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 20 to 26 January 2009 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The architectural ensemble of the wooden church of the Ascension in Kola, City of Banja Luka is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the timber-built church and the old burial ground with one cruciform tombstone.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 899/1 and part of c.p. 900/1 (new survey), title deed no. 248, corresponding to part of c.p. 3423 and part of c.p. 3363/9 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 533, cadastral municipality Kola, City of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The wooden bell tower erected since 2000 south-west of the church is not subject to protection as a national monument.

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, 70/06 and 64/08) 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 for the protection and presentation of 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 basic details of 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 site specified in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision:

-       all works are prohibited on the buildings constituting the architectural ensemble, other than conservation and restoration works and routine maintenance works, with the approval of the Ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska (hereinafter: the relevant ministry) and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska.

A buffer zone 10 m wide around the boundaries of the protected site specified in Clause i para. 3 of this Decision is hereby stipulated. In this buffer zone, the following protection measures shall apply:

-       the demolition of the existing bell tower and the erection of a new one are prohibited;

-       the erection of new buildings and infrastructure systems is permitted only subject to the approval of the relevant ministry;

-       the formation of new graves is prohibited.

IV

All executive and area development planning acts are hereby revoked to the extent that they are not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision.

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 and rehabilitation thereof.

VI

The Government of Republika Srpska, the relevant ministry and the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska, 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.kons.gov.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

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.29

X

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of BiH.

This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Martin Cherry, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović and Ljiljana Ševo.

No: 06.1-02-40/90-7

21 January 2009

Sarajevo

Chair of the Commission

Dubravko Lovrenović

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 timber-built church in Han Kola to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02) under serial no. 29.

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.

Statement of Significance

The wooden church in Kola, dating from the late 18th century, is of particular historical and artistic importance. Until 1911 there were 83 wooden places of worship in the border region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which seven dated from the 18th century. Many were destroyed during World War II, and others were lost through neglect. By 1952 only about thirty still remained, and the number now still extant is believed to be about ten. The church in Kola is one of the few to have survived. The ground plan and construction of the church are of the simplest type, with a wooden frame and tongue-and-groove board infill, exposed rafters, and a shingle-clad roof. Though it has undergone major repairs and the replacement of certain parts over the years, losing some of its features as a result, it remains an intact example of the traditional craftsmanship of its time.

II – PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE

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.

-       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 property are as follows:

1. Details of the property

Location

The village of Kola is in Vrhovina near Banja Luka, at an altitude of approx. 420 m. above sea level, some ten kilometres south-west of Banja Luka, close to the Banja Luka to Ključ road. The area where the timber-built church is located is known as Branilovice.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 899/1 and part of c.p. 900/1 (new survey), title deed no. 248, corresponding to part of c.p. 3423 and part of c.p. 3363/9 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 533, cadastral municipality Kola, City of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical background

According to the census conducted for the Banja Luka Eparchy in 1911, the Bosnian krajina (frontier) region had a total of 83 timber-built religious buildings(1). In terms of age, seven dated from the 18th century, sixteen from the 19th century (to 1878), and sixty to the years up to 1911. By 1952 they numbered almost thirty. Many wooden churches were destroyed during World War II, and in the years following the war many more timber-built churches simply disappeared, one of the reasons being lack of maintenance.

The first page of the foreword to a Psalter printed in Moscow in 1759, which is housed in the Gomionica monastery, refers to Priest Laza Popović in the village of Kola in 1780, so probably the church also existed at that time(2).

The form and modest size of the church, and the absence of an altar apse, suggests that the church dates from the 18th century.

The church belongs to the Banja Luka Eparchy, which was founded in 1900 as a metropolitanate. The eparchy is in north-west Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously, the area had belonged to the metropolitanate of Dabar-Bosnia. The first metropolitan of the new eparchy was Metropolitan Evgenije Letica (1901–1907), followed by Serbian archpriests Vasilije Popović (1908–1938), Platon Jovanović (1940–1941), Dr. Vasilije Kostić (1947–1961), Dr. Andrej Frusić (1961–1980) and the present Bishop Jefrem Milutinović.

The schematism for the Banja Luka Eparchy for 1900-2000 gives the names of the parish priests in Kola: Gerasim (Kočić), priest-monk (1891-1904); Kosta Novaković (1904-1905); Stanko Vranješević (1905-1908 and 1914-1922); Đorđo Vranješević (1908-1914); Jovan Marčetić (1923-1925 and 1927-1929); Dositej Obradović (1929-1932); Mirko Macura (1932-1938 and 1941-1946); Stevo Marjanac (1938-1941); Vojin Inđić (1946-1951); Vladimir Ivančević (1951-1959); Kajica Kostrašević (1959-1966); Nedeljko Alvir (1966-1982); Jadranko Đekić (1982) and Zdravko Trifunović (since 1982)(3).

2. Description of the property

Timber buildings constitute a large group in the architectural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Retaining distant Slav traces as well as mediaeval and later influences from the period of independence, the churches of Bosnia are full of inventiveness and adapted to natural conditions(4).

According to Petar Momirović(5), timber-built churches can be divided into four groups(6):

-       simple rectangular churches of small size and mainly without apse,

-       larger rectangular churches with decorative roofs and polygonal apse,

-       a transitional form with additional three-sided apse and new structural and decorative elements, and

-       a new type of timber-built church with more elaborate ground plan, finer workmanship and austere lines.(7)            

The wooden church in Kola is dedicated to the Ascension. It belongs to the first group of timber-built churches of simple plan, modest size (no longer than approx. 9 m or wider than approx. 4 m) and simple construction.

The church is rectangular in plan, with sides of approx. 7.18 x 4.21 m. The long axis of the church lies north-west/south-east. Inside, the church is divided into a parvis (1.42 m deep x 4.06 m wide) with a choir, a nave (3.52 x 4.06) and a sanctuary (approx. 1.75 x 4.06 m).

The altar is separated from the nave by a tall wooden iconostasis partition with five wooden pillars, the edges of which are chambered. The capitals of the pillars bear a simple geometric decoration of incised diagonal lines, and the beams are attached by large-headed wrought-iron studs. The partition rests on a sill plate, and is topped by an architrave beam. It has two openings: 61 x 146 cm and 70 x 146 cm.

A wooden partition consisting of four 12 x 15 wooden pillars between which 4 cm thick boards are slotted separates the parvis from the nave. The partition rests on a sill plate of 14 x 22 cm, and is topped by an architrave beam. It has a central passageway measuring 78 x 141 cm. The partition parapet is approx. 107 cm high.

The church has only one entrance, at the north-west end. This is rectangular, with an opening of 69 x 126 cm, and is framed by wooden beams.. The single-valve door is of solid oak, 5 cm in thickness. The cross-members on the back of the door are attached to it on the front by two rows of decorative, large-headed wrought iron studs.

The way the door is locked is described in detail in Petar Momirović's article: “The keyhole is unusual and extremely interesting, consisting of a primitive latch and a still more interesting locking mechanism. The keyhole is not in the door but in a timber close to the right-hand door jamb, in the form of a ring-like hole. Inside, a long movable bar with a number of shallow holes drilled into it is attached to a fixed timber. At the end of the long key is a long pointed labyrinthine wrought iron hinged extension in the shape of a blunt knife. When the door is unlocked, the key with its extension is passed through the keyhole and the hanging, knife-like section drops into one of the holes in the bar; when the key is turned the latch turns and the door is unlocked, or locked, as the case may be.” (8)  

A movable wooden ladder leads to the choir gallery, through a rectangular hatch of 79 x 82 cm in the gallery floor, south-west of the entrance door. The gallery is above the parvis, at a height of 1.88 m above the floor of the nave. From the gallery floor to the roof ridge is a height of approx. 2.77 m. The gallery has a wooden railing about 93 cm in height.

The walls are about 1.58 m in height up to the double eave purlin timbers; the overall height of the church, as measured on the outside from ground level to the roof ridge, is about 5.00 m. Inside, the church is about 4.58 m in height from floor to ridge. The church has no altar apse.

The bearing timbers are fitted into a wooden sill set on stone footings, the height of which at the south-east altar end is approx. 45 cm. The structural system consists of a timber skeleton of bearing posts into which horizontal planks approx. 7-8 cm thick are slotted to form the outside walls of the church.

The bearing posts are complex in section: basically rectangular, they are grooved to take the planks forming the outside walls. There are two posts of approx. 12 x 23 cm in section at the corners of the entrance façade, and two each, approx. 22 x 23 cm in section, on each side wall. There are no posts at the corners of the south-east wall, where the corners of the planks project beyond the wall by approx. 20 cm and are slotted together in version of a tenon joint known as a ćert, usjek, zglab, čiriš(9).

Above the uprights, at about 1.58 m above the nave floor, is a double eave purlin (12 x 14 + 14 x 14 cm). Wooden struts were fitted on the inside corners at each end (entrance and altar ends) to add strength and rigidity to the walls.

To allow for rapid drainage, the roof of the church is extremely steep, with a pitch of approx. 45-50 deg.) and has wide eaves (approx. 75-80 cm). At either end, the roof panes are rounded and the eaves are even deeper, approx. 1.30 m at the north-west end and 95 cm at the east end. The rounded corners are formed by close-set rafters resting on the eave purlins, which are semi-elliptical in section at each end of the roof frame, and project out beyond the wall face. The top of the semi-elliptical line of the eave purlin projects outwards by approx. 40 cm. The eave purlins consist of a number of arch-cut timbers fitted together to create a composite semi-elliptical purlin. The semi-elliptical purlins rest on short cross-members at the north-west end of the church, and on two timber console posts(10) at the south-east end.

This avoided the need for a hip at the corners of the roof, which would not be easy to clad, while also achieving a semi-elliptical eave providing better protection from the elements at each end of the building.

The rafters measure 9 x 10 cm and are set 120-130 cm apart in four pairs on the straight sections of the roof and about every 50 cm at the corners. Collar-beams of 8 x 4 cm are fixed roughly mid-way along the length of the rafters. The beams and rafters are left exposed on the inside of the church.

The roof is clad with 16 rows of overlapping oak boards (the first row from the eaves, for example, has four layers of boards), fixed using large round-headed wrought-iron nails. The first two rows of boards are each fixed with two nails, and the next seven with one each.

The roof has no ridge beam; instead, a beam of larger cross-section known as a korito(11) was used. This was hollowed on the underside, concealing the roof boards (of oak shingles) and the joints between the pairs of rafters at the ridge. This gives the “korito” stability, while the angular shape of the korito forms a decorative contrast with the overlapping roof boards, further enhancing the decorative nature of the building.

No details are available concerning the nature of the works carried out on the church in 1983. However, it is evident that the stone footings were rebuilt, and that part of the double wall plate at the top of the walls was replace. The boards of the wooden choir gallery railing were replaced, as were some of the rafters above the apse. Many of the roof boards laid over the rafters were also replaced. The church was wired for electric lighting; the cables, which are protected by red PVC sheathing, are exposed inside the church.

Referring in 1956 to the movable heritage in the church of the Ascension in Han Kola, Petar Momirović mentioned the existence of an iconostasis partition inside the church, consisting of five wooden uprights decorated “folklore-style” (Momirović, 1956, 160). He observed that the edges of the iconostasis were chamfered, and that the designs carved on the capitals of the uprights consisted of simple diagonal lines, while the wrought-iron studs had large, decorative heads, round or cross-shaped. Four of the uprights served as door jambs to the royal and north doors. The iconostasis stood on a sill beam and was topped by an architrave beam. Between were boards where the icons would be placed. The back of the iconostasis bore an inscription in brick-red paint, referring to the re-cladding of the church in Kola (Momirović, 1956, 160). The wrought-iron curtain rails were extremely decorative. The royal doors were arched. The corner panels were painted gold, and bore rosettes in relief. Above were icons of SS Peter and Paul, portrayed half-length, in bright colours. St Peter was shown wearing a dark red under-robe and vermilion himation, and holding keys and a scroll or rotulus; beside him is the inscription Petros apostolos. St Paul was wearing a red chiton and green mantle, and was portrayed with brown hair and beard, holding a number of scrolls. Both saints had gold haloes. Momirović states that the scene of the Annunciation on the royal doors, of rustic workmanship, dated from the first half of the 19th century. The top part of the royal doors featured King David and King Solomon as half-length figures with unrolled scrolls and Greek texts. Below them was the scene of the Annunciation with a list of donors. Momirović noted that there was an inscription at the feet of the Most Holy Virgin, reading donated by Lazar, while under the archangel Gabriel was another reading donated by.... Vaso. Momirović assumed that the saints on the royal doors and the signature beside them were the work of a Greek, perhaps a priest or monk (Momirović, 1956, 161). Ljiljana Ševo, writing in 1996, repeated the church inventory in the same terms as Momirović, saying that the royal doors in the church, with the icon of SS Peter and Paul and the scene of the Annunciation with a Greek inscription dating from the first half of the 19th century had survived, and that the inscriptions beside the figures were in Greek script, suggesting the presence of an artist who had come here from the south, probably a Greek. His work, with its grey tones and rustic expression, belonged to a wide circle of late icon-painting of the 19th century, to be found in numerous village churches throughout the Balkans at that time (Ševo, 1996, 114).

Both authorities refer to wooden crosses, but Momirović records several carved wooden crosses on the choir and walls of the church, whereas Ševo says there were only two, both on the choir of the more recent church built in the 1930s in Han Kola.

Both also refer to the existence of several icons, with paper engravings were glued to recessed panels on the boards. Momirović provides two transcripts of the inscriptions on the reverse of these icons.

In addition to these articles, Momirović says that a service book printed in Buda in 1825 contained a note by Gerasim Kočić, father of Petar Kočić: “This service book was a gift from Gila Javorac of Donja Kola in memory of the living and the dead. To the living for their health, to the dead for their souls, from the parents and the whole family. 2/1 1891 signed by Gerasim Kočić, priest monk, a gift to the Kola church in Kola.” (Momirović, 1956, 161).

In 1996 Ljiljana Ševo recorded a polyeleos with a lace-like garland on the underside, decorated with geometrical patterns and painted red and blue (Ševo, 1996, 114; Ševo, 2002, 78).

Burial ground

Just to the south-east of the church is a cruciform tombstone 65 cm in height. Nothing is known of who was buried there, or when.

Bell tower

Since 2000(12) a semi-open bell tower has been erected about 7-8 m west of the wooden church. It stands on four massive wooden posts, leaning in gradually towards the top and joined by a network of horizontal beams and struts. The lower half of the bell tower is clad with four rows of wooden boards. The bell tower is square in plan, with sides of 1.85 m, and is about 5.20 m in height. It is topped by a steep pyramidal roof clad with wooden shingles.

3. Legal status to date

The timber-built church in Han Kola is listed as a cultural property in the records of the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska.

The property is on the Provisional List of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under serial no. 29.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

Petar Momirović describes the condition of the building as follows in his article(13): “The building is largely in poor condition. The main timbers are rotten, the roof is damaged, the shingles are disintegrating and have fallen away in several places. Remedial works are urgently required.”

The schematism of the Banja Luka Eparchy for 1900-2000 states that the old timber-built church in Kola was restored in 1983(14). Neither the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska nor the Archpriesthood of the Zmijanj Banja Luka Eparchy has any information on these works.

5. Current condition of the property

Structurally, the timber-built church is in good condition. When the wooden walls were restored on the south side of the church, the joints were not well made, and there are gaps of up to 2 cm between the horizontal boards.

In October 2008, when members of staff from the Commission to Preserve National Monuments visited the church of the Ascension in Han Kola, they found none of the movable property referred to in the published works by Petar Momirović in 1956 and Ljiljana Ševo in 1996 and 2002.

III – CONCLUSION

Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.         Time frame

B.         Historical value

C.         Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i.       quality of workmanship

C.ii.      quality of materials

C.iii.      proportions

C.iv.     composition

C.v.      value of details

C.vi.     value of construction

D.         Clarity

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.i.       ontological value

E.ii.      religious value

E.iii.      traditional value

E.iv.     relation to rituals or ceremonies

E.v.      significance for the identity of a group of people

F.         Townscape/ Landscape value

F.i.       relation to other elements of the site

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-       Copy of cadastral plan

-       Copy of proof of title

-       Photodocumentation

-       Site plan

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the timber-built church of the Ascension in Kola as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1912.    2nd schematism of the Serbian Orthodox Banja Luka-Bihać Metropolitanate for 1911. Banjaluka: 1912.

1953.    Momirović, Petar. Naše starine I. 1953.

1956.    Momirović, Petar. “Drvene crkve zapadne Bosne” (Wooden churches of western Bosnia), Naše starine III. 1956, 149-173.

1962.    Pavlović, St. Dobroslav. Crkve brvnare u Srbiji (Timber-built churches in Serbia) Doctoral dissertation defended at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. Belgrade: 1962.

1996.    Ševo, Ljiljana. Manastiri i crkve brvnare banjalučke eparhije (Monasteries and wooden churches in the Banja Luka Eparchy). Banja Luka: 1996.

2000.    Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Banja Luka 1900-2000, Schematism. Banja Luka: 2000.

2002.    Nenadović, M, Slobodan. Ilustrovani rečnik izraza u narodnoj arhitekturi (Illustrated dictionary of terms in vernacular architecture). Prosveta: 2002.

2002.    Ševo, Ljiljana. “Crkva Vaznesenja Hristovog u Kolima” (The Church of the Assumption in Kola), Pravoslavne crkve i manastiri u Bosni i Hercegovini do 1878 (Orthodox churches and monasteries in BiH to 1878). Banja Luka: 2002.

(1) 2nd schematism of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Banja Luka and Bihać for the year 1911.

(2) Momirović, Petar, “Drvene crkve zapadne Bosne,” Naše starine III, 1956, 159

(3) Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Banja Luka 1900-2000, Schematism, Banja Luka: 2000, 230

(4) Pavlović, St. Dobroslav, Crkve brvnare u Srbiji, doctoral dissertation defended at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, Belgrade: 1962, 91.

(5) Momirović, Petar, curator and scholar of vernacular architecture

(6) Momirović, Petar, “Drvene crkve zapadne Bosne,” Naše starine III, 1956, 149-141

(7) The first group consists of churches with a very simple ground plan and of modest size. As a rule, they have no apse, with the exception of the church in Šljivno, which has a three-sided apse, the result of later restoration. The churches in this group are small and simple, and of modest size, no more than 9 m long and 4 m wide, with an area of just 30 sq.m. The bearing structure was laid straight on the ground, without foundations or dry-stone footings to transfer the load to the bearing soil. As a rule a skeleton system was used, with walls of tongue-and-groove boards, though some were made of squared logs. The timbers are joined by tenon joints at the corners. The topmost beam often doubled as the wall plate, though in some cases there is a double wall plate. Struts were fitted between the posts to strengthen the structure and increase the stability of the wall. The roof timbers consist of several pairs of rafters set opposite one another and joined at the ridge. The rafters are slightly hollowed at the point where they rest on the edge of the wall plate, and project out beyond it. The walls are low, very rarely even head-height. The roofs are very steeply pitched to ensure rapid drainage. The roof is usually rounded at the ends of the church, this form being achieved by means of double rafters with a number of brackets between.  This enabled the builders to avoid a sharp hip on the roof, which would have made it harder to clad, and at the same time to create semi-elliptical eaves at either end of the church, the better to protect it from the elements. It also enhanced the aesthetic effect of the building.  The building have no ridge beam, which is replaced by a “korito” – a beam of larger cross-section, hollowed on the underside and concealing the roof boards (of oak shingles) and the joints between the pairs of rafters at the ridge. This gives the “korito” stability, while the angular shape of the korito decorative contrast with the overlapping roof boards, further enhancing the decorative nature of the building. The roof cladding consists of fine cut oak shingles with long, narrow tongues, grooved at the ends. These were laid in several courses, and usually attached by means of long wrought-iron nails of roughly rectangular section with an uneven flattened head. These buildings had no ceiling – the roof rafters were fully exposed on the interior. The churches in this group had very few openings, only an entrance at the west end, usually with a solid arched lintel and jambs. The rectangular oak doors were fitted with cross-bars at the back and an iron lock with a large key. Light entered the church, usually around the altar, through narrow angled horizontal gaps between the timbers. 

Inside, the church consists of a sanctuary, nave and parvis, usually with a choir. The sanctuary contains the altar table, which almost always consists of a very plain wooden table – very rarely a stone table – on a single decorated pillar. Altar partitions are of somewhat later date than the buildings themselves, mainly dating from the 19th century. Not one original has survived. They were made of slender uprights with boards, and often with soft-wood slats, and usually had two openings, occasionally three – the royal doors and side openings. The royal doors are rather more decorative, and are painted; the side openings have no doors.  The nave is separated from the parvis by a similar wooden partition. A polyeleos or “Virgin’s ring” hangs in the middle of the nave. All those that have survived are of the same shape and of similar workmanship and decoration, often with details of the date of erection and consecration of the church. In most cases the churches have earth floors. Older churches have no bell tower or bell; some had wooden or metal clappers. All bell towers were built after 1878, and lack stylistic unity with the main building. The churches in Malo Blaško, Šljivno (destroyed in the 1950s. Or 60s), Javorine, Romanovci and Kola belong to this group.

The second group consists of somewhat larger churches constructed of massive timbers with more decorative roofs and thicker layers of shingles. The beams are joined at the corners with double tenon joints. In the case of larger churches, for which timbers of sufficient length could not be found, the solution was to set a solid upright midway along the wall, to which the timbers would be joined by mortise-and-tenon joints, to achieve the desired length and to ensure that the timbers matched the thickness of the wall.   At the end with the doorway, the door jambs would perform the same task. The churches in this group always had a polygonal apse, where the timbers were joined at the angles by a complex system of double tenon joints with the ends rounded at an angle. The windows are larger, and the arches, doors and door jambs are decorated.  The eaves are wider, and curved.

Inside, the church is subdivided in the same way as the first, except that the parvis may be absent. In the case of larger churches, the ceiling structure is carried on wooden uprights of rather finer workmanship, with ornamentation on the upper part. The ceiling is partly flat, partly barrel-vaulted with slats. The choir or pseudo-choir is raised. The floor is paved, and the interior of the church is more decorative. The Jelićka church and the church in the village of Rakelići belong to this group.

The third group is transitional in form between the two preceding groups, with the addition of a three-sided apse and certain details.  The best known church in this group is the wooden church in Krupa on the Vrbas.

The fourth group consists of more recent churches with more elaborate ground plan, new features and new structural treatment. The treatment of the material is more modern and the building techniques more complex. The walls are high, the roofs high and wide, and the interior spacious. Some of these churches have a porch. Posts carry the structure inside the church. The apses are five-sided, and considerably larger than those of the other groups. The windows and doors are of normal size, the ceilings vaulted, and floors wood or stone. These churches are more richly decorated than the other groups. The exterior lines are austere and the interior, unlike the churches in the other groups, is cold and austere. The churches in Drugovići, Busnovi and Marićka belong to this group.

(8) Petar Momirović, “Drvene crkve zapadne Bosne,” Naše starine III, 1956, 160

(9) Terms from vernacular architecture (Nenadović, M. Slobodan, Ilustrovani rečnik izraza u narodnoj arhitekturi, Prosveta, 2002, 79, illus. 683—690)

(10) Load-bearing uprights consisting of 8 x 20 beams with a height of approx. 66 cm fixed to the south-east wall of the church about 135 cm from the corners of the building.

(11) The. “korito” (which literally means “trough”) was in fact a beam of roughly 25 x 25 cm with a groove forming the “negative” of the roof ridge, onto which it was fitted.

(12) There is no reference to the bell tower in the Schematism of the Banja Luka Eparchy for 1900-2000 nor in the application to designate the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the attached photograph does not show the bell tower (application no. 38, 20 May 2000, Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska, Banja Luka)

(13) Petar Momirović, “Drvene crkve zapadne Bosne,” Naše starine III, 1956, 161

(14) Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Banja Luka 1900-2000, Schematism, Banja Luka, 2000, 230