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 30 August to 5 September 2005 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God together with its burial ground and movable heritage items in Obudovac near Bosanski Šamac (Šamac) is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the church and cemetery, and movable heritage consisting of the iconostasis and twenty-six icons.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 1805 and 1804 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos.1354/1, 1354/2 and 1356/1 (old survey), Land Registry entry no. 232, cadastral municipality Obudovac, Municipality Bosanski Šamac (Šamac), Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The provisions relating to protection 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, and display 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
Protection Zone I consists of the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision. The following protection measures shall apply in this zone:
- all works on the church building are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works and routine maintenance works, along with works designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),
- the iconostatis partition, which is suffering from woodworm, shall be protected and the collection of icons shall be cleaned,
- all works are prohibited other than routine maintenance of the burial ground in active use and conservation and restoration works on the older tombstones, with the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority,
- the relocation of the old tombstones is prohibited, as are burials in their immediate vicinity.
Protection Zone II consists of all the plots adjoining the protected site of the National Monument. In this zone, alterations in height to the buildings around the National Monument are prohibited.
The maximum height of new buildings shall be 8 m to the roof cornice.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.
V
The removal of the movable heritage items referred to in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision (hereinafter: the movable heritage) from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.
By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Clause, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable heritage for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Permission for temporary removal under the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, if it is determined beyond doubt that it will not jeopardize the items in any way.
In granting permission for the temporary removal of the items, the Commission shall stipulate all the conditions under which the removal of the movable heritage from Bosnia and Herzegovina may take place, the date by which the items shall be returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the responsibility of individual authorities and institutions for ensuring that these conditions are met, and shall notify the Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant security service, the customs authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the general public accordingly.
VI
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 restoration thereof.
VII
The Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant Ministry and the heritage protection authority, 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 – VI of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
VIII
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)
IX
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.
X
On the date of adoption of this Decision, the National Monument shall be deleted from the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02, Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 79/02, Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH no. 59/02, and Official Gazette of Brčko District BiH no. 4/03), where it featured under serial no.125.
XI
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: 06.2-02-49/05-9
31 August 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.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a decision to add the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac near Bosanski Šamac to the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH, under serial no. 125.
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 cadastral plan)
- 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.
- 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 condition of the site are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God with burial ground in Obudovac is in the Sava valley village of Obudovac, municipality Bosanski Šamac (Šamac). Obudovac is on the side road leading from Brčko to Šamac, which branches off to the left from the main Tuzla to Orašje road. Obudovac is 16 km from Šamac, 16 km from Orašja, 25 km from Brčko and 23 km from Gradačac.
The architectural ensemble of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God with burial ground in Obudovac is in the centre of the village, on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 1805 and 1804 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos.1354/1, 1354/2 and 1356/1 (old survey), Land Registry entry no. 232, cadastral municipality Obudovac, Municipalitiy Bosanski Šamac (Šamac), Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The approach to the National Monument is from the south, from the side road from Brčko to Šamac.
The entrance to the church is through an entrance gate to the south of the building.
The main axis of the church lies east-west, with the entrance at the west end and the altar apse at the east end.
Historical information
The earliest evidence in writing of Obudovac is in a defter (record) of 1558, when the Ottoman authorities conducted a census of the Zvornik sandžak, which Obudovac belonged to at that time. The area of present-day Obudovac and Orlovo Polje was entered in the records under the name Ogludovac.
The village features in a census of Bosnian spahis dating from 1711 under its present name (Obudovac, 2001. p. 13)
According to some sources, until 1460 the area was held by Radivoj Ostojić, paternal uncle of King Stefan Tomašević. From 1463 to 1520, the area formed part of the Srebrenik banate, set up by the Hungarians to counter the Ottoman Empire. Following the fall of the Srebrenik banate, Obudovac became part of the Zvornik sandžak and of the nahija of Nenavište.
In 1858 Obudovac was at the centre of an insurrection by Sava valley peasants, led by a priest from Orašje, Stevan Avramović, together with another priest hajji-Petko Jagodić (known as the Protina uprising). During religious service in the old church in Obudovac on St Peter's Day, people came from twelve surrounding villages and agreed to mount a rebellion (Obudovac, 2001. p. 11).
On 1 November 1858, after the insurrection was quelled, the Habsburg newspaper Allgemeine zeitung wrote: «Begs and agas have burned down almost every Serb village in the Gradačac nahija and the Orthodox church in Obudovac». (Obudovac, 2001. p. 11).
These events confirm that there was an old church in Obudovac, which was burned down in 1858. An inscription incised on a plaque above the church door on the north facade reads as follows:
«The old church was brought from Slatina to Obudovac in 1780, re-roofed in 1818, and burned down on 29. 10. 1858.»
A memorial altar was set up on the site of the old church, which stood beside the present-day church.
There is very little written evidence of the constructio of the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac. In addition to the inscription recording the fate of the old church, there is another recording the building of the new one, incised on a plaque above another door to the church in the north facade.
«The foundations of this Holy Church were laid in the presence of the god-fearing Archbishop and Metropolitan of Zvornik and Tuzla Dionisije and the custodian Stojan Stojčević, rector of Gornji Žabar, in the year 7373 from the creation of the world and 1864 from the birth of Christ.»
It took 18 years, with breaks in the works, to build the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac – from 1864 to 1882.The stone was brought from a quarry near Bosanska Bijela and another known as Opeža near Modriča. The stone was cut and dressed in the quarries and transported on wooden carts.
The timber is from Vozuća, a gift of the monastery, and was floated down the river Bosna to Bosanski Šamac, whence it was dragged to Obudovac by teams (of horses or bullocks, the text does not specify: trans.)
The church was built by the 18 surrounding villages, with the help of donations collected throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina, and even Russia.
There is reference to the figure of 16,000 ducats collected from various parts of the world (Obudovac, 2001. p. 21).
A building permit was obtained from the Sultan in Istanbul.
The foreman responsible for the building of the church was master craftsman Tasa of Ohrid, with another fifty skilled and unskilled workmen (Obudovac, 2001. p. 20).
On 14 October 1882, in the presence of the people and officials, Metropolitan Dionisije I of Zvornik and Tuzla formally consecrated the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac.
Reconstruction and conservation and restoration works have been carried out on the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac on several occasions between 1891 and 2001.
There is no information as to whether the restoration was conducted under the supervision of the heritage protection authority.
2. Description of the property
In layout, the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac is a triple-aisle basilica, with parvis, nave and tripartite altar space consisting of three apses at the east end of the building.
The parvis area (measuring approx. 6.25 x 18.85 metres) is not separated from the nave area by any partition wall.
The nave area (measuring approx. 20.0 x 18.85 metres) is separated from the altar area by a wooden iconostasis 19.5 m. in height.
The central nave is separated from the side aisles by a colonnade of five solid stone pillars, measuring 1.3 x 1.25 m. in section, on each side.
The interior of the church is roofed by shallow blind domed structures (calottes), and by one large and two smaller domes in the area in front of the altar, between the first and second colonnades of pillars (facing from east to west). The domes rest on high octagonal drums supported by arches on four pillars. The inner diameter of the large dome is approx. 3.50 m. The drums have eight rectangular, round-arched windows, glazed with stained glass – white at the base, blue in the centre, and red in the arched section.
A wooden spiral staircase in the angle between the west and the north walls leads to the choir (gallery), which runs the full length of the west wall and is of the same depth as the parvis. The choir is supported by the first and second rows of pillars as one looks from west to east (entrance to altar).
A single stone step with a height of approx. 10 cm. marks the change of level in the church at the point between the second row of pillars as one looks east to west. There is an ambon in front of the iconostatis, circular in shape with three steps, and made of stone.
The floor of the parvis, prayer and altar spaces at ground floor level is paved with stone slabs.
The church has a rectangular ground plan, with exterior dimensions of approx. 38.0 metres long by approx. 22.0 metres wide.
The height of the building from ground level to the roof cornice is approx.12 metres.
The walls of the church are approx. 1.50 metres thick. The masonry of the first approx. 8.0 m. from the ground is of dripstone, and of the upper approx. 4 m. is of brick. On the inside, the walls are plastered and painted. The vault is painted pale blue with yellow stars. The edges of the pillars are decorated with a band of floral/foliar designs.
The foundations of the walls are approx. 3 m in width, and buried in the ground to a depth of approx. 3 m.
The roof structure of the church is timber-built, and consists of a gabled roof, with the apse area contained under a single roof.The entire roof area – gabled roof, the roof over the apses and the domes, as well as the bell-tower roof – is clad with sheet copper.
On the facade, the stone masonry of the lower part of the wall (ashlar stone with cement pointing) is visible on the exterior, while the upper brick masonry is plastered and painted white. Below the roof the walls terminate in a simple moulded string course.
There are three apses at the east end of the building, forming the altar space. As regards the facade, the apses are of the same height as the other exterior walls, approx. 12 metres from ground level to the roof cornice. On the outside, the large apse is nine-sided, while on the interior it is a regular semicircle in cross-section. The two small apses of the proscomidion and diaconicon are five-sided on the exterior and are also semicircular on the inside.
The upper part of the apses, level with the top of the windows of the church, has blind round-arched rectangular niches.
The apse niche of the diaconicon is decorated with a mosaic featuring St George, and the niches of the centre apse has mosaics featuring the Holy Mother of God, the Holy Trinity, Christ Pantocrator and St John the Baptist. These mosaic icons are the work of the artists Dobrić and Radlović from Belgrade. The mosaics were made between 1999 and 2004.
The windows of the church are arranged in two rows, the lower row in the stone-built section of the facade and the upper row in the white-painted section.
At both levels, the windows are rectangular and round-arched. The windows of the lower row have stone window frames with mouldings and decorative wrought iron bars on the outside.
The windows of the upper row are more simple in treatment than those of the lower row.
The north and south facade each have five rows at each level. The west facade has three upper windows, and the apses have one window each.
The church has four entrances: the main entrance at the west end, one side door in the south facade and two side doors in the north facade. All the portals are double-doored, with arched doors made of wrought-iron painted pale green and surrounded by stone door frames with moulding.
The main entrance portal at the west end measures 1.90 m wide x 2.25 m high. Above the door is a rectangular panel with a painting of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God.
The side door of the church in the south facade measures 1.54 m wide x 2.25 m high. Above this door is an inscription incised on a stone plaque, recording the restoration of the church in 1982.
The two side doors in the north facade measure respectively 1.30 m wide x 2.25 m high and 1.05 m wide x 2.25 m high. The plaques with the inscriptions recording the old church and the erection of the present-day church are affixed above these doors.
The bell-tower is square in ground plan, and is approx. 40 m high to the cross. All four facades are of identical appearance. On each facade is a tall, narrow, arched window, made of iron with metal blinds, and a clock above the window. The roof of the bell-tower is richly decorated and clad with sheet copper; it is topped by a cross.
The bell-tower houses three massive bells.
The bell-tower is reached via the spiral staircase that leads to the gallery, whence it leads further to the attic space, from which the bell-tower is entered.
The iconostasis of the church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Obudovac was made between 1937 and 1940. It has twenty-two icons, the work of the artist Roman Petrović.
Roman Petrović was born in Donji Vakuf on 1 October 1896 to a family of an artistic bent. His father, Rusin, was a lawyer who liked to paint, and his mother played the piano, so that he became familiar with the world of the arts at an early age. He studied art in Krakow, Zagreb and Budapest. He returned to Bosnia at the end of 1917, at a time when the foundations of modern art were already laid in this part of the world. No sooner had he returned than he showed some of his works at an exhibition entitled Exhibition of Artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time it was said of his works that they consisted of the quest for new harmonies in bold compositions of colour.
Following World War I his paintings showed him evolving along fauvist-expressive lines(1). During the 1920s Roman went through various changes.The paintings, watercolours and drawings he produced between 1918 and 1924 can be said to reveal a global equilibrium of several visual elements or treatments. In the middle of this period he was equally inclined towards colourist-expressive and to constructive treatments. There is also equally present a realistic academic line, seen in his portraits of old people, sometimes strongly coloured, sometimes folklorist in style, sometimes leaning towards a poetic, irreal state, to metaphysics. He was interested in every technique – oil, watercolour, drawing, graphics – and open to all types of subject: portraits, landscapes, still life, figures. It was at this time that he produced certain specific works, such as «Composition» dating from 1920, an isolated example of abstract expressionism.
From 1924 on, Roman's works display two main trends, which followed numerous critiques and reviews, covering a wide range from understanding, support and delight to doubt and negative assessments. His opting for two basic forms of expression coincided with a decline in artistic life in Sarajevo, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole, from 1923 on.
One of these forms is so-called magic realism(2).
The other type of neo-realistic tendency prefigures what was later to be his predominant preference for socially committed art. Between 1925 and 1927 Roman lived in Paris, studying art. His stay in Paris separates Roman's activities into those that preceded his further studies there – his heterogeneous stage, full of aspirations and creations – and those of his post-Paris stage – when he was working in different, very difficult conditions. Typical of that period is his social commitment, when the cycle «Street children» came into being – a cycle that merits a high place in Yugoslav socially committed art in general(3).
Painting iconostases and the interiors of Serbian Orthodox churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina occupies a significant place in the overall opus of Roman Petrović, and in particular that of the 1930s. He began to paint churches as early as 1927, on his return from Paris, when he painted the iconostasis and murals in the Serbian Orthodox church in Bosanska Krupa. Ćurčić writes of this:
«Underlying his conception, he saw the Byzantine style, but in modernized expression, which was consequently generated as such. In the combination of composition and stylization, one can clearly see the effort to find a compromise between the old understanding of the Byzantine and the modern expressionism. The solution he found to the problem this posed was a happy one, which can be described as the success of an original turn of mind. Keeping in mind the conception as a whole, the artist operated with a basic tone of composition of colours, by which he wished to achieve his aim. The soft blue that forms the background of all the icons, which seem here and there to be overlaid with a faint network of flickering moonbeams, is full of mystical expression and evokes a spontaneous feeling of religiosity.» (Damjanović, 1988., 19).
Soon after the iconostasis in Bosanska Krupa, in 1929, he painted the interior of the church in Travnik and one icon on its iconostasis. He also produced the iconostasis and the decorative designs on the walls and arches of the church dedicated to St Elias in Sokolas. After this, in 1932, he painted the iconostasis of the church dedicated to the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God in Donji Vakuf; in 1933 came the iconostasis of the church in Mokro, in 1934 the iconostasis and eight fresco compositions in Šamac, in 1935 twenty-four icons for the iconostasis and decorative morals for the church in Obudovac, in 1936 twenty icons for the church in Hadžići, and in 1939/40 eleven icons and fifty compositions of individual figures on the walls of the church in Drvar.
These works of Roman's merit attention, for with the emergence of modern art in Bosnia and Herzegovina, icon painting, and religious painting in general, was not as a rule produced by such prominent artists. The tradition of mural painting was preserved in only a few examples. Roman had an established framework for the creation of icons and murals in churches, but he stamped it with his own expression and characteristic style. In can be seen in these works that in his drawing he sought to remain close to the Byzantine tradition, contours and graphism. It is thus easy to discern his method of modelling form, and even a certain tonal or colourist treatment. He did not use stereotypical treatments, but sought rather to inspire his figures with a spiritual or mystical expression.
The late 1930s and 1940s brought nothing new or significant to the artistic expression of Roman Petrović.There is no particularly strong link between the paintings of this period and those of earlier cycles, but each has something typical of Roman.
The creative life of Roman Petrović belongs, in fact, to a distinct entity – to the art of Bosnia and Herzegovina between the two world wars. Although he painted and exhibited even before this interwar period, all his most important works date from between the wars. His first works formed a link between early modern art and aesthetics and the events typical of the 1920s and 1930s. Similarly, his works dating from after 1941 form a link between the formal interpretations of the previous decades and new, war-time and socialist subjects (Damjanović, 1988., 20-21).
Roman's icons in the church in Obudovac are set in massive wooden frames that close off the altar partition from the nave of the church. Some of the iconostasis timbers are carved with curving and circular designs with a cross inside. The iconostasis is approx. 19.5 m. in height.
The saints featuring on the icons are almost life-size.
As regards composition, the iconostasis can be divided into three vertical sections, the two sides enclosing the diaconicon and proscomidion and the central section closing off the altar area(4).
The section of the iconostasis that encloses the area of the proscomidion, from north to south, features the following saints on the icons of the lower row:
- St George the Martyr
- St Stefan the Archdeancon
- St Basil the Great
These three icons are rectangular, terminating in round arches.
The central zone of the iconostasis features the following scenes on two icons:
- the Nativity of Christ
- the Baptism of Christ
The upper zone of the iconosasis has two round-arched icons featuring the following scenes:
- the Nativity of the Virgin
- the Presentation of the Virgin
The iconostasis section that closes off the altar space – the central section – is framed to left and right, looking north-south, by two icons extending the full height of the lower and central zones, thus forming an integral whole. The saints so featured are:
- St Nicholas
- St Sava the Serb blessing children
The lower zone of the central section of the iconostasis features the following saints:
- the Mother of God with Christ
- royal doors with a scene of the Annunciation
- Christ Pantocrator
The central zone features the Last Supper.
The upper zone features the following scenes:
- Christ's entry into Jerusalem
- the Resurrection of Christ
- the Transfiguration of Christ
The section of the iconostasis that encloses the diaconicon space, looking north-south, contains icons featuring the following saints:
- St John
- the Archangel Michael
- St Demetrius
These three icons are rectangular, terminating in a round arch.
The central section of the iconostasis features two icons with the following scenes:
- the Ascension of Christ
- the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles
The upper zone of the iconostasis features two round-arched icons with the following scenes:
- the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God
- the Ascension of the Holy Mother of God
There is a cross at the top of each vertical section of the iconostasis.
The church also contains twenty-six icons by unidentified artists and of unknown date. However, they certainly date from before 29 October 1858, when the church was set on fire after the Protina uprising, since according to the priest and the church Chronicle they were saved and later transferred to the newly-built church. All the icons are in tempera on wood. They have brown wooden frames, 6.5 cm in width. The icons are mostly painted in the same style, those featuring individual saints on a dark background with the saint, standing, accompanied by his attributes, and those featuring a scene, where the background is darker still.
1. Christ Pantocrator
Size: 192 x 95 cm
2. St Siman Simeon or the Apostle Simon
Size: 143 x 84 cm
3. St Sava the Serb
Size: 192 x 95 cm
4. St Thomas the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
5. St Nicholas
Size: 192 x 95 cm
6. The stoning of St Stephen
Size: 95 x 126 cm
7. St Bartholomew the Apostle
Size: 143x84 cm
8. St James the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
9. St Philip
Size: 143 x 84 cm
10. St Paul the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
11. The Last Supper
Size: 95 x 126 cm
12. The beheading of St John the Baptist
Size: 95 x 126 cm
13. St George the Martyr
Size: 192 x 95 cm
14. St Peter the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
15. St Nicholas with Christ and the Virgin
Size: 82 x 69 cm
16. St John the Baptist
Size: 192 x 95 cm
17. St Andrew the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
18. The Holy Mother of God
Size: 192 x 95 cm
19. The Baptism of Christ (5)
Size: 82 x 69 cm
20. St Matthew the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
21. St Mark the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
22. St Luke the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
23. St John the Apostle
Size: 143 x 84 cm
24. Christ the Saviour
Size: 143 x 84 cm
25. The Holy Mother of God
Size: 143 x 84 cm
26. St John the Divine
Size: 143 x 84 cm
There is a single-storey building on the east side of the churchyard, known as St Sava's Hall, and another single-storey building to the west, used for the sale of candles and as the gravedigger's premises. This was built in 1983.
St Sava's Hall was built in 1958, and includes offices, a filing room and a conference room.
Burial ground by the church
Alongside the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Obudovac, to the west and north-west, is an old Orthodox burial ground still in use, on a site designated as c.p. no. 1804 (new survey).
The burial ground is large, covering an area of 8698 m2. The burial ground plot lies north-south. The entire plot is surrounded by a concrete barrier, with the entrance to the burial ground from the east.
It is not known exactly when the Orthodox burial ground by the church in Obudovac came into being, but presumably burials began immediately after the church was moved from Slatina to Obudovac in 1780. The epitaphs on some of the tombstones indicate that burials were conducted here before the old church was set on fire in 1858 and the new one was built. There are 34 old tombstones in the burial ground. Some archaic-looking tombstones, of simple workmanship and lacking epitaphs, are presumably older than the burial ground itself. Apart from the symbol of the cross, they have no decorative features whatsoever (tombstones nos. 1, 2, 16, 17, 24).
The old 19th century tombstones are arranged higgledy-piggledy over the burial ground, in a wide band on the east side of the burial ground, alongside the barrier. Many of them have been moved to other places, and some are broken or are buried in the ground.
The majority of the older tombstones are of tufa, and are cruciform, of simple workmanship. They have very little decoration, mainly consisting of an incised cross and epitaph.
The epitaphs themselves are short and simple, providing basic information about the deceased. The older ones give the deceased's first name and surname, and the year – sometimes also the month and day – of death. In some cases the name of the person who erected the tombstone is also inscribed. Some of the epitaphs are in glagolitic script.
Nothing is known of the stonemasons who carved the tombstones.
Tombstone no. 1
This tombstone is in the shape of a stele, rounded at the top. It is of simple workmanship, with an incised cross but no epitaph. It stands alongside the east barrier of the burial ground, and is buried in the ground.
It is relatively small, at 20 cm in height, 18 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 2
This tombstone is in the shape of a flat-topped stele. It is of simple workmanship, with an incised cross by no epitaph. It is made of dripstone and is partly overgrown with moss.
According to the priest, this tombstone is assumed to be the oldest in the burial ground in Obudovac. It stands right beside the east barrier of the burial ground.
The tombstone measures 127 cm in height, 57 cm in width and 21 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 3
A cruciform tombstone, approx. 137 high, with an epitaph. The deceased, Marko Simić, died in 1931.
Tombstone no. 4
A cruciform tombstone, partly broken, leading against the barrier by the church.It is of simple workmanship, with no decoration, and bears an epitaph on which the year 1814 can be made out with difficulty.
The tombstone measures 66 cm in height, 50 cm in width and 10 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 5
A cruciform tombstone, broken, lying on the ground and leaning against a wooden cross. It is of simple workmanship, with no decoration, and bears an epitaph.The deceased, Priest Nikola, died in 1829.
This broken tombstone measures 49 cm in height, 28 cm in width and 6 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 6
The lower arm of this tombstone is half buried in the ground.The tombstone is well preserved; it is cruciform in shape, with all four arms of almost the same size. The top upright and the cross arms terminate in a pyramidal stone decoration.
The tombstone measures 54 cm in height, 54 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
The tombstone has an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES ĐORĐE ILINČIĆ PASSED INTO ETERNITY
20 NOVEMBER 1889
HE LIVED TO THE AGE OF 51
THIS STONE WAS ERECTED
[remainder of epitaph underground]
Tombstone no. 7
The lower arm of this tombstone is half buried in the ground. The cruciform tombstone is in poor condition and overgrown with moss. Crosses are inscribed on three of the arms. The illegible epitaph is in glagolitic script.
The tombstone measures 23 cm in height, 35 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 8
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm entirely buried in the ground. It is in poor condition and overgrown with moss. It is of simple workmanship and bears an illegible epitaph in glagolitic script.
The tombstone measures 24 cm in height, 36 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 9
This tombstone stands on a concrete pedestal between two more recent tombstones of the Stevanović family (1961 and 1969). This tombstone is well preserved, and is in the shape of a cross with three arms of almost the same size. The top arm is incised with a cross. This and the two cross arms terminate in a pyramidal stone decoration.
The tombstone measures 52 cm in height, 46 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
The tombstone bears an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES ĐORĐE SON OF ĐORĐA
HE LIVED TO THE AGE OF 35 AND PASSED TO ETERNITY IN SUMMER 1887.
THIS STONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS LOVING FATHER ĐORĐA STEVANOVIĆ
Tombstone no. 10
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm completely buried in the ground. It is in poor condition, the stone is porous and overgrown with moss. It is of simple workmanship and bears an illegible epitaph in glagolitic script.
The tombstone measures 36 cm in height, 34 cm in width and 11 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 11
This tombstone is in the shape of a pillar, and is made of porous dripstone. It is of simple workmanship, with a cross incised at the top of the upright and an epitaph in glagolitic script. It is lying on the ground.
The epitaph reads:
HERE LIES THE BODY OF ĐURO, SERVANT OF GOD
APRIL 1827
Tombstone no. 12
A cruciform tombstone in rather poor condition and overgrown with moss. The lower arm is the longest, with the remaining three of almost the same size. It has a large incised cross of simple decoration, with below it an epitaph in glagolitic script.
The tombstone measures 40 cm in height, 27 cm in width and 12 cm in thickness.
All that can be deciphered of the epitaph is:
OF BAKTUŠA.
Tombstone no. 13
A cruciform tombstone in poor condition and overgrown with moss.
Tombstones nos. 14, 15 and 16 form a group.
Tombstone no. 14
A cruciform tombstone, buried in the ground, with all four arms of much the same size. It is slightly crooke, and overgrown with moss. It is of simple decoration, with a cross incised at the very edge of the tombstone. The epitaph is in glagolitic script.
The tombstone measures 51 cm in height, 52 cm in width and 10 cm in thickness.
The epitaph reads:
HERE LIES THE SERVANT OF GOD
LUKA SON OF JOVO PETROVIĆ
SUMMER 1860
Tombstone no. 15
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm longer, and the other three trapezoidal, of the same size. It is overgrown with moss. It is decorated with a hemisphere on the top arm of the cross and incised crosses on the side arms.
The tombstone measures 61 cm in height, 36 cm in width and 12 cm in thickness.
The epitaph is in glagolitic script and reads:
HERE LIES THE SERVANT OF GOD
SON STEVAN SUMMER 1859
Tombstone no. 16
A cruciform tombstone in poor condition and overgrown with moss. No decoration or epitaph can be made out.
The tombstone measures 50 cm in height, 37 cm in width and 14 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 17
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm much longer and the remaining three much smaller, trapezoid in shape. It is lying on the ground and is in poor condition: the stone is porous and overgrown with moss. It is decorated with an incised cross but has no epitaph.
The tombstone measures 85 cm in height, 35 cm in width and 14 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 18
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm much longer and the remaining three much smaller, with semicircles at the ends. A cross is incised on the top arm. The tombstone is lying on the ground.
The tombstone measures 114 cm in height, 55 cm in width and 9 cm in thickness.
It bears an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES THE SERVANT OF GOD LAZAR JOVIĆ
DIED IN 1878 AT THE AGE OF 61
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS SONS IN 1890
Tombstone no. 19
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm almost completely buried in the ground. The remaining three arms have triangles at the ends. The decoration consists of a cross incised on the top arm and an epitaph. The tombstone is in poor condition, crooked and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 32 cm in height, 17 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
The epitaph reads:
HERE LIES MILOVAN LAZAREVIĆ
DIED AT THE AGE OF 27 IN 1889
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS FATHER
Tombstone no. 20
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm and one side arm almost completely buried in the ground. The remaining three arms have triangles at the ends.The tombstone is in poor condition, crooked and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 21 cm in height, 40 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
It has a barely decipherable epitaph reading:
HERE LIES ETERNAL SLEEP AND ...
[illegible]
Tombstone no. 21
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm almost completely buried in the ground. The remaining three arms have triangles at the ends. The tombstone is in poor condition and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 26 cm in height, 38 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
It bears an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES PERO LAZAREVIĆ
DIED IN 1911 AT THE AGE OF 60
Tombstone no. 22
This tombstone is in the shape of a stele. It is in poor condition, partly buried in the ground and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 40 cm in height, 29 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
It has an epitaph in glagolitic script, reading:
HERE LIES THE SERVANT OF GOD MALINA TANASIĆ SUMMER 1859
Tombstone no. 23
A cruciform tombstone.
The tombstone measures 55 cm in height, 48 cm in width and 9 cm in thickness.
It bears an epitaph in glagolitic script reading:
HERE LIES THE SERVANT OF GOD GAVRO 1854
Tombstone no. 24
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm much longer and the remaining three much smaller, trapezoid in shape. It is lying on the ground and is in poor condition: the stone is porous and broken in places.The decoration consists of an incised cross, with no epitaph.
The tombstone measures 51 cm in height, 30 cm in width and 10 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 25
This tombstone is in the shape of a stele. It is in poor condition, the stone is porous and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 100 cm in height, 47 cm in width and 22 cm in thickness.
It had an epitaph in glagolitic script, which is illegible.
Tombstone no. 26
A cruciform tombstone in poor condition, crooked and overgrown with moss.
The tombstone measures 44 cm in height, 37 cm in width and 14 cm in thickness.
It had an epitaph in glagolitic script, which is illegible.
Tombstone no. 27
A cruciform tombstone in poor condition, broken and overgrown with moss.
Tombstone no. 28
This tombstone consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross. It is in good condition, with the lower section with decoration and epitaph of more recent date.
The tombstone measures 126 cm in height, 37 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
It has an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES STEVA JOVANOVIĆ
+ D AT THE AGE OF 81 IN MARCH 1899
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS GRIEVING WIFE JANJA
AND SONS JOVA AND NIKIVOR
The maker of the tombstone is also inscribed: Grosman Vukovar Srem.
Tombstone no. 29
A cruciform tombstone with the lower arm much longer and the remaining three much smaller, and of the same size. It is in poor condition and overgrown with moss. The decoration consists of an incised cross and an epitaph in glagolitic script, which is illegible.
The tombstone measures 100 cm in height, 54 cm in width and 25 cm in thickness.
Tombstone no. 30
This tombstone consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross. It is in good condition, and stands between two tombstones of more recent date.
The tombstone measures 63 cm in height, 31 cm in width and 8 cm in thickness.
It has an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES ĐUKA V. ĐAKOVIĆ NÉE STANKOVIĆ
DIED AT THE AGE OF 18 IN 1888
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HER FATHER IN LAW SIMO ĐAKOVIĆ
Tombstone no. 31
This tombstone consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross. At the top of the top arm is a carved decoration in the shape of a chalice. The tombstone is in good condition.
The tombstone measures 82 cm in height, 37 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
It has an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES NIKOLA JOVANOVIĆ
PRIEST OF GORNJA SLATINA
WHO DIED AT THE AGE OF 55 IN 1887
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS GRIEVING SONS
Tombstone no. 32
This tombstone consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross. The lower part is round-ended with decoration and epitaph.The top three arms of the cross are of almost the same size and are round-ended with decoration.
The tombstone measures 120 cm in height, 36 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
It has an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES MIKA ĐOKIĆ OF BAKTUŠA
DIED 1882
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS LOVING SON SIMO
The name of the mason is also inscribed: Paja Marković Novi Sad
Outside the burial ground, in the churchyard to the north-west of the church, right beside the barrier surrounding the burial ground, are two tombstones dedicated to priests Mihail and Jefto Popović. These date from the 19th century.
Tombstone no. 33
This tombstone stands on a 13 cm high plinth and consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross. The lower part is round-ended with decoration and epitaph.The top three arms of the cross are of almost the same size.There is a carved decoration in the shape of a chalice where the arms of the cross intersect.
The tombstone measures 126 cm in height, 33 cm in width and 7 cm in thickness.
It bears an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES QUIETLY IN ETERNAL SLEEP
MIHAIL POPOVIĆ
PRIEST OF BAKTUŠA
DIED IN THE FINEST FLOWER OF YOUTH
AT THE AGE OF 29 IN 1888
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED
BY HIS GRIEVING FATHER JEFTO POPOVIĆ, PRIEST
Tombstone no. 34
This tombstone stands on a 13 cm high plinth and consists of a lower rectangular section topped by a cross.The lower part is round-ended with decoration and epitaph. The top three arms of the cross are of almost the same size and are round-ended, with decoration.There is a carved decoration in the shape of a chalice where the arms of the cross intersect.
The tombstone measures 135 cm in height, 46 cm in width and 9 cm in thickness.
It bears an epitaph reading:
HERE LIES IN PEACE
PRIEST JEFTO POPOVIĆ
BORN FEBRUARY 1834
ORDAINED 20 JULY 1859
AND DIED 23 DECEMBER 1898
IN HIS BIRTHPLACE AND PARISH OF BAKTUŠA
THIS TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED FOR HER FATHER IN LAW BY ANĐA
AND GRANDCHILDREN AS A SIGN OF EVERLASTING LOVE
The name of the mason is also inscribed: Paja Marković Novi Sad
3. Legal status to date
The Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Obudovac is on the Provisional List of National Monuments of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, under serial no. 125.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
There are no details available concerning the reconstruction of and conservation and restoration works on the church, but there is some information concerning works conducted between 1891 and 2001; these are recorded in the Chronicle of the church.
- 1891 – the roof of the church, dome and bell tower were clad with copper;
- 1917 – the Austro-Hungarian authorities removed the copper (6668 kg) and all three bells, which they used for their own purposes;
- 1937-1940 – the new iconostasis was made;
- 1940 – the roof structure was renovated and the building clad with sheet copper;
- 1946 – the turrets were painted and the crosses topping them were silver-plated;
- 1959 – interior plasterwork and painting;
- 1964 – the bell tower was painted and the stone on the facade was cleaned;
- 1969 – the building was wired for electricity;
- 1991 – the brick flooring was removed and the floor laid with stone slabs;
- 1997 – the roof structure, which was damaged during the war, was renovated and new sheet copper cladding installed;
- 1999 – the entire facade was renovated and a stone pavement was laid around the building
- 1999-present – the five mosaic icons in the apse niches were made.
5. Current condition of the property
The church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Obudovac is in good structural condition and is well maintained.
The iconostasis partition is affected by woodworm.
The icons are covered with a layer of soot and dirt.
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.iv. composition
C.v. value of details
C.vi. value of construction
D. Clarity
D.iii. work of a major artist or builder
D. iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
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.ii. meaning in the townscape
G. Authenticity
G.ii. material and content
G.vi. spirit and feeling
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
o Copy of cadastral plan
o Copy of land register entry;
o Photodocumentation (photograph of the state of the building in August 2005)
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Obudovac as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1984 Šuput, Marica: Srpska arhitektura u doba turske vlasti: 1459-1690 (Serbian Architecture during Turkish rule: 1459-1690). Belgrade, Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts, Faculty of the Humanities in Belgrade, Institute for the History of Art
1988 Danka Damjanović, Roman Petrović – retrospective. Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo 1988
2001 Obudovac kroz bune i ratove (Obudovac through insurrection and wars) SPKD „Prosvjeta” Obudovac, 2001.
Chronicle of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Obudovac
(1) This was expressed in a number of paintings of subjects from the outskirts of Sarajevo – curving streets, steep side streets, the compressed forms of houses, roofs and so on. On his canvases these compressed forms of coloured surfaces and fauvist-style painted mass acquire stringent form.
(2) This form of neo-realism is in fact based on the application of a cubist approach in simplified, stylized natural forms. This expression of Roman's, coinciding with constructive tendencies in Yugoslav painting in the 1920s, reveals a different treatment of form – more precise tonal modelling, a reduction of palette to a few colours only, the dominance of a more disciplined approach to his work and to reflection over an impulsive, emotional mode of reaction and work.
(3) The cycle is in fact a series of drawings of the children of Sarajevo, whom Roman met daily in the streets and with whose tragic destiny he sympathised. This cycle laid the foundations for the later socially-committed art of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be evolved by a somewhat younger generation of artists: Mica Todorović, Vojo Dimitrijević, Ismet Mujezinović, Danijel Ozmo, Rizah Štetić. However, not even Roman Petrović (nor any other artist from BiH) was the type of combative socially committed artists who opted solely for this type of artistic expression or stance. All along, while dealing with social subjects, Roman also painted and drew from purely artistic motives (Damjanović, 1988., 13-18).
(4) A schematic representation of the layout of the icons is an integral part of this Decision
(5) According to the priest Milan Pajkanović, this icon was a gift from the poet Đuro Jakšić to a friend of his, who then bestowed it on the church in Obudovac
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