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Decisions on Designation of Properties as National Monuments

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Old Ilidža railway station, the historic building

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the „Official Gazette of BiH“ no. 88/07

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 6 to 12 March 2007 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic building of the old Ilidža railway station 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. 3144/3 (old survey), corresponding to c.p. no. 721/1 (new survey); Land Register entry no. 2975; cadastral municipality Hrasnica; Municipality Ilidža, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of 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, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

 

III

 

The National Monument occupies the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision.  In this area the following protection measures shall apply:

  • conservation and restoration works, structural repairs, the adaptation of the interior for new use, the refurbishment of the approach plateau and its associated plots, and works designed to present the National Monument shall be permitted, 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,
  • the monument may be used for catering, educational and cultural purposes.

 

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 rehabilitation 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: 06.2-2-67/03-3

7 March 2007

Sarajevo

 

Chair of the Commission

Ljiljana Ševo       

 

E l u c i d a t i o n

 

I – INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina  and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of  BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

On 15 January 2003, representatives of the Ilidža Centar local ward submitted a petition to designate the old railway station in Ilidža 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 and user of the property
  • 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 Ilidža railway station building is located at the western end of the city of Sarajevo, in the centre of the quarter known as Ilidža, at no. 22 Muhamed Mehmedbašić St. Its long axis runs east-west, with the main entrance on the south side. The approach to the building is from the road now known as M. Mehmedbašić St. The railway track ran to the north of the building, where the Sarajevo-Mostar motorway now runs, where the way out to the platform was located.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3144/3 (old survey), corresponding to c.p. no. 721/1 (new survey); Land Register entry no. 2975; cadastral municipality Hrasnica; Municipality Ilidža, Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical information

The first railway track in Bosnia and Herzegovina came into service in December 1872. It was a standard-gauge track running from Banja Luka to Dobrljini, a distance of 87 km. It was laid as part of the main Istanbul railway line intended as the link between Istanbul and Vienna.

Following the 1878 Berlin Congress, Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Austro-Hungarian rule. In 1878 the Austro-Hungarian authorities embarked on a major rail network programme, particularly in the river Bosna valley, so that by the end of the 19th century Sarajevo was linked with other parts of the Dual Monarchy. The Sarajevo-Brod railway line was built in 1882, connecting Sarajevo to the main rail lines in the Monarchy.

The southern line – the narrow-gauge Metković-Sarajevo railway line – was built in stages, starting in 1883 and reaching completion on 1 August 1891. The line from Metković to Ploče was laid during World War II and came into service in 1942. On 26 November 1966, once the standard-gauge Sarajevo- Metković-Ploče line was laid, this stretch of narrow-gauge line was decommissioned.

Laying railway lines entailed building a range of ancillary facilities. When the Sarajevo-Brod line was laid in 1882, Sarajevo acquired its first urban railway station, about three kilometres from the city centre. This central railway station was linked with Ilidža by the local Sarajevo-Ilidža line, which was built on 25 May 1890. In 1892 another side line was laid between Ilidža and Banja (Spa) Ilidža, a distance of 1.3 km, linked with the Sarajevo-Metković line. That year, too, a railway station was built in Ilidža to a design by the Technical Department of the Bosnia and Herzegovina State Railways. The railway station building in Ilidža is the first of this kind of architecture dating from the Austro-Hungarian period, and the only railway facility in Ilidža.

It was probably built to a design by Franc Blažek, a Czech architect who worked in the Construction Department of the Provincial Government in Sarajevo from 1889 to 1903.

The building remained in service until the narrow-gauge Sarajevo-Metković-Ploče line was decommissioned on 26 November 1966, and was then converted into residential premises. The building was in good structural condition until 1996, when a fire destroyed the entire roof frame of the eastern part of the building. The effects of the elements and failure to carry out repair works on the damaged roof frame led to the rapid deterioration of the building. The east wing and central section are particularly at risk. Inappropriate building works have also been carried out by the current occupant.

 

2. Description of the property

The old railway station building in Ilidža, with its pronounced pitched roofs and elaborately decorated wooden eaves, is a typical example of the “alpine architecture” of the Austro-Hungarian period. It has the architectural features typical of the majority of buildings designed as railway stations, and are also to be seen on some residential properties. The basic feature of the “alpine” style is the extensive use of wood for both structural and decorative purposes. The style chosen for this building was “imported” from Alpine regions, but its considerable similarities with the indigenous local architecture meant that it was readily accepted, particularly for residential properties and public buildings.

The Ilidža railway station building lies with its long axis running east-west. It consists of a ground floor and first floor, with the addition in the east wing of a basement area and attic space. The building measures approx. 30 x 13 m on the outside.

The station building has two wings, east and west, linked by a walkway section. The entrance area consists of a vestibule (hallway), to the south of which is the main entrance to the building, while to the north is the way out onto the platform. To the south and north of the vestibule were covered verandas or porchs, which were linked with the porchs to the south and north of the building itself.  The ground floor of the west wing originally held two waiting rooms, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers. The ground floor of the east wing housed the office premises, staircase, toilet block and, later, an extension to the south-east built as the stationmaster’s living accommodation. A double-flight staircase led from the ground to the first floor, where there was living accommodation. After the narrow-gauge line was decommissioned in 1966 the station building was converted into residential premises consisting of several flats.

The railway station building in Ilidža was constructed of traditional materials: timber and brick.

The structural elements of the building consist of the foundations, brick walls, floor joists and roof frame.

The structural walls are of brick, and are 50 cm thick on the ground and first floor and 70 cm thick in the basement. The internal partition walls are also of brick, and are approx. 35 cm and 15 cm thick. All the walls are plastered and painted inside and out. The decorative quoins on each corner of the outside walls consist of blocks approx. 40 cm wide.

The floor joists form a structure approx. 30 to 45 cm thick, consisting of wooden beams with a wooden floor laid over them, above the ground and the first floor.

The station building has gabled roofs originally clad with plain tiles, and later with grooved tiles. The roofs are high and steep, and are composed of a massive timber roof frame with large, elaborately treated wooden eaves formerly decorated with wood carving. The roof has five tall brick chimneys and seven attic windows.

The north façade has fourteen window openings of various sizes, three of which are attic windows. The windows are wooden, with six or nine panes, and on the façade have decorative frames of façade bricks. This façade also had five double wooden doors with glazed panels and fanlights. On the south façade are eleven windows of various sizes and six double wooden doors. The west façade has five window openings and the east façade has six. The west façade also has one double wooden door.

 

3. Legal status to date

By Ruling of the Sarajevo City Institute for the Protection and Refurbishment of Cultural Monuments no. AB-821/75 of 29 December 1975, the property was given protected status along with its ancillary storeroom and the street area with its pedestrian walkway.

 

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

In the 1930s, a flat was built on to the south-east wing of the building to provide living accommodation for the stationmaster.

In the 1960s part of the porch was demolished to allow for a pedestrian underpass to be built on the south side of the building.

In April 2002 the Cantonal Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo drew up the project documentation for structural repairs to the building, entitled Main Project for the repair, reconstruction and restoration of the old railway station in Ilidža. None of the works on the reconstruction, restoration and repair of the station building have ever been carried out.

 

5. Current condition of the property

The railway station building in Ilidža is in poor structural condition. The factor that initially led to its being damaged, in particular the roof frame and gable walls in the attic space, was a fire in 1996, which completely destroyed the roof frame. As a result, the building has been constantly exposed to damp penetrating the walls and floor joists, which has led to the collapse of the gable walls and floor joists, and caused serious damage to the brick walls and the plaster, which is falling away from the walls as a result of damp. All the decorative wooden features on the façade are broken, misshapen or missing. The sheet metal flashings and gutters are rusted and useless. The parts of the building not in use are full of fallen material and rubbish. The derelict state of the building has led to damage to the water and drainage system and the electric wiring.

In addition to war damage, the building has also suffered considerable alterations as a result of inappropriate bulding works, such as the addition of the residential section on the south façade and the dismantling of part of the porch on the west façade in order to build the motorway underpass.

The building is currently being used for residential purposes as to the east and west wings, with a glass cutting workshop occupying the central section.

Following the decommissioning of the narrow-gauge railway line in 1966, the building underwent a number of structural interventions to convert it to seven housing units for seven families, the number that were living in the building before the war. The addition of partition walls to create these housing units, along with interventions to the façades, have been detrimental to the authenticity of the building.

 

6. Specific risks

The railway station building in Ilidža is in very poor structural condition as a result of major damage caused by fire in 1996. There is a real possibility of the east wing of the building collapsing.

 

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:

B. Historical value

C. Artistic and aesthetic value

C.iv. composition

C.v. value of details

F. Townscape/ Landscape value

F.ii. meaning in the townscape

G. Authenticity

G.ii. material and content

G.v. location and setting

 

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-          Copy of cadastral plan

-          Copy of land register entry;

-          Photodocumentation of the Commission;

-          Drawings

             

Bibliography

 

2002.    Cantonal Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage, Sarajevo: Main Project for the repair, reconstruction and restoration of the old railway station in Ilidža, April 2002.           

2006.    Ajdin Fevzija, Historija željeznica Bosne i Hercegovine (History of the Railways of BiH), National University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 2006



Old railway station on IlidžaBack facadeSide facadeSide facade
Old railway station Interior of the building Remains of the inscription Porch, detail
Interior   


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