Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH”, no. 89/09.

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 10 to 16 March 2009 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The architectural ensemble of the old Bishop's Palace in Vukodol, City of Mostar, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the buildings within the courtyard walls of the old Bishop’s Palace complex (the old Bishop’s Palace itself, the kitchen and service quarters, the chapel, the well and two outbuildings), the courtyard wall with its entrance gateways, and the school building.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3306 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. no. 126 (old survey), c.p 3307 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 125/1 and c.p. 125/2 (old survey), c.p. 3308 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 128 and c.p. 130 (old survey), c.p. 3309 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 129 (old survey), c.p. 3304 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 121/3, c.p. 123/9 and c.p. 122/2 (old survey), c.p. 3305/1 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 124/2 and c.p. 123/2 (old survey), c.p. 3305/2 (new survey), c.p. 3355 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 127 (old survey) and part of c.p. 3628 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 153 (old survey), title deed no. 284, cadastral municipality Mostar II, City of Mostar, 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, 6/04 and 51/07) 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 providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection, restoration, conservation 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 on the site defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision (protection zone I), the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

¾      all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, routine maintenance works, and works designed to present the monument, 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);

¾      all works that could endanger the National Monument are prohibited, as is the erection of temporary facilities or permanent structures not designed solely for the protection and presentation of the National Monument.

Two levels of protection shall apply to the site of the National Monument, as follows:

Protection level I applies to the area designed as c.p. no. 3306 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 126 (old survey), being the architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace. The following protection measures shall apply to this site:

¾      all works are prohibited other than reconstruction, restoration and conservation works;

¾      the use of original materials and building techniques is recommended during the course of reconstruction, restoration and conservation works and works designed for the presentation of the old Bishop’s Palace;

¾      ideally, the property will be restored to an appropriate use.

Other buildings forming part of the National Monument:

¾      reconstruction, restoration and conservation works shall be permitted, together with works designed to adapt the buildings to modern living conditions and possible new uses that shall not result in alterations to the exterior dimensions or interior layout of the buildings, the arrangement of the openings, the pitch of the roof and the original materials used;

¾      ideally, the buildings will be restored to their original use or such use as most nearly resembles the original. In the event of the buildings being used for new purposes, care should be taken not to jeopardize the historic meaning of the National Monument.

In order to protect the National Monument, the following emergency protection measures are hereby prescribed to be applied to the architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace:

¾      clearing the site of the National Monument of self-sown vegetation, rubbish and litter;

¾      removal of properties built without planning permission on the site of the National Monument (c.p. no. 3306);

¾      a detailed architectural survey of the condition of the architectural ensemble to determine the extent of damage;

¾      a structural analysis of the structural elements of the buildings in the complex;

¾      drawing up a restoration and conservation project on the basis of the architectural survey of the condition of the property and the structural analysis;

¾      the conservation and restoration of the architectural ensemble in line with the above project;

¾      drawing up a maintenance programme and plan for the architectural ensemble.

Protection level II applies to the area designated as c.p 3307 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 125/1 and c.p. 125/2 (old survey), c.p. 3304 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 121/3, c.p. 123/9 and c.p. 122/2 (old survey), c.p. 3305/1 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 124/2 and c.p. 123/2 (old survey), c.p. 3305/2 (new survey), c.p. 3355 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 127 (old survey) and part of c.p. 3628 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 153 (old survey).  The following protection measures are hereby prescribed for this area:

¾      repair and remedial works, conservation and restoration works, and the adaptation and presentation of existing buildings shall be permitted subject to the prior approval of the relevant ministry and the expert opinion of the heritage protection authority;

¾      works on the properties located within Protection level II shall not result in changes to the exterior dimensions (footprint and height) of the buildings;

¾      the construction of new buildings and the extension or enlargement of existing ones that could jeopardize the National Monument in size, material, appearance or any other manner is prohibited.

IV

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

V

Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of 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

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.  374.

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: 09-2040/09-20

12 March 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 old Bishop's Palace in Vukodol to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02) under serial no. 374.

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:

¾      Documentation on the location and the current owner and user of the property

¾      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.

¾      The current condition of the property

¾      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:

Statement of significance

The former Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol is in the south-western suburbs of Mostar. It was built between 1847 and 1851.

The Bishop’s Palace complex is of considerable historical value, as one of the first buildings of the new generation of Christian edifices built in the city of Mostar (and indeed in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole) at a time when the Ottoman authorities were losing control over the erection of new religious edifices in the Empire.

The complex served as the Bishop’s Palace for the Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkanj Bishopric until March 1909.

Another factor giving the complex particular historical value is that it was here that the first public school and the first printing press in Mostar were located.

1. Details of the property

Location

The architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace is in Vukodol (Wolves’ Valley) in south-west Mostar, on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 3306 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. no. 126 (old survey), title deed no. 284, property of the state(1), cadastral municipality Mostar II, City of Mostar, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Access to the National Monument is from the south.

The main axis of the architectural ensemble lies south-east/north-west.   

Historical information

Herzegovina Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary        

“In the early 19th century, when Herzegovina was separated from the Bosnian sanjak and given the status of a pashaluk, the Franciscans of the Bosnian Province who were natives of Herzegovina came together with the intention of building a monastery in Herzegovina. On 6 February 1844 the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith issued a decree on the construction of a Franciscan monastery in Herzegovina. The foundation stone of the new monastery was laid at Široki Brijeg on 23 July 1846. The leadership of Bosnia Argentina opposed the erection of a new monastery on the ground that it would cause dissension within the Province and be damaging to the monastery in Kreševo, since almost the whole of Herzegovina, with the exception of Duvno (now Tomislavgrad) and Roško Polje was dependent, pastorally speaking, on the monastery in Kreševo. The internal conflict was resolved by splitting the apostolic vicariate of Bosnia and Herzegovina into two new apostolic vicariates, Herzegovina and Bosnia, on 30 April 1856. The new Herzegovina vicariate covered only the part of Herzegovina west of the river Neretva, since there was already an existing diocese, the Bishopric of Trebinje and Mrkanj, on the left bank of the river. The custodiate of the Friars Minor was established in Herzegovina on 27 July 1852, and the decree on the establishment of the custodiate was published on 3 October 1852.

The newly-founded custodiate had only one monastery – the one in Široki Brijeg. Another was built in Humac, Ljubuški, between 1867 and 1876.

With the arrival of Austria-Hungary in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, there was an ever-growing need to build a new monastery in Mostar, the capital of Herzegovina. By 1847 the Apostolic Vicar had already established his residence on the outskirts of Mostar, at a place called Vukodô. From 1849, when the parish of Mostar was founded, the parish priest also lived in the vicarage.”(2)

On the occasion of a visit to Herzegovina by Omer pasha Latas, Bishop Barišić appealed for permission to build a new church in the city of Mostar, since the chapel in the Bishop’s Palace was too small for the congregation. On 29 May 1862 the Bishop received an imperial decree granting approval to build a church, and the site where it was to be built, along with its ancillary facilities, was provided free of charge. The sultan also donated the sum of 2,500 florins towards the construction of the church.(3)  

The foundation stone was laid in 1866, and in 1873 they built a residence next to the church, into which they moved in 1880. They then resolved to build a monastery as well. Work on the monastery began in 1890, and on 10 November 1894 the newly-built house was declared to be a true monastery.

The progress made by the custodiate prompted the General Visitator of the Custodiate, Fr. Augustin Zubac, to apply to the Minister General of the Order, on 18 March 1892, for the Herzegovina custodiate to be elevated to a province.  The Herzegovina Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established on 27 April 1892.(4)  

Old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol

In the early 19th century the Franciscans decided to purchase a plot in Mostar where they planned to build their own house, since the parish chapel in Mostarski Grac was remote from the political centre of Herzegovina in which the number of Catholics had increased. In the 1820s the parish priest, Fr. Stjepan Karlović, purchased a small plot in Vukodol where he planned to build a new parish house for Mostar.(5)   

“Work began on building the parish house in 1839, but the building permit was soon revoked.”(6)   The building works resumed in 1846.

Bishop Fr. Rafo Barišić received a letter from the Vizier of Herzegovina, Ali pasha Rizvanbegović, informing him that he could build his palace. The idea was to build the palace on the land the Franciscans had already purchased in Vukodol, but the site was too small for the proposed palace, school, oratory and other premises. The Vizier, Ali pasha Rizvanbegović, therefore purchased the adjoining plot from Ahmet Đikić and donated it to the Franciscans. He also issued a bujruntija [vizier’s decree] granting permission to build the Bishop’s Palace on the land in question(7). That same year, the kadi of Mostar, Muhamed Emin, granted the Bishop’s request and issued a hudžet [judicial ruling] confirming that the land around the house in Vukodol in Mostar was the property of the Catholic Church, for which the Church possesses a temestuh.(8)

According to the Schematism drawn up by Fr. Petar Bakula, Bishop Barišić, who had previously been appointed as Apostolic Vicar of Herzegovina, received an imperial firman granting permission to build a house in Mostar. As well as issuing this firman, the sultan ordered Ali pasha Rizvanbegović to grant the Catholic Bishop the land to build this house and instructed the vizier to spare no efforts to ensure that the house was built.(9)

Preparatory works for the construction of the Palace in Vukodol were carried out in the latter half of 1846. The works were managed by Fr. Paško Kvesić, assisted by Nikola (Niko) Grabovac. The civil unrest and threats directed against the builders caused Ali pasha to provide men and guards to protect the workers. The vizier’s deputy, Ibrahim Demerović, was present with his men alongside the workers throughout.(10)

The foundations of the Bishop’s Palace were laid in 1847. By October 1848 part of the house was already complete and one person had moved in. In March 1849 a well was dug by the house. Not long after this, by July 1849, the Mostar parish was founded, and on 4 July 1849 the first parish priest, Paško Kvesić, moved into the new residence.(11)

The residence was completed in 1851. The chronicle for that period relates that on 2 June Bishop Fr. Rafo Barišić left his temporary residence in Seonica to come to Mostar, where he arrived on 3 June.(12)  

A stone plaque was mounted over the front entrance to the Bishop’s Palace, on which an inscription was carved recording the construction of the building in 1847 and naming Fr Rafo Barišić as the person responsible for initiating the construction of the complex.

The architectural ensemble is also of historical importance in that, in 1852, the first primary school (or “national school” as it was then known) was opened in there, later moved to the new Franciscan residence by the church. The school closed in 1882.(13)

In 1872 Fr. Franjo Milićević set up the first printing press beside the architectural ensemble. Here the first printed works were produced, of which the Pravopis za nižnje učione (a school primer) was of particular importance.(14)  

According to an article by Marija Medić, the first piano ever to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina did so “through the door of this Bishop’s Palace.”(15)

In 1880 the elder of the Franciscans, Fr. Paškal Buconjić, was appointed as Bishop of Herzegovina and duly consecrated. Since the Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol was some way away from Mostar city centre and all the political and cultural events that took place there. Bishop Fr. Buconjić lost no time in purchasing land in Mostar, finally acquiring the whole of Glavica, at the foot of which he decided to build a new Bishop’s Palace.

Approval to build the new Bishop’s Palace was granted in 1905, and in May that year the foundation stone was laid.

On 24 March 1909 Bishop Fr. Paškal Buconjić moved from Vukodol into the new building.(16)  

The complex of the old Bishop’s Palace was nationalized pursuant to a ruling by the People’s Committee of Mostar Municipality’s Nationalization Commission dated 15 December 1959, no. 234/59.  The old Bishop’s Palace itself was allocated to the DOM Management Corporation, and the interior was converted into several flats.

In 1950, permission had been granted to the St Antony Croatian Catholic Undertakers’ Society to conduct burials on plots c.p. 128 and 129, which had belonged to the Bishopric, and which form the northern boundary of the Palace complex. In late 1968, permission was granted to Franjo Bijakšić, through the DOM Management Corporation, to build a family house on plot c.p. 125/1.(17)  

In 1968 the Bishopric applied for permission to convert the old Bishop’s Palace into a home for elderly, disabled and retired priests, but this was not granted.

By the late 1980s the buildings in the old Bishop’s Palace complex were dilapidated and in a state of neglect.

In early 1990 the Bishop’s Ordinariate of Mostar took steps to revitalize the old Bishop’s Palace complex. The intention was to use it to house a museum displaying the history and development of the bishopric, with housing units, a printing press for the museum’s publications, and the necessary ancillary facilities. These intentions were never carried out.(18)  

The architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace was shelled and damaged in April and May 1992.(19)   

The architectural ensemble is now vacant and deteriorating. In the meantime, a neighbouring tenant has usurped the basement of the building, and erected a garage by the boundary wall.(20)   

2. Description of the property

The architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol was erected in south-west Mostar on a site sloping steeply east-west.        

It originally had a high stone boundary wall, only part of which survives. The boundary wall was built of quarry-stone blocks, and was about 3 metres in height, with two entrance gateways to the south.  The main entrance gateway was built of ashlar blocks, and led into a courtyard framed by buildings to the north (the Bishop’s Palace) and west (secondary living quarters).

There was another entrance to the complex, the tradesmen’s entrance, through a gateway east of the main gate. The tradesmen’s entrance was framed in sizeable hewn stone blocks and admitted to a rectangular courtyard which led into the Bishop’s Palace to the west and a complex of outbuildings to the east(21). This courtyard, which lies with its long axis north-west, now also leads into the complex of the Masline cemetery.

On account of the sloping site, the architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace is naturally separated into groups linked by steps and steep paths. It consists of three main sections.

The first group, to the east, at the bottom of the slope, consists of the outbuildings.  The second, to the west, at the top of the slope, consists of various outbuildings forming the service quarters for the residential quarters, the chapel and the well. 

The most representative building in the entire complex, the Bishop's Palace, stood in the middle of the complex, bridging two areas of the site (east and west) at different levels.

The mass of the Bishop's Palace consists of a single simple cuboid, given an impression of strength by its sheer size and expanse of wall, accentuated by simply-framed rectangular windows. On all four sides, the Palace is strictly symmetrical around an imaginary vertical axis. Being on a slope, the Palace has three storeys to the east but only two to the west.

The layout of the building is dictated not only by the sloping site but also by the needs of the Palace. Each storey, though linked by staircases to the others, forms a separate entity.

As seen from the east, the ground floor houses the service quarters or storerooms, which are partly set back into the slope.

The main part of the building, the chapel, forms the next premises, located on the first floor as seen from the east but on the ground floor as seen from the west.

The third level, occupying the second floor from the west or first from the east, consists of the refectory.

            All the rooms in the Palace lie north-south, a feature accentuated by the structure of the building, with its massive bearing interior walls dividing the property into three equal sections.       

Local rubble stone was used to build the Palace, with ashlar blocks forming the quoins. The walls are plastered and painted on the inside, but the stone is left exposed on the outside. The internal bearing walls extending north-south are also stone-built and of the same thickness as the outside walls. The ceiling joists and roof frame are of timber. Stone was also used to make the window casings, the entrance archways, the bases of the pillars and, in the form of hewn slabs, to clad the hipped roof.

The windows and entrance doorways form a prominent feature of the façades. On the east façade are three ranks of four windows. The ground-floor windows have cut stone casings and are at about 2 metres above ground level; they are rectangular in shape and measure 40 x 80 cm. The second and third floor windows are also rectangular, with cut stone casings. The windows were fitted with grilles.  The entrance portal, which is placed centrally, is round-headed.

On the south façade there are two ranks of windows. The two ground-floor windows are rectangular, with cut stone casings, and fitted with double grilles. At first-floor level there are three windows, those at the end rectangular, with cut stone casings, and grilles, and the middle one arched.  Judging from its size and position, directly above the main entrance to the Palace, it may be that the original intention was to have a small balcony in front of this window. The window itself is set in the upper part of the opening, and is rectangular. The entrance doorway, which is placed centrally, is arched.  Another, rectangular doorway was later added at the west corner of the building.

On the west façade the ground floor has five windows and the first floor four. All are rectangular, with cut stone casings, and were fitted with grilles. An arched opening at first-floor level admits to the secondary building to the west.

On the north façade, there are three windows at both ground- and first-floor level. The windows at each end are rectangular, with cut stone casings, and were fitted with grilles; the middle windows were arched, with stone casings.

On the first and second floors the windows have round relieving arches on the inside.

The tradesmen’s yard of the architectural complex leads into the eastern part of the building, the ground floor of the Palace. The entrance archway, which is at ground level, is defined by ashlar blocks, and is given added emphasis by its width. The arch is further accentuated by being set back from the wall face. On the inside, the entrance doorway is almost rectangular, with only the hint of a flat arch above.

The entrance portal leads into the single, semi-basement ground floor, lit by four small windows in the shape of defensive niches, with grilles. A staircase in the south-east corner leads to the first floor; all that remains of this is a single flight, made of stone.

A large rectangular doorway in line with the entrance portal admits to a room that, though at the same level as the ground floor, is effectively a basement, being wholly cut into the slope. The large doorway is defined by ashlar stone blocks and is topped by a wooden lintel. The basement is in the northern half of the central section of the building. A large wooden beam along the axis of the basement, resting on head trees and supported by two wooden uprights, bears the first-floor construction(22). The basement is lit by the entrance doorway and a small window facing onto the ground floor.

The most representative part of the Palace was the first floor, which could also be described as a raised ground floor. The main gateway of the architectural ensemble led into the forecourt outside the main entrance to the building.

The entrance portal of the Bishop’s Palace is set centrally, and forms a prominent feature in the rubble-stone façade. The upper rectangular part of the portal is composed of ashlar blocks, and the lower, wider rectangular part is defined by large stone blocks. The top of the portal is round-arched, with the arch divided into two by a decoration. The lower part of the arch is set back from the wall face, and in the middle of the arch is a bas-relief cross with two symmetrically-placed figures of mythological beasts to the sides (serpents’ heads). The upper part of the arch is decorated with a bas-relief interlace with a floral motif, of the kind typical of wood-carving.

Directly above the portal is a stone plaque bearing a carved inscription recording the construction of the building in 1847, and naming Fr. Rafo Barišić, who began the construction of the complex.

The entrance to the building is at ground level. A double, two-valved wooden door leads into the main part of the Bishop’s Palace. This, like the rest of the building, is divided by the massive internal stone walls into three equal-sized rectangular sections lying north-south.

The wall between the central and east sections of the property has four doorways leading from one to the other. These doorways are rectangular, with wooden frames. There was also a fireplace in the partition wall, as the tall stone chimney indicates.

The central and west sections are separated by an arcade, with seven arched openings linking the two. The regular round arches rest on the moulded capitals of square pillars with moulded bases.

According to Fr. Petar Bakula, “there, on the right-hand side (the eastern section), three rooms and the sacrarium occupy the entire length and a width of five cubits. All the other space is occupied by the chapel, in which there are six solid pillars and arches supporting the upper wall. The chapel had one altar, three confessionals, and a baptistry. It was decorated with many paintings, and the ceiling was painted and decorated.”(23)  

The chapel has clearly under gone some changes. Four of the seven arched openings have been walled up, and the western rectangular section of the Palace has been partitioned into three by stone partition walls. A wooden staircase to the south leads to the first floor, but the entrance to the staircase is not from inside the property; instead, it is from the forecourt, through a doorway that was later pierced in the south wall.

The first floor of the residence, or the third level, is identical in layout to the one below. The only difference is in the partition wall between the central and west sections, which is a solid wall with four rectangular openings.

According to Fr Petar Bakula, “to the left of the main entrance is the staircase leading to the top floor. The stairs lead into the great hall of the house. This hall, which is seven cubits wide, runs the full length of the house. At each end are two large rostrum windows reaching from top to bottom. There are rooms on each side of the large refectory, four on each side.”(24)  

The old Bishop’s Palace was linked by a portico with the ancillary building to the west, which was used for residential purposes and had a kitchen, a bakery, a small dining room and one other room(25). It was built of rubble stone, with ashlar quoins. The tall chimney formed a vertical accent. The buildings had gabled roofs, the trusses of which have fallen in entirely.

In addition to the portico, there was direct access from the Bishop’s Palace to the secondary building through a door in the south corner of the west wall, at second-floor level.

“The north side of the secondary building abutted onto another building which had an arched basement and, according to archive materials, a chapel on the first floor, where full-immersion baptisms were performed at the altar. These two buildings were interconnected, and follow the line of the masonry wall. In the garden, there was a large fountain between these buildings and the Palace, which provided the Palace’s water supply.”(26)  

According to Fr Petar Bakula, “beside the said dining room, kitchen and house, connected by a yard, was another house, with a vaulted cellar, a chapel above where the holy sacraments were kept, and one room, which was sixteen cubits long and ten cubits wide. Between this and the main house, in the middle of the courtyard, was a well, in which the rain from the roofs was stored for use in the house.”(27)   

The tradesmen's yard was to the south of the architectural ensemble, and was surrounded by a stone wall(28). Here there was a fairly large stable block(29). According to Fr Petar Bakula, “From the east, below the great wall of the entrance to the courtyard, which supports the plateau and the pillars that lead into the garden and vineyard, with the small courtyard, is a stable and hay loft, sixteen cubits long and eleven wide. Beside it, behind the small threshing floor to the north, is a lean-to for domestic animals and, if there are too many guests, for their horses; it is fifteen cubits long and six wide. All these buildings are roofed with solid stone slabs, and all (except for the school), as well as the garden and vineyard, are surrounded by a high, solid wall.”(30)   

The buildings were of quarry stone, with ashlar quoins, and had gabled roofs, the trusses of which have now entirely fallen in.

The only building outside the walls of the architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol is the school, a three-storey stone building erected in 1852 abutting onto the east boundary wall of the complex. Steps led from the architectural ensemble to the school.

3. Legal status to date

By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NRBiH no. Up/I 4/3-68 of 18 March 1968, the old Bishop's Palace in Vukodol, Mostar, was classified as a cultural monument.

The Regional Plan for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 listed the old Bishop's Palace as a Category I monument.

The old Bishop's Palace in Vukodol, Mostar, is on the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH under serial no. 374.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

Until recently the architectural ensemble was in extremely poor condition. The site was completely neglected, exposed to the elements, and used for dumping waste matter from the Masline cemetery and as a meeting-point for drug addicts. To prevent the further rapid deterioration of the architectural ensemble and to help the local community solve the problem of the drug addicts, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport launched an initiative to carry out urgent works to protect the architectural ensemble.

The Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport allocated 40,000.00 KM from its 2006 budget to clear the site and dismantle the damaged structural elements to make it possible to conduct a detailed architectural survey of the architectural ensemble. This survey was needed to draw up a main project for the reconstruction and restoration of the architectural ensemble.

Thus far the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport has carried out the following works on the property:

¾      clearing the site of rubbish, litter and self-sown vegetation,

¾      removal of the fallen sections of the roof trusses

¾      consolidation of the upper reaches of the walls (rebuilding the roof cornice).

The cost of these works was about 20,000.00 KM.

According to an article by Marija Medić, the Institute drew up an action plan and at the end of 2006 the property was conserved and a survey of its condition was carried out. Stari Grad Agency responded to a public invitation by the Federal Ministry of Culture to draw up the project documentation for the repair and conservation of the old Bishop’s Palace(31). 

Further works on the property are on hold until the question of ownership is resolved and further funds are raised.

5. Current condition of the property

The Bishop's Palace in Vukodol had many tenants between 1960 and 1992, and conversion works were therefore carried out on both the interior and the façades of the building on several occasions. The most noticeable of these are the partitioning of the western part of the main residential quarters and the piercing of a new entrance to the building.

The architectural ensemble was shelled and damaged in April and May 1992 (Raspeta crkva, 187).

            The architectural ensemble is now vacant. Parts of the complex have been usurped by illegal building works.

Following the works carried out by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, the architectural ensemble of the old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol is no longer at risk of collapsing, but is still in quite poor condition.

The complex is exposed to the elements, which also encourages further growth of the vegetation inside the complex, and covering much of it. The surviving ceiling joists of the Palace are in extremely poor condition and long exposure to the elements could result in their total collapse.

Since the building remains open and unprotected, it is still being used as a site for dumping waste.

6. Specific risks

¾      lack of maintenance

¾      exposure to the elements.

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.iii.      proportions

C.iv.     composition

D.         Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.i.       material evidence of a lesser known historical era

D.ii.      evidence of historical change

D.iv.     evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner

E.         Symbolic value

E.i.       ontological value

E.ii.      religious value

E.iii.      traditional value

E.iv.     relation to rituals or ceremonies

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

F.         Townscape/ Landscape value

F.i.       relation to other elements of the site

F.ii.       meaning in the townscape

F.iii.      the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.ii.      material and content

G.iii.     use and function

G.v.      location and setting

G.vi.     spirit and feeling

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

¾      Copy of cadastral plan no. 24

¾      Copy of proof of title no. 284

¾      Copy of land register entries no. 2158 and 6305

¾      Photodocumentation (photographs of the site taken in December 2008 and January 2009)

¾      Survey of the current condition of the complex provided by the Stari Grad Agency Mostar.

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Bishop's Palace in Vukodol, Mostar, as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1970     Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule (Herzegovina 100 Years Ago, or the Schematism of Fr Petar Bakula), translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970

1977     Pandžić, Bazilije. “Povjesni pregled” (Historical Overview) in Šematizam franjevačke provincije Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije u Hercegovini (Schematism of the Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Herzegovina). Mostar: Provincialate of the Franciscans of Herzegovina, 1977

1980     Nikić, A. “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” (The Construction of the Bishop’s Palaces in Mostar:  the Palace in Vukodol) in Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj (Anthology: The Karst Homeland), no 13, Hercegovina, 1980

1981     Zelenika, Anđelko, MA. 1000 godina trebinjske biskupije; Zaštita i istraživanje povijesnih sakralnih spomenika na području Hercegovine (1,000 Years of the Trebinje Diocese: Protection and Study of Historic Religious Monuments in Herzegovina)

1997     Živković, Dr. Fr. Ilija (ed.) Raspeta crkva u Bosni i Hercgovini i uništavanje katoličkih sakralnih objekata u BiH 1991-1996 (The Church Crucified in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Destruction of Catholic Religious Buildings in BiH 1991-1996). Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Mostar, Zagreb: 1997

2004     Šarac, Toni. “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli” (A Hotbed of Cultural, Educational and Spiritual Thought), Dnevni list. Mostar, 6 March 2004

2008     Medić, Marija. “Počela obnova stare biskuspke rezidencije u Vukodolu” (Work Begins on the Restoration of the Old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol), Dnevni list. Mostar, 3 March 2008

Material provided by the Stari Grad Agency Mostar

Material provided by the Bishop’s Ordinariate, Mostar

(1) The architectural ensemble of the Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol on c.p. no. 126 (old survey) was nationalized after World War II pursuant to a ruling by the People’s Committee of Mostar Municipality’s Nationalization Commission dated 15 December 1959, no. 234/59.

(2) Bazilije Pandžić, “Povjesni pregled” in AA. VV. Šematizam franjevačke provincije Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije u Hercegovini, Mostar:  Provincialate of the Franciscans of Herzegovina, 1977, 12-13

(3) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 65.

(4) Fra Bazilije Pandžić, “Povjesni pregled” in AA. VV. Šematizam franjevačke provincije Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije u Hercegovini, Mostar:  Provincialate of the Franciscans of Herzegovina, 1977, 12-13.

(5) Nikić, A, “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no 13, Hercegovina, 1980, 20.

(6) Toni Šarac, “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli,” Dnevni list, Mostar, 6 March 2004.

(7) Nikić, A, “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no. 13, Hercegovina, 1980, 21. According to Nikić, This move by the Vizier was preceded by the establishment of friendly relations between a growing number of Herzegovina Franciscans and Ali pasha Rizvanbegović.

(8) Toni Šarac, “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli,” Dnevni list, Mostar, 6 March 2004.

(9) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 59.

(10) Nikić, A, “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu“ in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no.13, Hercegovina, 1980, 22. and Toni Šarac, “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli,” Dnevni list, Mostar od 6.ožujka 2004.

(11) Nikić, A, “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no 13, Hercegovina, 1980, 24.

(12) Nikić, A, “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no 13, Hercegovina, 1980, 24.

(13) Toni Šarac, “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli,” Dnevni list, Mostar, 6 March 2004, and AA. VV. Šematizam franjevačke provincije Uznesenja Blažene Djevice Marije u Hercegovini, Mostar:  Provincialate of the Franciscans of Herzegovina, 1977, 30

(14) Toni Šarac, “Rasadnik kulturno-prosvjetne i duhovne misli,” Dnevni list, Mostar 6 March 2004, and details from the Stari Grad Agency, Mostar.

(15) Marija Medić, “Počela obnova stare biskuspke rezidencije u Vukodolu,” Dnevni list, Mostar, 3 March 2008.

(16) Nikić, A., “Gradnja biskupskih rezidencija u Mostaru; Rezidencija u Vukodolu” in AA. VV. Zbornik: Kršni zavičaj, no 13, Hercegovina, 1980, 25.

(17) In the Land Register, entry no. 2158, plot no. c.p 128 is designated as “Vukodol pasture”, c.p. 129 as “Vukodol vineyard”, and c.p. 125/1 as “Vukodol orchard”.

(18)  Documentation from the Bishop’s Ordinariate Mostar.

(19) Dr. Fr. Ilija Živković (ed.), Raspeta crkva u Bosni i Hercgovini i uništavanje katoličkih sakralnih objekata u BiH 1991-1996, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Mostar, Zagreb: 1997, 187.

(20) Anđelko Zelenika, 1000 godina trebinjske biskupije; Zaštita i istraživanje povijesnih sakralnih spomenika na području Hercegovine, 42

(21) The complex of outbuildings had a boundary wall of quarry-stone blocks, about 2.5 m in height.

(22) One of these wooden posts has now fallen, and the other is damaged. Their stone bases are in good condition.

(23) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 62.

(24) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 62. 

(25) “a kitchen and the necessary appurtenances together with a small winter refectory abutted onto the main house on the side of the western slope.” Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 62.

(26) From archive documentation: file on the old Bishop’s Palace in Vukodol, Stari Grad Agency Mostar. When this decision was being drafted in January 2009 the high growth of vegetation covering this part of the plot made it impossible to access the fountain and the chapel.

(27) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 62. 

(28) It is now quite difficult to get from the main courtyard to the tradesmen’s yard, because the gateway in the east wall of the tradesmen’s yard is blocked by tree branches. It is possible to enter from the south, direct from the approach road, since the boundary wall of the architectural ensemble has been completely destroyed at that point.

(29) The yard has been usurped by private individuals for their own use.  A garage has been built by the building in the southern part of the yard.

(30) Hercegovina prije sto godina ili Šematizam fra Petra Bakule. Translated from the Latin of 1867 by Dr. Fr. Vencel Kosir. Mostar: 1970, 63.

(31) Marija Medić, “Počela obnova stare biskuspke rezidencije u Vukodolu,” Dnevni list, Mostar, 3 March 2008.