Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the „Official Gazette of BiH“ no. 99/06.
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 16 to 22 May 2006 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Orthodox Church of the Archangel Michael in Trnov Do, Municipality Bileća, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the church, cistern, burial ground and archaeological remains.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 757 and 758, Land Register entry no. 177, cadastral municipality Meka Gruda, Municipality Bileća, 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, conduct research works, 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
To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument, the following measures are hereby stipulated:
Protection Zone I consisting of c.p. 758, c.m. Meka Gruda. Within this zone the following protection measures shall apply:
- all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, works designed to identify the cause of the appearance of damp in the walls and of cracks in the walls of the south corner of the church, and a proposal for rectifying these, approved by 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),
Protection Zone II consists of c.p. 757, c.m. Meka Gruda. Within this zone the following protection measures shall apply:
- exploratory works on the potential archaeological site in a strip 70 m wide, measuring approx. 35 m to the north and south respectively of the central axis of the entrance portal of the church, up to the western boundary of c.p. 757, shall be permitted, together with conservation and restoration works with the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;
- all works that could in any way result in despoiling the potential archaeological site are prohibited,
- conservation and restoration works on the tombstones in the area to the north east of the church shall be permitted,
- conservation and restoration works on the memorial plaque of the cistern shall be permitted.
A protective strip is hereby stipulated with a width of approx. 70 m and a depth of approx. 50 m to the south west of the boundaries within which the National Monument is located. This protective strip includes the potential archaeological site. Within this protective strip:
- all works that could in any way result in despoiling the potential archaeological site are prohibited,
- no infrastructure works shall be permitted unless approved by the relevant ministry and subject to the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority,
- the dumping of waste is 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 thereof.
VI
The Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant ministry, 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 – 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.-1-271/05-2
17 May 2006
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Amra Hadžimuhamedović
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 Archangel, Trnov Do, Donja Meka Gruda, Municipality Bileća to the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH under serial no. 84.
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:
- 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.
- The current condition of the property
- Documentation on the location and ownership of the property
- 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 place known as Trnov do, where the church of the Archangel Michael stands, is located alongside the Bileća-Gacko road, approx. 20 km to the north of Bileća. There are no houses in the immediate environs of the church, and the nearest inhabited place, Donja Meka Gruda, is several kilometres from the church.
The church stands on c.p. 758, c.m. Meka Gruda, in a natural depression about 80 m to the south east of the Bileća-Gacko road. The site where the church was built slopes at an angle of approx. 15 degrees from north-east to south-west, coinciding with the axis the church from apse to entrance portal.
Historical information
According to information available in written sources, the church of the Archangel Michael «was built, or perhaps renovated, in 1795.»(1) A lunette was mounted on the entrance facade of the church above the portal, bearing an incised inscription recording the renovation.
2. Description of the property
The church is oriented with its long axis north-east (apse) to south-west (entrance portal). It is rectangular in ground plan, with exterior dimensions of approx. 5.7 x 9.38(2) metres(3).The vaulted apse at the north-east end of the church is ellipsoid in ground plan. The outer circumference of the wall of the apse is approx. 5.70 m in length.
The church has a single nave, and is divided in terms of function into the nave area with a width of approx. 3.53 m and a length of 4.60 m, and an altar area (measuring approx. 3.53 wide x 1.52 m deep) with apse (the lengths of the interior semiaxes of the ellipsoid ground plan of the apse are approx. 1.30 and 1.41 m).
The nave is separated from the altar area by a partition wall approx. 18 cm thick and 171 cm high, in front of which is a wooden iconostasis, approx. 3.50 m long and 3.50 m high, on which icons of recent date are mounted. On the side facing the nave, the iconostasis is articulated from bottom to top by three cornices and a terminal cornice on the crown of the iconostasis, which has an undulating finish. The iconostasis has two arched openings. The left-hand, side opening is 54 cm wide and 172 cm high, and the central opening, with royal doors, is 68 cm wide and 174 cm high(4).
There is a round-arched niche in the wall of the altar area where the north-west wall meets the apse wall; this is used as a proscomidion(5), and measures 53/65/15/(6) cm. The altar table(7), which is made of stone, measures as follows: 72/85/15/165(8) cm, and stands on a stone pillar with a diameter of approx. 34 cm set in the centre of the sanctuary. There is an ambo(9) in the long axis of the church, approx. 89 cm(10) from the altar partition. The ambo, measuring 95 x 67 cm, is composed of shallow incised lines in the form of a cross inscribed in concentric circles cut into a stone slab in the floor(11). Eight radiating lines are incised in the space between two concentric circles with a diameter respectively of approx. 15 cm and 57 cm(12).
The floors of the nave and altar areas are laid with regular-cut rectangular stone slabs.
Above the nave is a longitudinal stone barrel ault with a radius of approx. 1.75 m, a vault «na ćemer» (13). The height of the nave from floor level to the crown(14) of the vault is approx. 3.92 m, and the start of the vault is at a height of 1.75 to 1.80 m above floor level.
The church has one entrance, at the south-west end. The entrance portal is simple: a stone frame measuring 110 x 184 cm on the outside, with a rectangular entrance opening measuring 58 x 139 cm (the inside masonry measurement of the entrance door is approx. 84 cm wide x 166 cm high), while the horizontal cross-section of the stone frame is approx. 27 x 18 cm. It is of interest to note that the stone frame is cut from a single piece of stone(15). Above the entrance portal, slightly asymmetrically(16) in relation to the axis of the portal, is a semicircular lunette (measuring 42 cm at the base x 33 cm high x 8 cm deep); a stone plaque with an incised text on the renovation of the church is set into the lunette. The text is extremely hard to decipher.
In the south-west wall of the church, approx. 15 cm above the lunette(17), is a smaller opening with masonry measurements of approx.35/44 cm on the inside and approx. 5/27 on the outside, with the height of the sill approx. + 2.20 m (measured in the nave of the church).
The walls of the church are approx. 80-85 cm thick, and are of limestone, plastered and whitewashed on the inside. Apart from the north-east facade wal with the apse, which is pointed with lime mortar, the joints of all the remaining facade walls are pointed with cement mortar.
The upper zones of the walls of the church are largely(18) composed of regular horizontal courses in block bond with regular overlaps; all the stones in a given course are of the same height, most of them with the longer side laid flat, and the joints between the stones are pointed. In the lower parts of the walls there are, here and there, stones that «cross» as many as three horizontal courses.
Light enters the nave through a window in the south-east wall with masonry measurements of approx. 71/73 cm on the inside and approx. 40/49 cm on the outside, with the height of the sill approx. +1.22 m (measured in the nave of the church). Light enters the altar area through a window in the south-east wall with masonry measurements of approx. 75/58 cm on the inside and approx. 30/36 cm on the outside, with the height of the sill approx. +1.43 (measured in the apse area). Both windows have stone frames fitted on the outside with wrought iron bars.
The church is clad with stone slabs which, as noted during on site inspection, are laid on a layer of lime mortar on a stone base stabilized with lime mortar. The ridge of the gabled roof above the nave and altar area is also clad with stone slabs measuring approx. 50 cm x 60-90 cm. The stone slabs of the roof cladding are approx. 8-10 cm thick and measure approx. 50-80 x 70-100 cm. The pitch of the gabled roof is approx. 34 degrees(19).
Above the apse is a conical roof clad with stone slabs set in lime mortar. The crown of the conical roof is approx. 80 cm lower than the ridge of the gabled roof.
Topping the roof, level with the gable end of the wall of the entrance facade, is a stone bell tower «na preslicu» at a height of +5.25 m(20). This measures approx. 97 cm wide x 164 cm high x 50 cm deep on the outside, and is in the shape of an archivolt beam(21) mounted on two uprights(22). There is a stone cross approx. 29 cm in height at the top of the archivolt beam, and a decoration with an orb motif is incised on the sides of the archivolt.The inside measurements of the round-arched opening of the bell tower, within which the bell is mounted, are approx. 53 x 140 cm.The oak beam on which the bell is hung is set into the sides of the bell tower by means of wrought iron «stirrups». The bell, which is of cast bronze, bears the imprint of an artisan's workshop in Slovenia:
« MAX SAMASSA
LAIBACH
No 2835
1900 «
About 35 metres to the north-west of the church is a stone-built cistern measuring approx. 5 x 8 m. A memorial plaque is mounted on the north wall incised with the following inscription in Cyrillic script:
«THIS CISTERN WAS BUILT FOR THE GOOD FORTUNE OF THE RULE OF HIS MAJESTY KING ALEXANDER WITH THE HELP OF THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF MR. N. PAŠIĆ THANKS TO THE INTERCESSION OF THE PEOPLE 1926.»
About 5 to 7 metres to the north-east of the apse are five graves marked by stone crosses. Two of them are incised with epitaphs in Cyrillic script.
The first bears the epitaph:
«1900 HERE LIE THE BONES OF THE LATE ĐURO ŠARENAC. [THIS] TOMBSTONE WAS ERECTED BY HIS BROTHERS BATO AND .IDA».
Above the epitaph on this cruciform tombstone is the carved motif of a cross. The upper arm is in the form of a cross with trefoil ends. The lower arm ends in a horizontal lime with rounded ends, and in the centreal part of the cross are double, arched cross arms with stylized ends in the form of a cross or quadrifoil.
The second cross stands on a stone chest. The arms of the cross have trefoil ends, and the cross is incised in Cyrillic script with the following epitaph:
« GOSPAVA ŠARENAC 1894† ».
The ends of the arms of the remaining three crosses are incised with decorations with the motif of an orb.
According to archaeologist Čedomir Popović(23), about 35 to 40 metres to the south-west of the church, on the plot c.p. 757, c.m. Meka Gruda, the remains of walls of an unexplored archaeological site can be seen(24).
3. Legal status to date
The building was not on the Register of immovable cultural monuments and was not a protected building.
At a session held on 14 June 2000 the Commission issued a decision to add the Church of the Archangel, Trnov Do, Donja Meka Gruda, Municipality Bileća to the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH under serial no. 84.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
Since the building was not on the Register of immovable cultural monuments and was not a protected building, there is no written information or documentation on conservation and restoration works.
5. Current condition of the property
There are extensive signs of damp inside the building, particularly in the altar area. Bearing in mind that almost the whole of this part of the building is below ground level(25), this is presumably caused by underground water. Given the extensive presence of damp in the apse walls, it is fair to assume that the parts of the building that are below ground level have not been protected from the action of underground and percolating water.
The plaster surface of the interior walls of the south corner of the church has a crack approx. 1-2 mm wide. Although it is not possible unambiguously to determine the cause of this or to monitor its progress without further examination, given the position and direction in which the crack runs, it has presumably been caused by uneven soil subsidence beneath the south corner of the church.
In addition, there can be no doubt that the pointing of the joints of the stone walls on the facades of the church with cement plaster is the result of a recent intervention.
6. Specific risks
The building is at considerable risk from the action of underground and percolating water; following the necessary investigative works, it will be necessary to select a suitable method of making good the damage caused by damp. Before this can be done the problem of damp proofing the building will also need to be resolved.
The tombstones are at risk from the presence of plant organisms, lichens and moss.
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
D. Clarity
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
G. Authenticity
G.iv. traditions and techniques
G.v. location and setting
G.vi. spirit and feeling
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan, scale 1:6250, cadastral plots nos. 757 and 758 (old survey), title sheet no. 90, c.m. Meka Gruda, Plan no: 13d/3, issued 24 March 2006 by the Bileća branch of the Authority for Geodetic and Property Affairs of Republika Srpska,
- Transcript of title sheet, c.p. nos 757 and 758, title sheet no. 90, c.m. Meka Gruda, transcript of title sheet no. 12-952-62/06 issued on 27 March 2006 by by the Bileća branch of the Trebinje Centre of the Authority for Geodetic and Property Affairs of Republika Srpska,
- Photodocumentation:
o photographs of the current condition of the church taken on 28 March 2006 by architect Emir Softić (using: Canon PowerShot A60 digital camera)
- Graphics: ground plan of the church (survey of current condition in March 2006 conducted and drawn by architect Emir Softić)
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the historic building of the Orthodox Church of the Archangel Michael in Trnov Do as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1965 Wenzel, Marian: Ukrasni motivi na stećcima (Decorative mofits on steċak tombstones), Cultural Heritage Series, Sarajevo, 1965
2001 Stošić, Ljiljana: Mali rečnik crkvenih pojmova (Concise dictionary of ecclesiastical terms) / Ljiljana Stošić. - Belgrade: Ars Libri; Banjaluka : Besjeda, 2001
2002 Ševo, Ljiljana: Pravoslavne crkve i manastiri u Bosni i Hercegovini do 1878. godine (Orthodox churches and monasteries in BiH to 1878) , Banja Luka, 2002
(1) Ševo, Ljiljana: Pravoslavne crkve i manastiri u Bosni i Hercegovini do 1878. godine, Banja Luka, 2002, p. 173
(2) These measurements include the apse. The length of the walls excluding the apse are: north-west approx. 7.76 m, south-east approx. 7.85 m (op. E. Softić).
(3) All measurements taken on site on 28 March 2006 by architect Emir Softić.
(4) The central opening has swing doors
(5) The north section, an altar also known as the Prothesis or Proscomidion, where the communion requisites are prepared (Stošić, Ljiljana: Mali rečnik crkvenih pojmova / Ljiljana Stošić. - Belgrade : Ars Libri ;Banjaluka : Besjeda, 2001)
(6) These measurements are in centimetres and relate respective to the witdh of the niche/height of the niche/depth of the niche (op. E. Softić)
(7) Rectangular table set into the centre of the altar. Here the proscomidion is conducted, the preparation of the bread and wine for transformation into the body and blood of Christ. Just as the altar is the most important place in the church, so this table is the main part of the altar. As the throne of Christ, Judge and Lord, it is also known as the throne, noble table or holy altar. Spiriually, it represents the table at which Christ held the Last Supper; Christ offers himself as a sacrifice to save the world, appearing in the dual role of archpriest and sacrifice, the one who offers and the offering (Stošić, Ljiljana: Mali rečnik crkvenih pojmova).
(8) These measurements are in centimetres and relate respective to the witdh of the table/length of the table/depth of the tabletop/distance from apse floor (op. E. Softić)
(9) Raised area in front of the royal doors, where the deacon stands to read the Gospel and from which preachers address the congregation. As seen by German, Patriarch of Istanbul, the ambo symbolically represents the stone rolled away from Christ’s tomb by the angel whom the Marys met at Christ’s Resurrection (Stošić, Ljiljana: Mali rečnik crkvenih pojmova)
(10) horizontal distance of the iconostasis from the tangent of the outermost circle of the ambo
(11) the slab into which the ambo is incised is set level with the other slabs in the floor of the nave (op. E. Softić).
(12) The angle between two adjacent radial lines is approx. 45 degrees
(13) ćemerli= vaulted; built “na ćemer” (Nenadović, Slobodan M., Ilustrovani rečnik izraza u narodnoj arhitekturi (Illustrated dictionary of terms in popular architecture) Belgrade, 2002, p. 79
(14) Referring to the crown of the vault in the interior of the church (op. E. Softić)
(15) As a rule, door frames are composed of several pieces of stone. As a result of its being made in this way and the absence of joints, cracks can be seen in the upper right and lower left corners of the stone door frame (op. E. Softić).
(16) The lunette is offset by approx. 2.5 cm to the left, i.e. to the north-west, of the central axis of the entrance portal (op. E. Softić).
(17) Distance measured on the façade wall
(18) This description relates to the upper parts of the walls (op. E. Softić).
(19) Calculated from measurements taken on site (op. E. Softić)
(20) measured in relation to ground level outside the entrance portal (op. E. Softić)
(21) cross section of the archivolt beam is approx. 24 cm high x 50 cm wide
(22) uprights of rectangular cross section, approx. 22 cm wide x 50 cm deep
(23) Archaeologist from Bileća who was present on 28 March 2006 during the on site inspection of the property (op. E. Softić).
(24) The parts of the walls above ground survive in places to a height of approx. 1 metre and are approx. 100-130 cm wide (op. E. Softić)
(25) Measurements were taken on side of the distance from the horizontal level of the roof eaves to the ground, as follows:
- approx. 110 cm, at the extreme end of the apse wall to the north-east ,
- approx. 150-155 cm, at the extreme ends of the side walls of the church to the north-east ,
- approx. 330-355 cm, at the extreme ends of the side walls of the church to the south-east (op. E. Softić).
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