Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the „Official Gazette of BiH“ no. 97/07.
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 architectural ensemble of the Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque in Vitina, Municipality Ljubuški, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The architectural ensemble consists of the mosque, minaret and harem within the harem wall, and the harem wall itself.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 1745/1 and 1745/2, Land Register entry no. 100, cadastral municipality Vitina, Municipality Ljubuški, 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, 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 on the site defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, the following measures are hereby stipulated:
- all works are prohibited other than research and conservation and restoration works and works designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
To preserve the National Monument from further deterioration, the following urgent protection measures are hereby prescribed:
- fencing off the area of the mosque harem;
- erection of a temporary structure to protect the property from the elements and further deterioration;
- examination and structural analysis of the structural parts of the property;
- structural consolidation of the property and repairs to the structural parts, using traditional materials and the same technical procedures wherever possible;
- protection of the property against adverse outside influences.
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 and conservation 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
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.: 09-2-689/03-4
7 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.
On 17 March 2003 the Commission to Preserve National Monuments received a petition from the Centre for Islamic Architecture to designate the Vitina mosque in Ljubuški as a national monument.
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:
- Documentation on the location and current owner of the property (copy of land register entry)
- 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
Access to the architectural ensemble of the Ali-beg Kapetanović mkosque in Vitina is from the north-east, from the Ljubuški – Imotski road.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 1745/1 and 1745/2, Land Register entry no. 100, cadastral municipality Vitina, Municipality Ljubuški, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The main axis of the Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque lies north-west/south-east. The entrance is to the north-west.
Historical information
Vitina is 7 kilometres from Ljubuški on the Ljubuški – Imotski road, in the Vitina plain, near the source of the river Vrioštica.
There is not a great deal of historical information on Vitina, near Ljubuški.
Along with Ljubuški itself, it was a major strategic point in western Herzegovina vis-a-vis the Venetians.
According to Kasim Gujić(1), Vitina was settled during the Roman period. The Solin – Runovići – Vid (Narona) road ran close to the settlement (Kasim Gujić, Napredak calendar, Sarajevo, 1938, 164).
During the 14th century Vitina belonged to Bosnia's King Stjepan Dabiša, and later to Herceg Stjepan. It came under Ottoman rule in 1465 or 1466.
According to 17th century documents cited by Mujić, Vitina belonged to the Gabela kadiluk.
There are numerous folk legends concerning the origins of the name Vitina, cited by Muhamed Mujić in his papers(2). In his view, the settlement was named after the river that runs through it, which is now known as the Vriješnica, but Mujić refers to a document dating from the Ottoman period in which the name Vitina is given to the river. Mujić also mentions the fact that in the Journal of the National Museum for 1891, Fiala Franjo refers to the river now known as the Vriješnica as the river Vitina.
The Kapetanović family is one of the most prominent families of Vitina. Referring to the family's origins, Gujić notes that it originates from the extremely wealthy and influential Croatian family of Count Cvitković-Zdilar, from the village of Džilar near Imotski(3). He records that Count Jozo Cvitković-Zdilar, son of Count Petar and Katarina Cvitković (born 8 November 1788), was an officer in the Austrian army. After being involved in an insurrection, he had to flee from Imotski into Bosnia and Herzegovina, then part of Turkey, probably after the death of his father Petar after 1814. He converted to Islam in Vitina and took the name Sulejman-beg. He soon became kapetan (captain) of Ljubuški. Sulejman-beg is regarded as the founder of the aristocratic Kapetanović family.
Probably the most significant member of the family is Mehmed-beg Kapetanović-Ljubušak (1839 – 1931)(4). Mehmed-beg was a prominent writer who published a number of worthwhile works. He was the first Muslim in Bosnia and Herzegovina to take an interest in folkloral literature. During both the Turkish and Austro-Hungarian periods he occupied senior positions in the state administration. During the Austro-Hungarian period he was also lord mayor of Sarajevo.
Members of the Kapetanović family built several properties in Vitina, of which the most important is their manor-house tower. Ali-beg Kapetanović provided the funds to rebuild the mosque in Vitina.
According to Kasim Gujić(5), the mosque was built by Ali-beg Kapetanović, son of the last captain of Ljubuški, Sulejman-beg. The mosque was built between 1856 and 1858. Ali-beg Kapetanović died in 1858 and was buried in the harem of the mosque. According to Gujić, there was no mosque in Vitina before 1858; the Muslims of Vitina prayed out of doors in a place known as Sofa by the source of the Vrioštica (Kasim Gujić, Napredak calendar for 1939, Sarajevo 1938, 167).
According to Muhamed Mujić(6), the mosque in Vitina was built in the early years of the Ottoman administration. In his view, the inscription formerly above the entrance door recorded the renovation of the mosque in 1856, not its construction.
Setting out his views on the construction of the mosque, Mujić wrote: ”We have studied this issue and come to the following conclusions. Vitina is a very ancient settlement, which along with Ljubuški became a major strategic point and fortress to the west with the conquest of this region by the Ottomans. It had an armed garrison and a small population, as elsewhere where the Ottomans came, retaining troops there for a long time and erecting a mosque for the troops and the local population. It would be logical therefore for a mosque to have been built in Vitina in the early years of Ottoman rule. We regard as unfounded the assertion that the sofa was the only place in Vitina where prayers were performed right up until 1858.“ Muhamed A. Mujić, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju sv. III – IV, Sarajevo 1952/53, „Prilog proučavanju prošlosti Vitine“, 627.
Judging from the materials used to build the mosque, its stylistic expression and the interior decoration, it was built in at least two stages, and was frequently renovated.
The mosque was damaged in 1993, during the 1992-1995 war.
2. Description of the property
Harem of the mosque
The small area around the mosque is surrounded by a stone wall to the west and a concrete wall to the north-east. A two-storey building forming part of the vakuf (perpetual endowment) of the mosque forms the boundary of the harem to the north-west.
The entrance to the harem of the mosque is to the north-west.
Mosque
In spatial layout, the Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque in Vitina belongs to the type of single-space mosque with open portico. It has a polygonal roof concealing a wooden dome. The stone minaret was built separately from the mosque itself.
Specific features of this mosque are:
- given that it is built on sloping ground, there are two storerooms below the mosque, entered from the south-east;
- the mosque portico is open on three sides, and extends over the full height of the mosque, although it is visually divided into two levels by the way it was built;
- the interior wooden dome covering the main prayer space is concealed on the outside by a polygonal roof resting on an octagonal drum;
- the small stone minaret stands in the west corner of the harem, completely separate from the mosque itself.
The mosque is a massive cuboid structure, with sides approx.7.95 long on the outside, excluding the portico, or 11.30 x 7.95 m including the portico. The building is approx. 6.50 m in height to the portico cornice, and approx. 8.0 m in height to the mosque cornice. The minaret is approx. 6.0 m in height.
Because of the slope in which it was built, the mosque stands on a stone plinth, about 95 m in height in the portico area.
The mosque has solid stone walls, 80 to 90 cm thick, plastered on the outside, and whitewashed and with painted decorations on the inside.
The walls were built of unevenly shaped blocks. The quoins and the window frames are of regular cut stone.
Wooden tie beams were set at three levels, below the second row of windows, below the third row of windows at the start of the trompes, and at the lower drum level.
Acoustic devices consisting of clay pots can be seen set into the upper part of the walls.
The volume of the interior space is enclosed by four walls taking the load of the spherical dome, which rests on a drum that is cylindrical on the inside and octagonal on the outside. Trompes at the corners of the walls transfer the load from the drum to the walls.
The drum was built of stone with wooden tie beams.
On the inside, the dome is made of wooden boards, with ribs consisting of wooden beams bonded to the tie beam in the lower part of the drum.
The dome is concealed by a polygonal tile-clad roof.
There are three rows of windows in the facades.
The first row has two rectangular windows on each façade (measuring approx. 80 x 150 cm/height x width), with stone frames and wrought iron bars on the outside. There are relieving segmental arches both inside and out above the first row of windows.
The second row of windows (measuring approx. 70 x 150 cm, rectangular section, with height to the apex of the arch approx. 185 cm), set directly above the windows in the first row, and terminating in a pointed arch.
The windows in the third row are set in the upper part of the body of the mosque, one in the centre of each wall, except on the north-west entrance façade. Like the second row of windows, these terminate in a pointed arch.
In addition to these windows, the south-east façade also contains the entrances to the storerooms below the mosque – two round-arched doors, 280 cm in width. The arches are accentuated by a simple moulding projecting outwards from the wall face. The keystone of the arches is set back from the wall face, and dressed.
In view of the material used to build the present portico, as well as its stylistic characteristics, it was presumably built during the first half of the 20th century, probably between the two World Wars.
The portico is built of concrete. It is divided into two parts vertically and three horizontally. The pillars of the first part are square in section, measuring 30 x 30 cm, with high bases and capitals, giving an overall height of 225 cm. The parapet between the pillars, which is approx. 45 cm in height, is perforated. The pillars are linked by a high beam with simple moulding.
The pillars of the second vertical level are set in the axis of those of the first level. These two are square in section but smaller than those of the first level. The parapet between them is solid concrete slab. The pillars are linked by round arches.
The portico has a flat concrete roof.
The exterior sofas are stone-built with a height of approx. 45 cm. When the portico was built, a concrete slab was laid over the stone structure of the sofas, which stand to the left and right of the entrance portal.
The entrance portal is a simple arched opening accentuated by being set back from the wall face. It is 224 cm in height, with the actual opening approx. 195 cm in height.
The interior of the mosque is an almost regular cube, with sides measuring approx. 6.30 m. The transition from the cubice space to the circular drum is accentuated in the interior by the extrusion of the level of the drum from the wall face.
All the inside walls of the mosque are plastered and whitewashed. All have painted decorations. Traces of several painted and decorated layers can be made out under the existing painted surface. There are traces of blue, dark-blue, rust-red, black and several shades of green on parts of the walls and on the trompes. The upper reaches of the south-west wall bear traces of calligraphic inscriptions.
The colours used on the final painted layer are light green, light ochre and ochre for the walls and dome. Stencils were used for this layer. The lower part of the walls, up to the second row of windows, are painted light green, with floral decoration. The upper partis painted loight ochre and ochre, and the dome is light green.
There is a wall cupboard in the centre of the north-east wall, level with the first row of windows.
The wooden mahfil inside the building is a “front mahfil.” The entrance to the mahfil is via a single-flight wooden staircase in the sofas. The transverse beams of the mahfil rest on the tie beam in the wall at one end and on a beam into which the wooden pillars are fitted at the other end. The mahfil is supported by two octagonal wooden pillars.
The mahfil balustrade is wooden, and the floor is boarded. The wooden beam of the mahfil is concealed by a decorative facing board.
On the underside, the mahfil structure is concealed by wooden boards, divided by slats into rectangular panels. Red and grey can be seen in the south-west part of the mahfil under the light green with which the boards were painted. The rectangular panels are decorated with seven-pointed stars.
The mimber, which is made of wood, consists of three parts: the portal with steps and balustrade, the upper pyramidal part supported by four square uprights linked by pointed arches, and the triangular sides below this part and the stairrail.
The mihrab area, which is 1.68 m wide and 3.30 m high, projects out from the wall face by 22.5 cm. The mihrab frame, with an overall width of 40 cm, is divided into two by a simple moulding. The mihrab area terminates in a crown.
There is a calligraphic inscription between the mihrab niche and the mihrab frame.
The seven-sided mihrab niche, which is 90 cm wide, is decorated with painted decoration divided into three levels.
The entire mihrab area is painted in red, yellow, ochre, green, white, blue and pink.
The base of the minaret is of uneven hewn stone and stands approx. 75 cm high. The hexagonal shaft of the minaret, approx. 5.25 m in height, is divided by a simple stringcourse with no mouldings into two sections. The lower section is solid, of uneven cut stone plastered on the outside. The top section is concrete(7) and serves as the šerefe (balcony). The entrance is arched. The remaining five sides have five arched openings.
The šerefe is reached via 13 open stone steps 70-80 cm in width. There is no stair rail.
The minaret has a pyramidal concrete roof.
There are the remains of the nišan tombstone of a grave beside the minaret. Kasim Gujić suggests that this is the remains of the tombstone of the tomb of Ali-beg Kapetanović, who he says was buried in the harem of the mosque.
3. Legal status to date
The property has not been under state protection.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
Although it is evident that the property has been renovated on several occasions in the past, there is no documentary record of this.
The following interventions have been carried out on the property in the past:
- portico extended or altered,
- inside walls frequently painted and decorated,
- mihrab, mimber and mahfil also painted on several occasions;
- upper part of the minaret rebuilt.
5. Current condition of the property
The Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque was damaged in 1993 during war action, when the dome and interior were damaged.
The mosque is now in rather poor condition as a result of the damage and lack of maintenance. Traces of damp can be seen on the walls, which has led to damage to the interior decoration. The mimber has been completely destroyed and the mahfil is badly damaged. The roof structure is in relatively poor condition. The storerooms are full of rubbish.
The Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque is not in use.
6. Specific risks
- absence of temporary protection of the property from the elements,
- lack of funds to renovate the property.
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
D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)
D. iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
E. Symbolic value
E.ii. religious value
E.iii. traditional value
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
F. Townscape/ Landscape value
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
F.iii. the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site
H. Rarity and representativity
H.i. unique or rare example of a certain type or style
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Technical documentation – architectural drawings of the property (cite details – ground plan, facades, cross-sections)
- Photodocumentation (photographs of the property taken in August 2006)
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the Ali-beg Kapetanović mosque in Vitina as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1939. Kasim Gujić, „Vitina, najromantičnije mjesto zapadne Hercegovine“ (Vitina, the most romantic place in western Herzegovina) Napredak calendar for 1939, Sarajevo, 1938
1953. Muhamed A. Mujić, „Prilog proučavanju prošlosti Vitine“ (Contribution to the study of the past of Vitina) Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju (Contributions to Oriental Philology) vols. III – IV, Sarajevo 1952/53
1999. Hivzija Hasandedić, Muslimanska baština Bošnjaka (Muslim heritage of the Bosniacs) II, Islamic Cultural Centre Mostar, 1999.
(1) Kasim Gujić, „Vitina, najromantičnije mjesto zapadne Hercegovine“ (Vitina, the most romantic place in western Herzegovina), Napredak, calendar for 1939, Sarajevi 1938, 167.
(2) Muhamed A. Mujić, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju sv. III – IV, Sarajevo 1952/53, „Prilog proučavanju prošlosti Vitine“, 626 (see bibliography for this and subsequent footnote references)
(3) Kasim Gujić, „Vitina, najromantičnije mjesto zapadne Hercegovine“, Napredak, calendar for 1939, Sarajevo 1938, 165.
(4) Hivzija Hasandedić, Muslimanska baština Bošnjaka II i Kasim Gujić, Napredak, calendar for 1939.
(5) Kasim Gujić, „Vitina, najromantičnije mjesto zapadne Hercegovine“, Napredak, calendar for 1939, Sarajevo 1938, 167.
(6) Muhamed A. Mujić, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju sv. III – IV, Sarajevo 1952/53, „Prilog proučavanju prošlosti Vitine“, 627.
(7) The top part of the minaret was probably built at the same time as the mosque portico.
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