Petar Jagnjetović, a general builder from here, who is perfectly skilled in works of cladding with lead and casting lead, be prepared to travel to Varcar Vakuf to carry out lead works at the cost given in the bill of costs, and if an expert is to be stipulated to carry out the works he be despatched to the post of the said general builder.

            A letter(33) from the Provincial Vakuf Commission in Sarajevo sent on 28 November 1899, ref. 4.243 ex 99., to the Supreme Provincial Government, reveals that oversight of the works was entrusted to a technical body from the district authority from Travnik.

            According to a communication from the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina ref. F.M. 96-2/02, dated 18 April 2002, to the Majlis (Council) of the Islamic Community in Mrkonjić Grad, between 1980 and 1987 the Institute carried out repair works to damage caused by an earthquake in Bosanska Krajina, both to the foundations and to the entire building, and the works were completed in full.

            “Report on technical approval and itemized statement of completed repair works on the Kizlaraga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad, 1985”(34)  provides the following information:

• pursuant to the agreement on joint funding of the works in the sum of 2,000,000.00 dinars, the works investors were the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo and the Board of the Islamic Community of Mrkonjić Grad;
• the works contract, in the sum of 1,600,000.00 dinars, was entered into by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo and the Crafts and Masonry Works of Vinjane in Posušje (proprietors Galić Andrija and Galić Ljubo);
• the works were carried out between 7 July and 23 August 1985;
• the works were carried out in line with a Programme of Conservation Works in 1985, approved by Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo no. 02-185-5/85 dated 10 June 1985;
• the total value of the completed works was 2,178,755.00 dinars; the excess of approx. 420,000.00 dinars was the result of additional works not provided for in the contract;
• the report noted that the completed repair works were approved without comment.

Although it has not been possible to inspect the 1985 Programme of Conservation Works on the Kizlaraga mosque, the Technical Description, Bill of Works and Bill of Costs of the 1986 Programme of Conservation Works on the Kizlaraga mosque(35) provides the following information:

• “The 1969 earthquake in the Bosnian krajina [frontier region] also damaged this property.  As a result, repairs were undertaken on the property, and from 1970 to 1973 works were carried out to repair the walls and the central dome. All the cracks were made good, the façade was renovated, and the roof was clad with new sheet lead. These works restored the building to a satisfactory condition.”
• “A further earthquake in the Bosnian krajina on 13 August 1981 caused greater damage to this property than the 1969 earthquake after which the property had been repaired.  The walls cracked, with cracks on the windowsills and the walls between the windows extending down to the foundations. Cracks also appeared in the centres of the arched window lintels, the corner pendentives and the domes, radiating out from the supports to the apex of the down. Minor cracks appeared on the exterior portico and the minaret.  The roof cladding was damaged throughout, causing the roof to leak.”
• From 1983 to 1986, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo carried out repairs in several stages:
  • thorough reconstruction of the load-bearing walls (“Repairs to the foundations consists of a new concrete structure on both sides of the old stone foundations, installing drainage, and bonding the new concrete structures and the stone foundations by means of injection”)
  • repairs to the walls (“reinforcing the walls by Ø20mm ties reinforced at each end by nuts and bolts.  All cracks made good by injection”)
  • repairs to the exterior portico (“concreting under the foundations and reinforcing the pillars longitudinally and reinforcing the transverse arches on the two central pillars”).
• The total cost of the conservation and repair works carried out in 1986 was 4,500,000.00 dinars. The works investors were the SIZ(36) for the cultural, historical and natural heritage of BiH, which contributed 1,500,000.00 dinars, and the Board of the Islamic Community of Mrkonjić Grad Programme, which contributed 3,000,000.00 dinars(37). The works lasted from 19 October to 15 November 1986, and the works contractor was the Crafts and Masonry Works of Vinjane in Posušje (proprietors Galić Andrija and Galić Ljubo).
• A structural engineer, Hadžović Taib, was consulted concerning the repairs to the dome above the central space, the drum of the dome and the structure of the portico. In October 1986 his findings were:
  • On inspection of the condition of the structure of the drum and dome it was found that they are undamaged and remain serviceable, but to pre-empt possible distortions and damage, the footings of the dome should be reinforced during cladding works by means of a reinforced concrete ring;
  • Damage to the vault at the corners at the junction with the load-bearing walls below the drum should be “thoroughly cleaned, the cracks injected and these areas replastered.”
  • On inspection of the structure of the portico it was found:
• That the “main arch of the portico to the right of the entrance has cracked, as have the transverse arches to the right of the entrance”,
• The join between the longitudinal and transverse arches has also split.”
• According to the Bill of Works and Bill of Costs, the total expenditure was 3,108,889.00 dinars, for the following works:
  • repairs to the flooring of the portico (using approx. 15 m2 of the old paving stones, which were laid on a bed of sand);
  • structural repairs to the foundations of the portico by laying concrete below them;
  • building stone walls and foundations using 4.20 m3 of 1:2:6 lime cement mortar;
  • plastering 20 m2 of the walls and parapet of the portico in 1:3:9 lime cement plaster;
  • dismantling the existing wooden floor in the prayer space (approx. 117 m2), excavating soil, removing rubble, and laying a new stone underfloor and hydroinsulation (double bitumen felt and three coats of hot bitumen);
  • removing plaster along the cracks, clearing and hosing out, and filling the cracks with plaster and injecting using a hand pump;
  • reinforcement using steel rope ties (a total of 300 kg of steel ties were used);
  • laying a pavement approx. 60 cm wide around the mosque;
  • erecting steel tubular scaffolding in preparation for the next stage of the works.

A total of 30,000,000.00 dinars was spent on conservation and repair works in 1988. The works investors were the SIZ(38) for the cultural, historical and natural heritage of BiH, which contributed 10,000,000.00 dinars, and the Board of the Islamic Community of Mrkonjić Grad Programme, which contributed 20,000,000.00 dinars(39). Technical Description, Bill of Works and Bill of Costs of the 1988 Programme of Conservation Works on the Kizlaraga mosque provides the following information:

• by 1988, during previous works, the foundations, walls and portico of the mosque had been repaired and the roof cladding had been replaced: the sheet lead cladding had deteriorated and was leaking, posing a threat to the dome, and was replaced by sheet copper;
• the old dilapidated wooden windows (23 in all) were replaced by new wooden windows made to match the old ones;
• prior to plastering, new electric wiring for lighting, heating, sound system and floodlighting the minaret was installed;
• in the interior of the mosque, the plaster was stripped off the walls and the dome over an area of approx. 545 m2.  Prior to this a picture conservator inspected the property and carried out the necessary investigations.(40) The plastering of the walls and dome was carried out to the conservator’s instructions using two coats of lime plaster. Natural slaked and matured lime was used.The mouldings of the trompes were restored and reconstructed.

5. Current condition of the property

           The Kizlaraga mosque was set on fire and dynamited in 1993, then demolished, and the material taken to a permanent garbage dump in Grabež. There are no visible remains of the mosque on the site. The site is not fenced off, and is in constant use for parking cars. At the time the on site inspection was conducted, rubbish containers had been placed on the site of the mosque.

6. Specific risks

The 1987 Regulatory Plan for the centre of Mrkonjić Grad, which is still current, provides for a three storey building (G+2) to be built approx. 15 m to the west of the site of the mosque.

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

C.  Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i. quality of workmanship

C.ii. quality of materials

C.iii. proportions

C.iv. composition

C.v. value of details

C.vi. value of construction

D.  Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.i. material evidence of a lesser known historical era

D.ii. evidence of historical change

D.iii. work of a major artist or builder

D. iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

D. v. evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

E.  Symbolic value

E.i. ontological value

E.ii. religious value

E.iii. traditional value

E.iv. relation to rituals or ceremonies

E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people

F. Townscape/ Landscape value

F.i.  relation to other elements of the site

F.ii. meaning in the townscape

F.iii.  the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site

            The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

o        Copy of cadastral plan

o        Copy of proof of title;

o        Bill of Costs in German (dating from the late 19th century) for the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf: Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Department

o        Photodocumentation:

·          Photographs from Lovrenović, Ivan: Mrkonjić Grad, 1973

·          Photographs from web site: http://hjem.get2net.dk/amir_gacic-mrkonjic/stare-slike.htm

·          Photographs from article Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, Sarajevo: Annals of the Gazi Husrev-beg Library, bk. VII-VIII, 1982

·          Photographs of the condition of the site taken by Emir Softić, 19 February 2003

·          Photographs of the condition of the site taken by Lidija Fekeža, April 2003

o        Drawings – blueprints of the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Blueprints, Technical Department (dating from the late 19th century):

·          Site plan, 1893

·          Ground plan and cross section of mosque, 1893

·          Site plan, 1899

·          Ground plan and drawing of entrance façade, 1899

·          Vertical section through central area of mosque, 1899

·          Ground plan and façade of šadrvan fountain, 1899

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the Site and remains of the architectural ensemble of the Kizlar-aga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad as a national monumentn of BiH, the following works were consulted.

            Documentation (dating from the late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical dept.

1973     Lovrenović, Ivan: Mrkonjić Grad, monograph, People’s University of Mrkonjić Grad (using the services of the library of the Bosniac Institute, Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation, Sarajevo)

1982     Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu (Inscriptions on the šamadan candlesticks of the Kizlaraga mosque in Mrkonjić Grad (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Bey Library, bk. VII-VIII, 1982

Mrkonjić Grad: Grad zasjedanja ZAVNOBIH-a (Mrkonjić Grad, location of the ZAVNOBiH session) (using the services of the library of the Bosniac Institute, Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation, Sarajevo)

1987     Regulatory Plan for the centre of Mrkonjić Grad, Town Planning Institute Banja Luka, Banjaluka, 1987

1991     Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Izabrana djela (Selected Works) II, Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo

1991     Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Izabrana djela (Selected Works) III, Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo

1996     Çelebi, Evliya: Putopis, Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama (Travelogue, Excerpts on Yugoslav Lands), (translated with introduction and commentary by Hazim Šabanović), 3rd ed., Sarajevo

1998,    Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic epigraphics of BiH), bk. 3, 3rd ed., Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo Publishing, 1998

(1) Also known as the AVNOJ Road.

(2) By acquiring the status of kasaba, the inhabitants acquired the right to certain tax concessions, and market day was set as Friday. The village of Gornja Kloka officially became a kasaba on the basis of an imperial firman issued in Safar 998 (30 December 1598 to 8 January 1590).  From Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Beg Library, Bk.. VII-VIII, 1982, p. 156

(3) in the orig.: Varsal Vakfi, from Çelebi, Evliya: Putopis, Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, (translated with introduction and commentary by Hazim Šabanović), 3rd. ed., Sarajevo, 1996, p. 211,  fn. 46,            

(4) “It was officially renamed Mrkonjić-Grad in 1924, in honour of the “old king” Petar Karađorđević and in memory of his activities under the brigand pseudonym of Petar Mrkonjić in the 1875-87 uprising somewhere on the border between Bosnia and Lika, in Crni Potoci . . . It was described, in the form of an apologetic, by Milan Karanović in a brochure entitled Četovanje vojvode Petra Mrkonjića (Petar N. Gaković Press, Sarajevo, 1921), but the true extent of the uprising in the Bosnian frontier region was described in vivid terms by vojvoda Pero Kreco, a merchant from Varcar. (Lovrenović, Ivan: Srpski gradovi u Bosni, Dani, independent weekly, Sarajevo, no. 15, 20 July 2001)

(5) Trako, VII-VIII, pp.155-156; Mujezinović, 1998, p. 9

(6)  Lovrenović, 1973, p. X

(7)  “…  Đukanović, native of Kotlin, impelled by need and love of his native region, endows his vakuf in Kolobara (then a forest glade, by tradition the place where Kizlaraga’s father was killed by the soldiers who were taking the boy off to Istanbul)…” from the monograph: Lovrenović, 1973, p. X

(8) “darussèade aga,” the person entrusted with the organization of the imperial court, third in rank in the court in Istanbul, immediately below the “sadria’zama” (minister president) and the  “Shaikh ul Islam” (supreme Islamic dignitary), and above the “kapu aga” (commander of the court officials) and the “silandar age” (court aga responsible for the weapons of the court dignitaries) from Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Beg Library, Bk.. VII-VIII, 1982, p. 155

(9) The caravanserai fell into ruins on the occasion of an uskok incursion, in the 17th century, whenthe entire varoš was set on fire. (Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Izabrana djela II, Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo, 1991, p. 377)

(10) “which ran through juniperwood pipes from Lisina, and remained in use until 1899, when the Austrian authorities built a new iron watermain” (Lovrenović, 1973, p. X)

(11) Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Beg Library, Bk.. VII-VIII, 1982, pp. 155-156

(12) In the orig.: Karadăg

(13) In the orig. Zara : but as a rule, Zadar

(14) The hammam was where the county offices were prior to World War II. He was certainly built soon after 595, and belonged to H. Mustafa’s vakuf. It remained in use until the late 18th century. According to Prof. Kreševljaković, the hammam was demolished in 1896 (Kreševljaković, Hamdija: Izabrana djela III, Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo, 1991, p. 76)

(15) This was some time between 1656 and 1659, when Sejdī Ahmed-paša was Bosnian beglerbeg.

(16) Çelebi, Evliya: Putopis, Odlomci o jugoslovenskim zemljama, (translated with introduction and commentary by Hazim Šabanović), 3rd. ed., Sarajevo, 1996, p. 211

(17) “Šama’dan (from the Arabic word “šam” – wax, and “dan” – Persian suffix used to create nouns, meaning an artefact or vessel in which something is kept or preserved) is a short candelabrum or candlestick for lighting the rooms of a house, a mosque, and so on. It was always made of copper or brass, though there are also earthenware ones.  In fact, a šamadan is the metal holder into which a candle is fitted, of the usual size in the home but unusually large in a mosque, up to 150 cm long and 15 cm in diameter. The candle is of card soaked in wax, with a wick at the centre, as a result of which the entire candle is known by the Arabic word “mukawwa” – cardboard. Because the candles, or mukawwas, are of such a size, found only in mosques, mosque šamadans have their own particular shape.They are always made of copper, are circular in section with no base, and taper towards the top (reminiscent in shape of a đugum, a handleless ewer), but that their outline is broken by a number of transverse horizontal ribs. Šamadans of this type, two as  a rule, stood to the right and left of the mihrab (the place intended for the imam), but were not the only source of light. (In the centre of the mosque there were iron sofraluks, hanging from thick wires or a chain from the ceiling, in the form of the six-pointed star of Solomon’s seal, with a series of hanging lamps.) The inscription referred to here is engraved on the lower part of the šamadan. These šamadans (and the sofraluks) are still used for the same purpose, except, of course, that they are fitted with electric light bulbs instead of wax candles. (Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Beg Library, Bk.. VII-VIII, 1982, p. 156)

(18) Mujezinović, 1998, p.10

(19) Prof. Salih Trako, op.cit, elaborates on this conclusion by studying the spelling mistakes and the use of certain words. This study is given in detail in the work on p. 158

(20) from the translation by Salih Trako (Trako, Salih: Natpisi na šamadanima Kizlaragine džamije u Mrkonjić gradu, (Article) - Sarajevo : Annals of the Gazi Husref Beg Library, Bk.. VII-VIII, 1982, p. 157)

(21) Mujezinović, 1998, p.11  

(22) from the monograph on Mrkonjić Grad

(23) Mujezinović, 1998, p.11  

(24) from a letter of 22 December 1899; documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(25) from information acquired during research works in the field in Mrkonjić Grad (E. Softić)

(26) All dimensions given in the text are taken from the blueprints of the design by Hanns Niemeczek, dating from 1893, and the 1899 project design; documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(27) photographs of the fountain dating from the time of World War II clearly suggest that it was made from designs dating from the Austro-Hungarian period. No information is available indicating whether the fountain existed prior to the Austro-Hungarian period (op. E. Softić)

(28) documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(29) the bill of costs, in German, is in the documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept. (E. Softić)

(30) documentation (dating from the late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(31) a session held on 20 June 1899 was attended by the chairman, Ibrahim Bašagić, Mufetiš Mehmed Hilmi, the secretary Hilmi ef. Muhibić, and members H.Hasan ef. Hasanefendić, Sabit ef. Smailbegović, and Ahmed ef. Dizdar, while member Nezir ef. Zildžić was absent without apology. The secretary was also attended by the government commissioner, Otto Paul.

(32) documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(33) documentation (dating late 19th century) on the Kizlaraga mosque in Varcar Vakuf;  Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Blueprints, Technical Dept.

(34) The report was signed on 23 August 1985 in Mrkonjić Grad by representatives of the works contractor (Crafts and Masonry Works of Vinjane in Posušje, propriertors Galić Andrija and Galić Ljubo), the Board of the Islamic Committee of Mrkonjić Grad, and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Sites and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo.

(35) The 1986 Programme of Conservation Works was approved by Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo no. 02-301-/86 dated 23 October 1986

(36) SIZ – literally, self-managing interest community – a group of self-managing organizations that pooled their resources to satisfy mutual needs, and often assumed quasi governmental functions. The concept and role of the SIZ has been described as follows: “methods of organizing and funding cultural activities in SFRY from 1975 to 1990: introduction of the self-managing model of association in culture in which the principal form of organization and funding of cultural activities was the ‘self-managing interest community’ (SIZ), organized from the local to the republic level.” (Zlatar, Andrea: Kultura u tranzicijskom periodu u Hrvatskoj (Culture in the transition period in Croatia), Reč, periodical for literature and culture and social issues, no. 61/7, Belgrade, March 2001, p. 61).

(37) From the Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo no. 02-3-10/86 dated 23 October 1986

(38) SIZ – literally, self-managing interest community – a group of self-managing organizations that pooled their resources to satisfy mutual needs, and often assumed quasi governmental functions.  The concept and role of the SIZ has been described as follows: “methods of organizing and funding cultural activities in SFRY from 1975 to 1990: introduction of the self-managing model of association in culture in which the principal form of organization and funding of cultural activities was the ‘self-managing interest community’ (SIZ), organized from the local to the republic level.” (Zlatar, Andrea: Kultura u tranzicijskom periodu u Hrvatskoj (Culture in the transition period in Croatia), Reč, periodical for literature and culture and social issues, no. 61/7, Belgrade, March 2001, p. 61).

(39) From the Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Natural Features and Rarities of BiH of Sarajevo no. 02-3-10/86 dated 23 October 1986

(40) This item was provided for in the Bill of Works for the conservation works (op. E. Softić)