Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH”, no. 55/09.
Pursuant to Article V paragraph 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 paragraph 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 the following
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Kloster Building (Convent and School of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ) and the Building of the First AVNOJ Session (the AVNOJ Museum) in Bihać are 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 plots no. 5063 and 5064, Land Register entries no. 476 and 477, cadastral municipality Bihać, Municipality Bihać, 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 area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision, the following protection measures and works designed to ensure the sustainable use of the property are hereby stipulated:
- all works are prohibited other than research, conservation and restoration works, routine maintenance works, works designed to present the monument, and works designed to ensure the sustainable, cost-effective use of the property, 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;
- prior to drawing up a restoration project, investigative works shall be carried out to include a stability analysis of the property, works on the façades consisting of an analysis of the building materials, the composition of the binders, the state of the base for the rendering, the quality of the painted layers, and the type and colour of the paint on the façades;
- the interior shall be restored and adapted to public, administrative or cultural purposes;
- remedial works shall be carried out on the walls where they have been damaged by rising or atmospheric damp;
- the roof cladding shall be replaced in its entirety and any dilapidated or damaged parts of the roof structure shall be replaced, including the replacement of dilapidated and damaged roof gutters and downpipes;
- during conservation and restoration works on the building, its original appearance must be retained or restored, as regards the treatment of architectural details, the colour of the walls, landscaping of the parterres, treatment of doors and windows, treatment of the facades and the type of roof cladding;
- during the conservation and restoration works, original materials, building methods and treatment of the materials and binders shall be used wherever possible;
- particular attention shall be paid to the conservation and repair of surviving decorative features – plaster decorations – on the façades;
- the courtyard of the building shall be put in order and landscaped to a suitable design;
- the building shall be floodlit.
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, canton, city and municipal services, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the protection thereof.
VI
The Government of the Federation, the Federation 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.kons.gov.ba).
VIII
Pursuant to Article V paragraph 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 the Brcko District of BiH no. 4/03), where it features under serial number 53.
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, Ljiljana Ševo.
No: 06.2-2-40/09-16
11 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 Kloster (Convent of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ), the Pounje Museum to the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH, under serial no. 128.
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 paragraph 4 of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
Statement of significance
These late 19th century former convent and school buildings have been designated as a national monument on account of their architectural and aesthetic qualities and, in particular, because of their outstanding historical importance. In 1942, in this very place, Bihać was proclaimed as the capital city of the free territory of the Bihać Republic, where the first session of the Antifascist Council of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was held in November 1942, an event of the greatest importance for the history of all the southern Slav peoples.
II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION
In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to designate the property as 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.,
- documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (Municipality of Jajce, copy of cadastral plan, land register entry),
- historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, provided in the bibliography part of this Decision.
The findings based on the review of the collected documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The town of Bihać was built on the banks of the Una River, in the Bihać plain in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina, between Mts. Plješevica and Grmeč.
The architectural ensemble comprising the Kloster Building and the AVNOJ Building (the AVNOJ Museum) is located in the very centre of Bihać, at the intersection of V Corps street and Harmanski sokak.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plots no. 5063 and 5064, Land Register entries no. 476 and 477, cadastral municipality Bihać, Municipality Bihać, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Historical information(1)
Most historians are of the view that the earliest mention of the toponym Bihać is in a charter or deed of gift of 1260 issued by Hungary’s King Bela IV. In mediaeval times the town developed as a free royal town with a fort, two monasteries – one Dominican and one Franciscan – and several churches, numerous commercial and residential properties, and a number of defensive towers.
In the 14th century Bihać and the surrounding forts became part of the Military Frontier forming a fortified line of defences against the increasingly frequent incursions by Ottoman troops.
Ottoman troops took the fort in June 1592. Over the next three centuries, Bihać was to become a major fort on the westernmost frontier of the Ottoman Empire, and the base from which the Ottomans launched their incursions and exerted constant pressure on the borders of Croatia. In addition to its defensive function, the town also grew to be the administrative, crafts and trade centre of the Bihać region.
What distinguishes this fortified town from others in Bosnia and Herzegovina dating from the Ottoman period is that the earlier mediaeval urban structure within the town walls has been preserved. In 1626 the fort was repaired and many houses were built outside the walls, leaving the outer limits of the fort unchanged, though the ramparts were reinforced by new bastions and towers. The inner urban layout also remained largely unaltered by the construction of new buildings.
A new political system was introduced during the Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bihać became a district centre and an important trade, traffic, crafts and agricultural centre. Changes also took place in the urban layout of the town with the arrival of the new authorities. Municipal buildings, power plants, public and residential buildings were designed in the European style.
At the invitation of Fr. Filip Dujmušić, the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ(2) came to Bihać in 1893 and laid the corner stone for the building of a convent and St Joseph’s School, the construction of which took a year. The school provided a four-year education in eight divisions, and had 326 pupils in 1930. A girls’ high school was also opened later. In addition, the sisters ran a kindergarten. As well as teaching compulsory subjects, the nuns also taught music, foreign languages and needlework. During World War II the building was bombed several times and damaged, and the nuns had to leave. After World War II, in 1945 all private schools were abolished and the building was nationalized(3).
The Kloster Building (Convent and School of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ) was erected in 1894 and was known as the uglovnica (corner building), since it consisted of two interconnecting wings. This building was originally designed as a convent and nuns’ school.
When the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy came to an end in 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, lasting until 1929 when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established. This was occupied by Germany and Italy in April 1941.
In 1941 the rule of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was established over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia, headed by Josip Broz Tito(4), military forces and the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (NOVJ) liberated Bihać and its environs between 2 and 4 November 1942. Bihać thus became the capital of the free territory comprising almost one fifth of the pre-war Yugoslav territory. This free territory was named the Bihać Republic, which remained in existence for 86 days.
The first session of the Anti-Fascist Council of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia(5) (AVNOJ) was held in Bihać on 26 and 27 November 1942. Two resolutions were adopted at the session, the Resolution Establishing the Anti-Fascist Council of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia and the Resolution on the Organization of AVNOJ. The first AVNOJ session was held in an annex to the Kloster Building that had been erected just before World War II; the formal opening ceremony was held on 8 January 1939. This building was originally designed as a hall where various performances, cultural and other events took place. The first AVNOJ session is of great historic value for all Yugoslav peoples. Following the event, the building was named the First AVNOJ Session building. On 25 November 1952, ten years after the first AVNOJ session, a Memorial Museum was opened and the first exhibits were staged. Between 1953 and 1956 restoration works were carried out in the interior of the building.
The Kloster Building now houses the Una-Sana Canton Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, an optician’s, the ABS Bank, the Pounje Museum, the Library of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ(6), the office of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and a Junior Music School, Secondary Music School and Secondary Art School.
The First AVNOJ Session building is a public building and is used to hold various cultural events and staging museum exhibitions. It suffered its greatest damage during the 1992-1995 war, when part of the roof was damaged by a direct artillery hit.
2. Description of the property
The Kloster Building (Convent and School of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ)
The Kloster Building is an example of the style of architecture of the period of the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as is apparent from its appearance, size and execution.
The building played an important role in the urban shaping of Bihać. It was built in 1894 as an uglovnica (corner building), and consists of two wings interconnect an angle of 130 degrees. The east wing runs parallel to V Corps Street and the north wing runs along Harmanski sokak.
The building was originally designed as a convent and nuns’ school, which dictated the basic components of the building.
The east wing measures approx. 23.55 x 15.05 m on the outside, and the north wing approx. 28.30 x 12.50 m. The building consists of a basement, ground floor, first floor and attic storey.
The basic building materials used were stone, brick, tile, iron, asbestos cement, wood and sheet metal. Rubble stone in mortar was used for the foundations. The outside steps and interior staircase are also of stone. The building consists of a substantial structural system using traditional materials, composed essentially of bearing walls of Austrian-format brick with a thickness of approx. 80 cm in the basement and approx. 65 cm thick on the other storeys. All the inside and outside walls of the building are plastered with cement plaster and painted. The interstorey structure and roof frame are of timber. The gabled roof is low-pitched and clad with tiles.
The basement premises lie beneath the east wing of the building and measure approx. 14.87 x 8.40 m. The basement ceiling is of brick-blocks. The Art School uses the basement for its purposes. The premises on the ground floor of the east wing facing V Corps Street house an optician’s and the ABS Bank. The Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage in Bihać uses the remaining space in this wing as its offices. The central part of the building, where the wings meet, facing the intersection of the streets, houses the gallery of the Una-Sana Canton Museum. The premises on the ground floor of the north wing facing Harmanski sokak house the nuns’ library and the HDZ Party offices. The rest of the space belongs to the AVNOJ Museum. The entire first floor belongs to the Una-Sana Canton Museum, which uses it as offices and store rooms. The attic premises are occupied by the Art School.
The main entrance to the Kloster Building is to the south. A double-flight staircase leading to the upper floor stands next to the main entrance, on the south-west side of the building, and measures 2.7 m in width. The ceiling height of the ground and first floors is approx. 4.1 m, that of the attic storey is approx. 3.10 m, and that of the basement is approx. 2.3 m.
The façades of the building are plain, with the only decoration consisting of the regular arrangement of the windows. The façades of the wings facing the street are more elaborate than those facing onto the courtyard. The east and north façades consist of the ground-floor, first-floor and attic windows. The ground floor windows and door are simple in design, without decoration. Each of the ground floor commercial premises has its own doorway, following later alterations to suit the present use of the building. The first-floor windows are of wood, and are rectangular in shape, measuring approx. 2.15 x 1.15 m and set equidistant at 1.4 m apart. These windows are surmounted by prominent pediments, and are decorated along their long sides by a painted panel which, together with the pediments, form the only decoration on the entire building. There are seven such windows on the east wing, eight on the north wing and three on the central section. The main entrance is on the south, gable façade of the building, which also has four windows of the same size and design. The west and south façades facing the courtyard have two ranks of windows on part of the ground floor and part of the first floor. These windows are also of wood and of the same size as the windows on the other façades (approx. 2.15 x 1.15 m, but lack the decoration. The attic windows are of wood, and are a later addition of simple design.
The First AVNOJ Session Building (The AVNOJ Museum)
The First AVNOJ Session building(7) was designed in the Modernist style, with clearly expressed volumes deriving from the various functions of the building, and without any architectural mouldings or other decoration on the façade.
The trapeziform ground plan of the building, resulting both from the intended use and the available space on the site where it was built, is of particular architectural and townscape value. This choice of ground plan gave rise to a convenient arrangement of the various functional elements within the building as well as its relationship with the existing Kloster building. The new building is to the north-west of the Kloster building, with which it is connected by a hallway leading into the cloakroom in the latter.
The building consists of a ground floor and gallery. The First AVNOJ Session building has the following premises: an entrance hall, hall and gallery, and a stage for cultural performances, together with the necessary ancillary facilities: a storeroom for the stage props, a toilet block and actors’ dressing-rooms, which are located in the Kloster building. A particularly valuable feature of the hall is its excellent acoustics, as appropriate to the use for which it was designed. This functional and spatial arrangement has been preserved unchanged.
The building has a trapeziform ground plan, with the long side lying north-south. The west wall is longer on the outside, at approx. 27.28 m, than the east wall of approx. 23.21 m. To the north-west of the building is an outside staircase leading to the gallery. The outside wall on the south side of the building is semicircular, and is approx. 20.00 m long and 7.45 m high. The main entrance is to the south, and consists of a double-valved wooden door measuring approx. 195 x 210 cm. This leads into the hallway, measuring 1.97 m in width to the east and 2.55 m to the west, with a ceiling height of 2.59 m. The south and north walls of the hall are semicircular, with a length of approx. 20.0 m. There is a toilet in the west wall of the hall, and a double-valved wooden door measuring approx. 195 x 210 cm in the east wall. Three double-valved doors lead from the hallway to the foyer of the main hall, which is divided from the foyer by wall panels between which are four 37 x 37 cm pillars supporting the gallery. The foyer and gallery are of the same width, approx. 3.00 m. The foyer ceiling is 2.59 m high and the gallery ceiling 3.48 m. The main hall has an area of 170 sq.m. and a ceiling height of 5.40 m. The stage, on the north side of the hall, has an area of approx. 42.45 sq.m. and a ceiling height of approx. 4.40 m; the stage floor is about one metre above the floor level of the hall. Behind the stage is a multi-use area with an area of approx. 22.35 sq.m, leading to a vestibule which in turn leads to the actors’ dressing-rooms and toilets. The ceiling height in these rooms is approx. 410 cm.
The structural system of the building consists of solid walls of bihacite stone with a thickness of approx. 70 cm. The roof and ceiling structure consists of a system of wooden and metal grids. The complex roof consists of a number of pent and flat roofs over the service quarters in the northern part of the building, all clad with aluminium PVC sheet.
The east and west façades of the building are simple and modernist in style, without decoration, and with two windows on the west and one on the east façade, together with one double-valved door on each side. The south façade is somewhat different, with a ground-floor entrance area covered by a pent roof, consisting of the main entrance, two three-light windows of approx. 180 x 120 cm, and three small toilet windows of approx. 50 x 50 cm. The gallery has five three-light windows with overlights, of approx. 180 x 170 cm.
All the walls are plastered and painted. The flooring consists mainly of ceramic tiles, except for the main hall, which has a parquet floor.
3. Legal status to date
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a decision to add the Kloster (Convent of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ with Church), the Pounje Museum to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 53.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
No conservation and restoration works have been carried out on the Kloster Building, apart from technical maintenance.
Between 1953 and 1956 works were carried out on the restoration of the interior of the First AVNOJ Session building.
Restoration and reconstruction works were carried out on the Building of the First Session of AVNOJ according to the project documentation for the Structural Repair of the First AVNOJ Session Museum, prepared by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports in 2004. The works on the interior have not yet been completed.
5. Current condition of the property
The Kloster Building (Convent and School of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ)
- The building is in poor condition owing to the lack of maintenance, which is particularly apparent on the façades;
- The roof and upper parts of the building were hit by artillery shells on several occasions during the 1992-1994 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- The worst damage was to the south-east corner of the building, the central part of the first floor above the string course, and the roof cornice. The damage has been partly repaired since the war;
- Poor drainage from the roofs and damage to the downpipes and gutters have resulted in damage to the façade mortar where the downpipes are broken.
The First AVNOJ Session Building (The AVNOJ Museum)
- Restoration works on the building are in the final phase.
6. Specific risks
- Penetration of rainwater.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision designating items of property as national monuments (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.v. value of details
C.vi. value of construction
D. Clarity
D.iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
F. Townscape/landscape value
F.i. relation to other elements of the site
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- copy of cadastral plan,
- land register entry, proof of title,
- photo documentation,
- drawings of the current condition by the Una-Sana Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage,
- drawings of the project Structural Repair of the First AVNOJ Session Museum.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Kloster Building (Convent and School of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ) and the First AVNOJ Session Building (the AVNOJ Museum) in Bihać as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1982 Monografija Bihać (Monograph of Bihać). Beograd: BIGZ, Belgrade Publishing-Graphic Institute, 1982
1982 Prvo zasjedanje AVNOJ-a (1942-1982) (The First AVNOJ Session [1942-1982]). Sarajevo, 1982
1987 Krzović, Ibrahim, Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine 1878-1918 (Architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1878-1918). Sarajevo: Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1987
1998 Kurto, Nedžad, Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine; Razvoj bosanskog stila (Architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Development of the Bosnian Style). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, International Peace Centre, 1998
1998 Various authors, Bosna i Hercegovina od najstarijih vremena do kraja Drugog svjetskog rata (Bosnia and Herzegovina from Ancient Times to the End of World War II). Sarajevo: Bosnian Cultural Centre, 1998; Mrs. Seka Brkljača, M.A.; Mr. Muhidin Pelesić, M.A.; Mr. Husnija Kamberović, M.A., “World War II”
2008 Documentation of the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2008 Documentation received from the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, Bihać
(1) For more on the history of the town of Bihać, see the Decision designating the historic building of the Captain’s Tower and the architectural ensemble of the Fethija mosque with harem, nine gravestones and epitaphs in Bihać as national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(2) The Order of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ was founded in Acut (Italy) in 1834 by St. Maria de Mattias (1805-1866). The first nuns Adorers of the Blood of Christ came to Banja Luka from Feldkirch (Austria) in 1879 at the invitation of the Trappists. As well as the convent in Banja Luka (1879), they also formed communities in Bihać (1894), Mahovljani (1894), Bosanska Gradiška (1898), Zenica (1903) and Jajce (1912). Their principal activity was the provision of schools and kindergartens and the teaching activities associated with them.
(3) Most of this information was provided Sister Viktorija Kosak who works in the Catholic School Centre in Bihać.
(4) The credit for the creation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia goes above all to Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980), who joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) in 1920 and became Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CK KPJ) in 1937. In 1941 he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslav National Liberation Movement (NOP) and led the united peoples of Yugoslavia in the fight against fascism. On 7 March 1945 he formed the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRJ). In January 1953 he was elected President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) and later President for life.
(5) AVNOJ (Anti-Fascist Council of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia) was constituted as the national and general political representative body of the Yugoslav National Liberation Movement. The first AVNOJ session was a very important political event in the history of the Yugoslav peoples who fought against fascism, during which the outlines of the future democratic state were laid down.
(6) In January 2007 the Municipality of Bihać assigned the nuns premises of 85 square metres, in which library is accommodated, for use.
(7) According to the information obtained from the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage in Bihać, this building was probably designed by the Croatian architect Stjepan Podhorski (1875-1945).
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