Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the Official Gazette of BiH no. 54/09.
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 20 to 26 January 2009 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The historic monument of the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš with movable property is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of the church and movable property consisting of an iconostasis with twenty-three icons and royal doors, and four icons in the nave of the church, as follows:
- The Apostolic Conference, artist unknown, prior to 1868,
- St Luke the Evangelist, artist unknown, early 20th century,
- Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, unidentified Russian artist, prior to 1924,
- Jerusalem, artist unknown, prior to 1864.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 944, 945 and 946 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos. 1/124, 1/125, 1/125, 1 127 and 1/128 (old survey), cadastral municipality Vareš, Land Register entry nos. 182, 180, 179 and 218, Municipality Vareš, 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 Government of the Federation shall provide suitable physical and technical conditions for the safekeeping of the movable heritage.
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. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:
- all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, including those designed to present the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The following protection measures are hereby stipulated for the movable property referred to in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision (hereinafter: the movable heritage):
- the display and other forms of presentation of the movable heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be carried out on the basis of the conditions prescribed by the federal ministry responsible for culture;
- supervision of the implementation of the measures to protect the movable heritage shall be carried out by the federal ministry responsible for culture.
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 removal of the movable heritage from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.
By way of exception to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable heritage for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Permission for temporary removal under the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, if it is determined beyond doubt that it will not jeopardize the movable heritage in any way.
In granting permission for the temporary removal of the movable heritage, the Commission shall stipulate all the conditions under which the removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina may take place, the date by which the items shall be returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the responsibility of individual authorities and institutions for ensuring that these conditions are met, and shall notify the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relevant security service, the customs authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the general public accordingly.
VII
The Serbian Orthodox Church, Dabar-Bosnia Metropolitanate, the Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federal Ministry responsible for culture, 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 VI of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
VIII
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)
IX
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.
X
This Decision shall enter into force 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: 06.2-2-40/09-14
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.
On 24 October 2008 Divna Semunović of Vareš submitted a proposal/petition to designate the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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
This simple church was built in the neo-Baroque stylistic expression during the period 1891 to 1894. Located on the slope of a hill above the town, it forms a striking feature in the townscape, and is a significant reminder of the history of the town, as well as a religious site and an edifice of importance for the identity of its people. It is one of the new churches built in the last few years of the 19th century, when the town was prospering thanks to the foundry built there in 1891.
II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION
In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:
- Documentation on the location and the current owner and user of the property;
- Details of legal protection of the property to date;
- Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc;
- Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.
The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The town of Vareš is 46 cm to the north of Sarajevo, in the valley through which the Stavnja river flows. The Vareš valley is surrounded by the slopes of Mt Zvijezda, and is at an altitude of 830 m. Following the lie of the land, the town developed from north to south.
The historic building of the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin is in the centre of Vareš, in Put mira street, close to the parish church.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 944, 945 and 946 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos. 1/124, 1/125, 1/125, 1 127 and 1/128 (old survey), cadastral municipality Vareš, Land Register entry nos. 182, 180, 179 and 218, Municipality Vareš, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Historical information
The wealth of natural resources of the entire area around the town of Vareš led to its being settled at a very early date. The Romans were already extracting ores here, though little evidence of this remains: a slab with an inscription, vilicus procurator, and a miner's lamp (Gavran, Fr. Ignacije, 10). There are references in mediaeval times to some of the villages of Vareš as mining centres, among them the village of Duboštice (1939), which suggests that iron and other ores were being extracted and processed here during the reigns of the Bosnian bans Kulin and Stjepan II Kotromanić and of the Bosnian Kings (Gavran, Fr. Ignacije, 10). Very little is known about this, however (H.Kreševljaković, 409-459).
The earliest reference to Vareš by that name dates from the time of the Bosnian governor Jakub Hadum Pasha (1489-1493). A Turkish defter (tax census) of that period states that the settlement had about 150 houses. The principal occupation of the people of the area was mining and the smelting and processing of iron, from which they made various articles, selling them, through agents, throughout the Ottoman Empire. The production of iron was accompanied by that of charcoal, which was needed to smelt the iron. Later, other occupations also evolved: trade, transport and administration. For centuries the town did not advance economically: in 1640 Fr. Pavao of Rovinj found about forty mines in Vareš, the same number as in 1891 when the Austro-Hungarian authorities built the first blast furnace. Once this was done, the extraction and freelance smelting of ore in the mines stopped, and the entire production was transferred to the Vareš ironworks (Gavran, Fr. Ignacije, 11).
The Orthodox church in Vareš was built between 1891 and 1894, and was dedicated to the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin.(1)
The church is now used as such only occasionally, since there is no full-time parish priest for Vareš, and services are held by a priest from Ilijaš.
2. Description of the property
In layout, the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš consists of a parvis, nave and altar space. The church is rectangular in plan, measuring approx. 7.85 x 10.66 m on the outside.(2)
The main axis of the church lies east-west.
The entrance to the church is at the west end. The west façade consists of three horizontal zones, the first of which is the main entrance portal, approx. 1.44 m wide and approx. 3.35 m in height. The double-valved door is wooden, and set in an arched doorway with a plain stone frame. The doors themselves are of simple workmanship, consisting of three undecorated panels. The overlight is in four parts, with above it a small pent roof of the same width as the portal. The second zone, above the wooden portal, has three oculi (round windows) set horizontally in three panels, with a fourth above them, below the bell tower. The oculi are all of the same size, approx. 90 cm in diameter.
The third zone is that of the bell tower, which is approx. 16.30 m in height to the base of the cross, and approx. 12.50 m in height to below the roof. Standing over the centre of the parvis, to the north, the bell tower is square in plan, with sides of approx. 3.00 m. It has a bulbous roof with an elongated cubic extension surmounted by a cross. The part of the bell tower above the church roof has four identical façades faced with grey stone cladding, with the ends and top of the walls highlighted in red stone cladding. The rectangular façade panels of the bell tower contain central round-arched louvred openings.
The church has stone walls approx. 60-65 cm thick, except for the apse walls which are approx. 43 cm thick. The walls are reinforced structurally by pilasters standing approx. 10 cm proud of the wall face, located at the corners of the building, two on the west wall by the portal, and three each on the south and north walls, by the windows. There are two pilasters at the east end, in the apse. All the walls are plastered inside and out, with a decorative facing of stone slabs approx. 55 cm wide the corners of the building and around the portal and windows.
The church has a gabled roof of timber construction clad with galvanized iron. The façade walls are clad with grey stone slabs, with the corners, the vertical panels between the windows, and vertical and horizontal panels at the west and east ends faced with stone slabs approx. 60 cm wide. The red stone slabs are purely decorative, and stand proud of the wall face by approx. 13 cm.
The south and north façades of the building are approx. 6.10 m in height to the base of the gabled roof. Light enters the nave through three rectangular, arched windows in the south and four in the north wall, all measuring approx. 2.95 x 1.30 m. The fourth window in the north wall is echoed in the south wall by a doorway of the same design as the west door. The apse has three windows of the same size. All the windows are wooden, and consist of nine rectangular glazed panes with a semicircular pane above. The windows were later fitted with iron grilles on the outside.
In layout, the church in Vareš consists of a parvis, nave and altar space. The parvis measures approx. 6.90 x 1.70 m on the inside. Above it is the gallery, measuring approx. 6.9 x 2.25 m, at a height of approx. 3.60 m above floor level. The gallery is supported by two massive stone pillars, approx. 90 x 90 cm in section, with pilasters, rising to the height of the ceiling. The space between them is covered by triple barrel vaults (three below the gallery and three below the roof). A spiral wooden staircase leads to the gallery and on to the bell tower. The staircase is in the parvis, abutting onto the west and north walls of the church.
The nave measures approx.6.70 x 6.60 m, and is approx. 6.20 m in height from floor to ceiling.
The church has a semicircular apse at the east end, with a radius of approx. 3.25 m. As measured at the east end of the building, the height of the apse wall from ground level to the base of the roof is approx. 6.20 m. The roof of the apse is conical, with its apex approx. 1.00 m below the ridge of the gabled roof of the church, and is clad with galvanized iron. The sanctuary, with its proscomidion, diaconicon and altar table, is in the apse. The proscomidion and diaconicon are in the form of niches in the outside wall, with a width of 70 cm and a depth of 35 cm. The altar table, which occupies the middle of the apse, is wooden and measures approx. 68 x 40 cm. The sanctuary is separated from the nave by a simple, undecorated wooden iconostasis, and is two steps higher than the nave.
The iconostasis in the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš was probably made and installed after the church was built, in 1884 or 1891. Visually, it consists of five tiers:
- the bottom tier contains icons of the following saints, from north to south: St Nicholas, the Apostles Peter and Paul, the Most Holy Virgin with Christ in her arms, the royal doors with the scene of the Annunciation, Christ Pantocrator, St Sava the Serb, the Shroud of the Most Holy Virgin. All these icons are arched;
- the next tier up contains icons of the following saints, from north to south: St Mark the Evangelist, St John the Evangelist, the Last Supper, St Matthew the Evangelist, St Luke the Evangelist;
- the third tier contains icons of the following saints, from north to south: Mother Paraskeva, the Apostolic Conference (arched), the Transfiguration (arched), the Resurrection, the Supreme Apostolic Conference (arched), and the three bishops;
- the fourth tier contains icons of the following saints, from north to south: St John the Baptist, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, the Holy Virgin with Christ crucified, the Baptism of Christ;
- the fifth tier contains two icons, from north to south, with the following scenes: Cherubim, a Serbian tsar, Lazar the Serb, a tsar (inscription missing). Both icons are arched. The icon with the Serbian emperor is missing its inscription, except for the word tsar. The figure is also missing.
The top of the icon is arched, and is surmounted by a cross.
MOVABLE HERITAGE
COLLECTION OF ICONS
1. Apostolic Conference 13 July
Artist: unknown
Date: prior to 1868
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 63x46x3.7 cm
Description: The painting portrays the twelve apostles, three standing at the front, and the central figure of St Peter shown holding a model of the church. To the left is an apostle (Mark or John), holding the Gospel in his right hand and keys in his left, which is holding the model of the church. To the right of St Peter is an apostle holding a number of scrolls in his left hand and with his right hand on the model of the church. Behind the three standing apostles are the other nine, with haloes. At the top of the icon is Christ on a cloud, arms outstretched in blessing. The apostles all have haloes, and are wearing either pink robes and brown cloaks, or brown robes and pink cloaks.
At the top of the icon is the inscription naming the scene: SABOR OF THE 12 APOSTLES.
At the bottom of the icon is the following inscription: DONATED BY DIMITRA P.ENKO VELEZLIN TO THE CHURCH IN VAROŠ: 1868 7/8 Vpia.15
2. St Luke the Evangelist
Artist: unknown
Date: early 20th century
Technique: oil on canvas
Size: 66x52 cm
Description: the icon portrays the saint standing, wearing a long ochre-yellow robe, with a red cloak thrown over it, and with a halo beside which his name is inscribed. In his right hand, which is at his side, he is holding the Gospel, while in his left, at chest-height, is a pen. Behind him is his attribute, an ox.
The inscription at the bottom of the icon reads: DONATED BY THE VILLAGE OF PLANICA AND SLAVIN 1897.
Note: the icon has been damaged – the eyes have been bored out.
3. Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
Artist: unidentified Russian artist
Date: prior to 1924
Technique: oil on canvas
Size: 78x58 cm
Description: The icon depicts the moment before Christ's passion, when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, “saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew, 26:39). Christ is portrayed kneeling, his hands on a stone, looking heavenwards at a chalice shining with light.
4. Jerusalem
Artist: unknown – brought back from pilgrimage
Date: prior to 1864
Technique: tempera on canvas
Size: 93x141 cm
Description: The icon shows that the artist was striving to depict as many events from the Old and New Testament as possible – everything that a pilgrim should know when visiting the Holy Land (Rakić, 1998, 298).
The figures that are given the most prominence are those of the Virgin Elousa with Christ to the left, and Christ Pantocrator to the right. Between them is a temple with many scenes.
Below the Virgin Elousa with Christ is the donor's inscription, noting that it was donated in 1864 by Hatji Risto Trivić and his wife Hatjina Marta.
The parish house is in the northern part of the churchyard. It is a two storey building dating from the 1960s, with a part basement, and measures approx. 16.00 x 8.00 m.
The parish house is not subject to the protection regime of the National Monument.
3. Legal status to date
The church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš was not on the Register of Immovable Cultural Properties and has not been subject to a protection regime.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
There is nothing in writing nor any documentation on conservation and restoration works on the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš.
According to Divna Semunović, representing the Orthodox Church, in 2004 building works were carried out on the interior of the church and the walls and windows were painted.
5. Current condition of the property
The church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš suffered minor damage during the 1992-1995 war. The main damage was to the façade and the interior. The lower part of the iconostasis partition was destroyed. Later, when the church was repaired, a simple wooden frame was inserted into the gap.
The collection of icons is in good condition, though the icons are covered with a layer of dust and soot. The icon of St Luke the Evangelist has been deliberately damaged.
6. Specific risks
There are no specific risks endangering the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš.
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.v. value of details
E. Symbolic value
E.i. ontological value
E.ii. religious value
E.iv. relation to rituals or ceremonies
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
F. Townscape/ Landscape value
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
G. Authenticity
G.vi. spirit and feeling
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan
- Photodocumentation, photographs taken in October 2008 by a member of staff of the Commission
- Drawings of the church made in October 2008 by a member of staff of the Commission.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the historic building of the church of the Cerement of the Most Holy Virgin in Vareš as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1942. Kreševljaković, Hamdija, “Vareš kao glavno središte gvozdenog obrta u BiH” (Vareš as the main centre of the iron trade in BiH), Jnl of the National Museum of BiH 54/1942.
1958. Bejtić, Alija, Historijsko-građevni razvoj Vareša (Historical and Architectural Development of Vareš), Sarajevo, 1958
1998. Rakić, Svetlana, Ikone Bosne i Hercegovine (16-19. vijek) (Icons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16th-19th Century), Belgrade, 1989.
1998. Gavran, Fr. Ignacije, Župna crkva u Varešu (The Parish Church in Vareš), Sarajevo, 1998
1611. Holy Bible, King James Version: New Testament (in the original of this Decision, the Biblical quotations were taken from the translation of the New Testament by the Archiepiscopal Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1997), http://www.rastko.org.yu/bogoslovlje/novi_zavet/jevandjelije_po_mateju.html, 31 October 2008
(1) The Protection of the Mother of God is one of the most beloved feast days on the Orthodox calendar among the Slavic peoples, commemorated on October 1. It is also known as the feast of the Virgin Mary’s Cerement. In most Slavic languages the word "cerement" has a dual meaning of "veil" and "protection." The Russian [and Serbian] word Pokrov (Покров), like the Greek Skepi (Σκέπη), has a complex meaning. First of all, it refers to a cloak or shroud, but it also means protection or intercession. For this reason, the name of the feast is variously translated as the Veil of Our Lady, the Protecting Veil of the Theotokos, the Protection of the Theotokos, or the Intercession of the Theotokos
The feast day celebrates the appearance of the Mother of God at Blachernae (Vlaherna) in the tenth century. At the end of St. Andrei (Andrew of Constantinople) Yurodivyi's life, he, with his disciple St.Epiphanius, and a group of people, saw the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist, and several other saints and angels during a vigil in the Church of Blachernae, nearby the city gates. The Blachernae Palace church was where several of the relics [of the Virgin] were kept. The relics were her robe, veil, and part of her belt that had been transferred from Palestine during the fifth century. The Theotokos approached the centre of the church, knelt down and remained in prayer for a long time. Her face was drowned in tears. Then she took her veil (cerement) off and spread it over the people as a sign of protection. During the time, the people in the city were threatened by a barbarian invasion. After the appearance of the Mother of God, the danger was averted and the city was spared from bloodshed
and suffering. (Taken from: http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.culture.romanian/2008-10/msg00016.html, consulted on 15 January 2009, which provides a rather fuller explanation than the web site consulted for the original of this Decision, http://www.cacak.co.rs/pravoslavlje/pokrov-presvete-bogorodice-5.html, also on 15.01.2009)
(2) All measurements taken on site in October 2008 by a member of staff of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
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