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 4 to 11 September 2006 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The historic building of the Baščaršija (Havadža Durak) mosque in Sarajevo 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 no. 431 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos. 1 and 3 Mahala I and c.p. nos. 47, 48, 49 and 50, Mahala XXI (old survey), title deed no: I/87, I/1, XXI/24, XXI/23, XXI/22 and XXI/21, cadastral municipality Sarajevo I, Municipality Stari Grad, Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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 the Federation of  BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02 and 6/04) shall apply to the National Monument.

II

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve, restore 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 protection measures are hereby stipulated, which shall apply to the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision:

• research, conservation and restoration works and structural consolidation works shall be permitted, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the heritage protection authority),
• recent coats of paint shall be removed from the walls and woodwork of the National Monument,
• research works shall be conducted to identify the earlier (original) treatment of these parts;
• a suitable restoration project – treatment of colour palette – shall be drawn up and implemented,
• all works, regardless of their type and extent, must be carried out pursuant to the prior approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority.

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 the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, 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 the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation 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 to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

VII

The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba) 

VIII

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. 535.

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

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: 06.2-2-58/05-7                                                                              

5 September 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 Baščaršija Mosque in Sarajevo to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, numbered as 535.

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 para. 4 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.
• An inspection of the current condition of the property
• Copy of the cadastral plan
• 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 Baščaršija mosque is in the very heart of the old Sarajevo commercial centre known as Baščaršija, almost on the square itself. The area around the mosque is defined by Baščaršija street to the west and Bravadžiluk stgreet to the south. There is a šadrvan fountain on the pavement between these two street, very close to the mosque.To the north and east are shops alongside the plot on which the mosque stands.

The mosque lies north-west/south-east, with the entrance to the north-west. The entrance to the mosque courtyard is to the west, from Baščaršija street. There was formerly another entrance to the south, from Bravadžiluk street, which is now closed.

Historical information

Sarajevo's Baščaršija, the commercial centre of Sarajevo, took shape in the mid 15th century and reached its peak of development in the second half of the 16th century.

Two large domed mosques were built in the very centre of Baščaršija: the Čekrekčijina or Čekreči Muslihudin mosque, in 1526, and the Baščaršija or Havadža Durak mosque, in 1528.

The earliest reference to the Mahala (residential quarter) of the mosque of havadža Durak dates from 1528. The mahala was close to the Baščaršija mosque erected by hojja Durak, which means that the mosque was built prior to 1528, not at the end of the 16th century as was formerly believed. Hojja Durak had a son, Mehmed-čelebija, who built a mekteb by the Firuz-beg hammam prior to 1541.  In 1541, Hojja Durak is referred to as deceased.

The Baščaršija mosque did not have its own burial ground, and since it was in the centre of the čaršija it was not surrounded by residential quarter either.

There is an inscription on a board above the entrance, recording the renovation and decoration of the mosque in 1866/67. The background is painted white, and the lettering is in black nasta'liq script.      

«This attractive place was repaired first by the late Hijja Husejin,

And the walls of the building were then handsomely decorated by

The decorator Fagin Mustafa.

The date of the repairs is one thousand two hundred and

Eighty three

May the renovator and decorator be granted the best of prayers.

Year 1283.» (1866/67)

(Mujezinović, 1988. pp. 277, 278)

The original Baščaršija mosque had a wooden dome, which was destroyed by fire in 1697, after which the present-day dome was built.

In 1762 the mosque was repainted at his own expense by Mehmed pasha Muhsinović.

In 1876, Hajji Muhamed Kumašin planted the poplar beside the minaret.

In 1945 the portico with its three domes, which was in a dilapidated state, was pulled down and a portico with a wooden roof frame clad with tiles was erected(1).

We have no information on the date of reconstruction of the present-day portico, but judging from the project entitled Documentation for the renovation of the Baščaršija mosque compiled by the Institute for the Protection and Renovation of Cultural Monuments of the City of Sarajevo, 1966, it may be assumed that it was carried out immediately after the said documentation was drawn up.

During the 1992-1995 war the Baščaršija mosque was badly damaged.

2. Description of the property

The largest number of domed mosques to be built in any city in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Ottoman period were in Sarajevo. Seven of these domed mosques have survived: the Careva (Imperial), Gazi Husref-beg, Čekrekčijina, Baščaršija, Logavina, Ferhadija and Ali-pasha mosques.

The Baščaršija mosque is a single-space domed mosque with open exterior portico roofed with small domes, and a built-on stone minaret.

The portico with sofas is on the north-west entrance side of the mosque. It has three small domes with a diameter of approx. 3.10 m. The domes at either end are at the same level, and are approx. 8.15 in height to the alem (finial). The central dome is rather higher, at approx. 8.45 m to the finial. There are stone sofas approx. 60 cm high on either side of the mosque door. The passageway between the sofas is approx. 2.70 m wide. The sofas measure 4.25 x 4.40 m and 4.25 x 4.60 m.The domes are supported by four massive stone columns with a diameter of approx. 0.42 m. The capitals of these columns are decorated with carved stone stalactites. Copper reinforcing rings are set above the circular stone bases on square plinths, and at various points on the columns. The columns are joined one to another and with the front mosque wall by pointed stone arches with horizontal steel ties, forming three entities. The transition above them to the three small equal-sized domes with low octagonal drums is effected via undecorated pendentives.

In ground plan the building is roughly square, measuring approx. 11.50 x 11.70 on the outside and approx. 9.17 x 9.25 on the inside(2). The solid limestone walls are approx. 1.15 m thick, and the transition to the dome is effected via trompes and a drum. The lower part of the building is of regular-cut stone blocks,and the upper part of hewn limestone. Tufa was used to build the portico and minaret.

All the interior wall surfaces of the mosque are plastered and painted white, apart from the dome and the area above the trompes, which are blue. This paintwork is recent. The mosque has a wooden floor.

All the exterior surfaces of the mosque terminate in moulded stone cornices, featuring where the roof projects outwards beyond the wall face. All the domes, pitched roofs, flashings and minaret roof are of sheet copper, of quite some age, while the original roof cladding was lead.

The central mosque area is covered by a dome, which is approx. 15.90 m in height on the outside to the finial. The dome is built of Turkish brick and is approx. 0.20 m thick, with a diameter of 8.80 m. It rests on a drum, which is octagonal on the outside and cylindrical on the inside. The outside height of the drum to the cornice is approx. 2.50 m. Each side of the drum has a single window. The walls and structural trompes are covered on the outside by a small hipped roof made of sheet copper, which is also used to clad the three-paned roof of the portico.

The transition from the square central area to the circular drum is effected via four trompes set at the corners of the building, with corner stalactites below each trompe. The trompes are of tripartite ribbed spherical construction. The central areas of the walls between the trompes are accentuated by moulded pointed arches. The footings of the arches terminate in two rows of stalactites. All four corners of the mosque are adorned with corner stalactites (brackets decorated with stone stalactites), composed of six stepped rows filling the space and narrowing towards the top. Eight spherical triangles feature between the arches, forming the direct transition above the trompes into the ring of the drum. There are two moulded stone string courses on the drum, the first in the form of a circular stone ring at the baseof the drum, and the second as the line marking the transition from the vertical drum walls to the curve of the dome.

Light enters the mosque through 25 windows of simple shape, five  each in the side and mihrab walls, two in the entrance wall and one on each side of the octagonal drum. The windows in the side and mihrab walls of the central space are in three rows – two in the bottom and two in the second row and one top window in the centre of the wall. The entrance wall windows feature in the bottom row; above them, at second-row level, are two oculi.

All the bottom row windows are double rectangular wooden windows approx. 100 cm wide and 140 cm high. They have stone frames on the outside and pointed stone relieving arches above the lintels. They are fitted on the outside with wrought-iron bars forming a 6 x 9 grid. 

The second-row windows are set vertically above the first-row windows and terminate in pointed arches. The upper part of the windows is in the shape of a vault. These are single wooden windows measuring 90 x 188 cm.

The top (third) row windows in the upper part of the body of the mosque are located one in the middle of each wall. These too are single wooden windows terminating in pointed arches, and are smaller than the second-row windows.

The topmost row of windows are those in the middle of each side of the drum, which terminate in pointed arches and are of the same shape as those of the third row but smaller again.

The entrance portal projects outwards from the wall face by approx. 0.25 m and dominates the central part of the north-west facade. In width it occupies the entire space between the sofas, at 2.70 m wide, and is 4.50 m in height.  Within this projecting part of the portal are double wooden doors framed by massive stone door jambs and a segmental stone arch.  Both the jambs and arch are plain, without mouldings. A stone plaque above the door, measuring 80 x 60 cm, bears an inscription.  Above this plaque is a stepped niche in the shape of an equilateral triangle decorated with a single row of stalactites. The double wooden doors are approx. 1.25 m wide and 2.10 m high. They are composed of three rectangular panels and are decorated with iron studs.

The mihrab of the Baščaršija mosque consists of a seven-sided mihrab niche with a diameter of 1.10 m and a height (from the mosque floor to the top of the mihrab crown) of approx. 3.80 m. The niche opening is stepped at the top with six bands of stalactite decorations, which gradually narrow so as to enclose the niche recess and terminate with the mihrab crown at the top. The niche is surrounded by a stone mihrab frame projecting outwards from the wall face by approx. 23 cm. The frame is 4.30 m in height, and has an outer edge 50 cm in width with decoration consisting of geometric designs plainted blue and white. This part is separated from the niche by a moulded stone cornice.

The mimber of the Baščaršija mosque is made of stone and is located by the south-east wall of the mosque, to the right of the mihrab, 0.94 m from the mihrab and 1.30 m from the side wall. It measures approx. 3.50 m in length, 0.88 m in width, and 5.90 m in height. The mimber consists of the entrance portal in the form of a stone frame, a 10-12 ste4p stairway with balustrade with a landing at the top known as the kjurs (pulpit), and the pyramidal canopy above the kjurs, painted with green oil paint, set on a wooden frame and topped by a finial. The mimber staircase has a high stone balustrade without decoration on either side. The triangular side surfaces below the staircase and balustrade are enclosed and undecorated. Below the triangle are three small niches with pointed arches. The mihrab has been painted with green oil paint.

The mahfil of the Baščaršija mosque occupies the entire north-west wall above the entrance door. It is of wooden construction, supported by four square rectangular pillars approx. 75 cm in diameter [sic]. The pillars have capitals carved with floral motifs. The pillars have been painted with green oil paint and the capitals in gold. The mahfil measures approx. 9.25 m long and 2.80 m wide. It has wooden floor boards, and the underside is faced with wood – šiše – decorated with painted wooden slats. The mahfil railing is wooden, composed of close-set uprights, and is approx. 90 cm in height. The entrance to the mahfil is via a narrow wooden staircase on the north-east wall.

The octagonal stone minaret is approx. 2.10 m in diameter and 34.70 m in height to the alem (finial). It is of tufa and was built against the south-west mosque wall. The octagonal base of the minaret is of limestone, and is approx. 3.4 m wide. The transition from the base to the shaft of the minaret is in the form of a trapezoid prism with a shallow moulded stone string course.  It is decorated with rhomboidal stone mouldings. The šerefe (balcony) parapet is of stone, accentuated by moulded stone cornices top and bottom. The conical roof is clad with sheet copper. Below the roof the minaret terminates in a frieze of blind arcades. The minaret is topped by a copper finial with four equal-sized pommels.

Movable heritage

The walls of the Baščaršija mosque are decorated with levhas (calligraphic inscriptions), most of which are printed, though a few are hand-made. These are:

Levha on the entrance wall, reading:

لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله

There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet.

The levha was written in black ink on brown paper, and bears the date 1322 (1903/04).  No artist's signature could be seen.

On the eight pendentives are eight octagonal levhas on plywood, of unknown date. The eight names usually seen in mosques in this country are in gold on a green background:

Allah jallashanuhu – God Almighty,

Muhammed aleyhi-s-salaam – Muhammad, peace be upon him,

Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu – Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him,

Umar radiallahu anhu – Umar, may God be pleased with him,

Uthman radiallahu anhu – Uthman, may God be pleased with him,

Ali radiallahu anhu – Ali, may God be pleased with him,

Hassan radiallahu anhu – Hassan, may God be pleased with him,

Hussain radiallahu anhu – Hussain, may God be pleased with him.

Approximately 2 metres to the north-east of the mosque is a new abdesthana (premises for performing ritual ablutions). The building has a ground and a first floor and measures approx. 3.25 x 5.00 m.  It was built in 1997.

The mosque courtyard is surrounded by a stone wall with an average height of approx. 1.90 m and a width of approx. 0.40 m.

 The wall runs along the west side facing Baščaršija street and the south side facing Bravadžiluk street. There are openings in the wall fitted with iron grids. To the west is the gateway leading into the mosque area. The stone wall at this point is approx. 3.00 m high. The double doors are of solid wood and measure approx. 2.80 m wide and 1.88 m high.

There was a šadrvan fountain in the courtyard of the Baščaršija mosque, now replaced by a concrete fountain that is not in working order.

The courtyard is not large, with an area of approx.  385 m2. It is cobbled. It has been planted with two fine poplars and a quantity of roses.

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. 676/50 of 9 April 1950, the Baščaršija mosque, property of Havadža Durak, was placed under state protection..

By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Sarajevo no. 02-608-3/ of 18 April 1962, the Baščaršija mosque in Sarajevo was entered in the Register of immovable cultural monuments. 

The Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 lists the Baščaršija mosque as a Category I monument.

The property is on the Provisional List of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the heading Baščaršija mosque in Sarajevo, serial no. 535.

The Baščaršija mosque is located within the townscape of Sarajevo, which the Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 listed as a Category 0 monument

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

The mosque has been renovated on several occasions, and bears an inscription over the entrance recording major renovations in 1866/67 (Mujezinović, 1988, pp. 277, 278).

The mosque originally had a wooden dome, which was destroyed by fire in 1697, after which the present-day dome was built(3).

In 1762 the mosque was repainted at his own expense by Mehmed pasha Muhsinović.

In 1876, Hajji Muhamed Kumašin planted the poplar beside the minaret.

The šadrvan fountain was made after piped water was introduced(4).

In 1945 the portico with its three domes, which was in a dilapidated state, was pulled down and a portico with a wooden roof frame clad with tiles was erected.

We have no information on the date of reconstruction of the present-day portico, but judging from the project entitled Documentation for the renovation of the Baščaršija mosque compiled by the Institute for the Protection and Renovation of Cultural Monuments of the City of Sarajevo, 1966, it may be assumed that it was carried out immediately after the documentation was drawn up.

During the 1992-1995 war the Baščaršija mosque was badly damaged. Shells damaged the dome, the minaret, the outside walls in several places, and the interior of the mosque.

Accordeing to information received from the Islamic Community of Sarajevo, the only repairs carried out after the war were emergency repairs and repainting the walls to enable the building to be used again.

5. Current condition of the property

During an on site inspection of the condition of the building in August 2006, the following was ascertained:

• The building is in use but is in poor overall condition.
• The minaret and dome are in particularly poor condition. According to information received from a representative of the Islamic Community of Sarajevo, the minaret sways in bad or windy weather.
• Physical damage in the form of cracks can be seen on the facades.
• The stone columns and, in particular, the capitals and bases are in poor condition.

6. Specific risks

The stone minaret is at greatest risk, being in poor condition; bad weather with high winds could damage it.

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.iii. proportions

C.iv. composition

C.v. value of details

D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

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.ii. religious value

E. iii. traditional value

E.v. 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

-          Copy of land register entry and proof of title;

-          Photodocumentation of the Commission

-          Project for renovation of the portico: Documentation for renovation of the Baščaršija mosque compiled by the Institute for the Protection and Renovation of Cultural Monuments of the City of Sarajevo, 1966

-          Drawings copied and produced by the Commission

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1969.    Bejtić, Alija, Stara sarajevska čaršija jučer danas i sutra – osnove i smjernice za regeneraciju (The old Sarajevo ćaršija, past, present and future – basis and guidelines for regeneration) City Institute for the Protection and Maintenance of Cultural Monuments of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1969.

1973.    Bejtić, Alija, Ulice i trgovi starog Sarajeva, Topografija geneza i  toponimija (Streets and squares of old Sarajevo, topography, origins and toponymy), Sarajevo 1973.

1980.    Institute for architecture, town planning and regional planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Stage «B» - valorization of natural, cultural and historical monuments, Sarajevo, 1980.

1984.    Andrejević, Andrej, Islamska monumentalna umetnost XVI veka u Jugoslaviji – kupolne džamije (16th century Islamic monumental art in Yugoslavia – domed mosques), Faculty of Philosophy of Belgrade, Institute of Art History, Belgrade, 1984.

1998.    Mujezinović, Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic epigraphics of Bosnia and Herzegovina), bk. I, Sarajevo-Publishing, 1998

(1) This information is from the file of the Baščaršija mosque compiled by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NRBIH

(2) Those measurements not in the project design of the Baščaršija mosque were taken on site by a qualified staff member of the Commission

(3) This information was found in the file record no. 676/50 09 of April 1950, obtained from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport

(4) This information was found in the file record no. 676/50 09 of April 1950, obtained from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport