Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the Official Gazette of BiH, no. 25/11.
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 on 26 October 2010 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of Podzvizd Castle, Municipality Velika Kladuša, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The National Monument consists of a guard tower, a gatehouse with a mosque, a guardroom, a house, the Pašić tower and the ramparts of the fort.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as part of cadastral plot no. 282 (new survey), title deed no. 68/01, corresponding to c.p. 9/1 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 515, cadastral municipality Podzvizd, Municipality Velika Kladuša, 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, conservation, restoration 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. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:
- all works are prohibited other than investigative and conservation-restoration works, including those designed for the presentation of 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);
- the mosque may be reconstructed, subject to proper documentation on its original condition being available, and after the necessary archaeological investigations and the consolidation of the walls have been carried out;
- the dismantling of the masonry and the removal of stone from the site are prohibited;
- the site of the monument shall be open and accessible to the public and may be used for educational and cultural purposes.
The Government of the Federation shall be responsible for ensuring that the following protection measures are carried out on the National Monument:
- consolidation of the walls as a matter of urgency;
- drawing up a project of investigative and archaeological works and a repair, restoration, conservation and presentation project for the National Monument.
A buffer zone is hereby prescribed to ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument, consisting of the remainder of c.p. 282 (new survey), corresponding to plots c.p. 7/1, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8, 7/9, 7/10 and 8 (old survey). The following protection measures shall apply in this buffer zone:
- the construction of new buildings that could compromise the National Monument in size or appearance is prohibited;
- infrastructure works are permitted only subject to the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;
- the buffer zone is a potential archaeological site, and works of any kind must therefore be carried out under the supervision of the heritage protection authority and in the presence of an archaeologist.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts are hereby revoked to the extent that they are not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision.
V
Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of 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.kons.gov.ba)
VIII
Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.
X
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of BiH.
This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Martin Cherry, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, and Ljiljana Ševo.
No.06.2-02.3-71/10-28
26 October 2010
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Amra Hadžimuhamedović
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 14 January 2010 the Commission to Preserve National Monuments received a petition/proposal from the Bihać Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage to designate the Podzvizd Castle, Velika Kladuša Municipality, as a national monument of BiH.
Pursuant to 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
Podzvizd is one of the oldest castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its exact date is not known, but the nature of some parts of the castle suggest that it was built in the late 13th or early 14th century.
The fortifications were strengthened in the mid 15th century, and in the Ottoman period the castle acquired a large bailey and a gatehouse with a small wooden mosque on the first floor. During this period, too, the Pašić tower, which had four stages, was built, giving the castle the appearance it retains to this day.
II – PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE
In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:
- Documentation on the location and the current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and Land Register entry).
- Details of 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.
- Pursuant to Article 12 of the Law on the Implementation of Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments Established Pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the following procedures were carried out for the purpose of designating the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- A letter ref 06.2-35.2-10/10 of 8 April 2010 requesting documentation and views on the designation of Podzvizd Castle in Velika Kladuša, was sent to the Velika Kladuša authority responsible for urbanism and cadastral affairs, the Land Registry office of the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, and the Bihać Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage.
- A letter ref. 02-40-437/10 of 14 April 2010 was received from the Department of Proprietary Rights Cadastral and Geodetic Affairs of Velika Kladuša Municipality, enclosing the following documents for Podzvizd Castle in Velika Kladuša:
- Cadastral registry entry
- Copy of cadastral plan
- A letter ref. 023-0-SU-10480 of 9 April 2010 was received from the Municipal Court in Velika Kladuša enclosing a copy of the Land Register entry for Podzvizd Castle in Velika Kladuša.
- A letter ref. 07-40-4-1550-1/10 of 15 April 2010 was received from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport enclosing a ruling by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of SR BiH pursuant to which the mediaeval Podzvizd Castle was entered in the Register of Immovable Cultural Monuments.
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
Podzvizd is half way between Vrnograč and Velika Kladuša, 1.7 km from the latter, in the easter part of Velika Kladuša Municipality. Podzvizd Castle stands on the summit of a conical hill very close to the village of Podzvizd.
The National Monument is located on a site designated as part of cadastral plot no. 282 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 9/1 (old survey), Land Register entry no. 515, title deed no. 68/01, cadastral municipality Podzvizd, Municipality Velika Kladuša, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Historical information
The castles of mediaeval Bosnia date from the time when it was an independent state, from the 12th to the 15th century. The castles of western Bosnia, the Una valley region and the Cazin krajina (military frontier region) were primarily of a military defensive nature. Castles came into being as the administrative centres of various districts, and differ from forts in that within their walls were houses and other buildings to accommodate a military garrison. The principal castles of the area were Bužim, Bihać, Cazin, Podzvizd, Todorovo, Ostrožac, Velika Kladuša and Vrnograč.
The earliest reference to Podzvizd in written documents dates from the mid 13th century, as a holding of the Kreščić clan(1). Hungary’s King Bela IV issued a charter on 4 October 1264, granting lands to the Kreščić brothers in Topuski, Podzvizd and Vrnograč as feudal holdings, as a mark of gratitude for their bravery in fighting the Mongols, and in particular in the battle of Trogir. In 1456 Hungary’s King Ladislav granted the descendants of the Kreščić clan permission to build two forts, Podzvizd and Vrnograč. Both were built over the remains of smaller forts. Podzvizd was erected as a castle, and Vrnograč as a late mediaeval fortified manor house.
Podzvizd(2) is one of the oldest mediaeval castles in Bosnia. The castle was built in three stages. The earliest part of the fort consisted of a round guard tower with a small bailey, protecting the approaches to the tower. Stage two consisted of reinforcements to the walls of the guard tower with an additional stone wall altering it from round to a hexagonal in plan. The layout of the fort in both these stages of construction was that of a Romanesque fort with a substantial guard tower and small bailey. Stage three created the castle, formed by erecting a large, irregularly elliptical bailey around the mediaeval fort, entailing the demolition of the smaller, earlier bailey. These works were carried out in the Ottoman period, during the reign of Mahmut I (1730-1754). During this stage a gatehouse was built on the south side of the castle, with a small wooden mosque on the first floor and a guard room alongside it, while to the east, a four-stage tower, the Pašić tower, was erected(3). A sizeable rectangular building which Dr. Ćiro Truhelka refers to as a “house” was erected to the west, for the fortress commander’s quarters.
In 1553 and 1558 Podzvizd and Vrnograč came under attack by Ottoman troops, led by Malkoč bey. Ban Nikola Šubić Zrinski was in command of Vrnograč from 1563, while Podzvizd was commanded by Prince Mikulić, with a guard of eight soldiers of the king.
The Austrian Council of War in Graz decided that both Podzvizd and Vrnograč should be demolished, which was duly done in 1580.
In 1636, Ottoman troops repaired the ramparts of Vrnograč and garrisoned it once again. In 1670 Podzvizd finally became part of the Bosnian pashaluk within the Ostrožač captaincy, with a garrison of 90 frontiersmen under the command of a dizdar.
2. Description of the property
Podzvizd Castle
Experts believe that Podzvizd is one of the oldest mediaeval castles in Bosnia(4), basing their opinion on the form of the old tower or guard tower, which was originally a round tower about 12 m in height with a radius of about 15 m. The walls were about 2 m thick. The walls of the original round guard tower were later reinforced, giving it a hexagonal footprint. The entrance to the tower was about 4 m above ground level, and was reached by ladder, as additional protection against attack. The tower had a round room at the top, below which was a dungeon and a storeroom for provisions. The guard tower had a wooden roof. Substantial ramparts forming an irregular ellipse were later erected around the guard tower.
During the Ottoman period, a gatehouse was built on the south side of the fort, with a small wooden mosque on the first floor. The small stone plaque over the entrance to the gatehouse, below the wooden mosque, bears an incomplete inscription reading:
خدا عوني ايله يابلدي اشبو قلعه محافظي در بوسنه ايدن ختايي ادي احمد
“This mosque was built with God’s help. The muhafiz of Bosnia came ... his name is Ahmed.” (5) The rest of the inscription is illegible. The inscription was recorded in 1968(6).
The gatehouse was rectangular in plan, with sides of approx. 6.4 x 5.0 m, andapprox. 7.5 m in height. It had loopholes and two arched gateways. Built as it was on the gatehouse, at a height of 7.5 m, the mosque could also be used as a lookout post. The mosque was rectangular in plan, measuring approx. 7.0 x 7.8 m on the outside, and had a hipped roof about 5.0 m in height. The roof was timber-framed and clad with shingles. The octagonal wooden minaret, which was about 10.5 m in height and had an enclosed šerefe with small openings(7), emerged from the roof. A wooden staircase in the vestibule led into the mosque. The prayer hall inside the mosque had a ceiling height of only 2 m, so there was no mahfil. The prayer hall contained a wooden mihrab, a mimber and wooden steps leading to the roof space and the minaret. The wooden walls of the mosque extended somewhat beyond the stone walls of the gatehouse and rested on projecting wooden floor joists and beams in the same way as in houses with a first-floor jutty. The walls were of horizontal wooden planks, 5 cm thick and 25-40 cm in height, mortised into wooden 22 x 10 cm and 22 x 22 cm uprights, and held together on the outside by smaller 10 x 10 cm uprights. There was one window of approx. 50 x 60 cm in the south-west wall and another the same in the north-west wall, with two more of the same size in the south-east wall.
A a guard room was erected alongside the wooden mosque, measuring approx. 8.0 x 4.0 m on the outside. At the same time, a sizeable rectangular “house” was built to the west, for the fortress commander’s quarters.
The Pašić tower was built on the east side of Podzvizd Castle, as its furthest outpost. The tower, the latest structure to be added to Podzvizd Castle, stands atop a steep 12 m high precipice. The tower is octagonal in plan and has four stages, with an entrance about a metre above floor level. The first stage, below the entrance, was a cellar. The next, with a height of about 2.5 m, had three small openings used as loopholes. The third stage, about 3.0 m in height, also had loopholes. The fourth stage was constructed of wooden beams only and is no longer extant.
3. Legal status to date
By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of SR BiH no. 1290/50 of 9 October 1950, Podzvizd Castle was placed under state protection.
By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of SR BiH no. 02-711-3 of 23 October 1962, Podzvizd castle was entered in the Register of immovable cultural monuments.
The Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina to 2002 listed Podzvizd Castle as a Category I monument.
4. Research and conservation-restoration works
Nothing is known of any conservation or restoration works on Podzvizd Castle.
5. Current condition of the property
The findings of an on-site inspection in October 2009 by Commission staff are that Podzvizd Castle is in poor structural condition. The walls and ramparts are overgrown with rank vegetation, making it very difficult to get into the castle. The remains of the walls and ramparts are in ruins, partly covered by soil or have collapsed.
The wooden mosque has disappeared, as have the other parts of the castle built of wood. The stone walls have been exposed to the elements for many years, with resultant damage, necessitating urgent protection and an examination of the structural stability of the walls and ramparts.
6. Specific risks
Podzvizd Castle is overgrown with rank vegetation that has damaged the structure of the walls and ramparts.
There is a real risk that the walls will fall into complete ruin if urgent measures are not taken to protect them.
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
C.vi. value of construction
D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)
D.ii. evidence of historical change
E. Symbolic value
E.ii. religious value
E.iii. traditional value
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
G. Authenticity
G.i. form and design
G.ii. material and content
G.v. location and setting
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan, scale 1:2500, plan no. 2, c.p. no. 282, c.m. Podzvizd, Municipality Velika Kladuša, Una Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued by the Department of Proprietary Rights and Cadastral-Geodetic Affairs, Section for Cadaster and Geodetic Affairs, Municipality Velika Kladuša, on 13 April 2010.
- Title deed no. 68/01, c.m. Podzvizd, Municipality Velika Kladuša, Una Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued by the Section for Cadastral Affairs, Municipality Velika Kladuša, on 13 April 2010.
- Copies of Land Register entries: Land Register entry 110 for c.p. 71/, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8, 7/9, 7/10 and 8, old survey; Land Register entry 515 for c.p. 9/1 old survey, c.m. Podzvizd, issued by the Land Registry Office of Velika Kladuša Municipal Court on 9 April 2010.
- Photodocumentation:
- Photographs of Podzvizd Castle taken in October 2009 by Commission staff architects Alisa Marjanović and Arijana Pašić.
- Technical documentation:
- Working project for the restoration of the mosque on the gate house of Podzvizd Castle, October 2008, drawn up by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Minister of Culture and Sport.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:
1904. Dr. Truhelka, Ćiro. Naši gradovi, Opis najljepših sredovječnih gradova Bosne i Hercegovine uz 96 slika (Our towns and forts: description of the finest mediaeval forts of Bosnia and Herzegovina with 96 illustrations). Sarajevo: 1904.
1943. Lopašić, Radoslav. Bihać i Bihaćka krajina (Bihać and the Bihać frontier region), (2nd ed.). Zagreb: 1943.
1952. Kreševljaković, Hamdija. “Prilozi povijesti bosanskih gradova pod turskom upravom” (Contributions to the history of Bosnia’s towns and forts under Turkish rule), Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju i istoriju jugoslovenskih naroda pod turskom vladavinom (Contributions to oriental philology and the history of the Yugoslav peoples under Turkish rule) II. Sarajevo: Oriental Institute in Sarajevo, 1952.
1953. Kreševljaković, Hamdija. “Stari bosanski gradovi” (Old Bosnian towns), Naše starine I. Sarajevo: 1953.
1987. Ravlić, Aleksandar, Aco. Velika Kladuša kroz stoljeća (Velika Kladuša through the centuries) Monograph. Velika Kladuša: 1987.
1998. Mujezinović, Mehmed. Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamic epigraphics of BiH). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1998.
1999. Bećirbegović, Madžida. Džamije sa drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mosques with wooden minarets in BiH). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1999.
2009. Redžić, Husref. Srednjovjekovni gradovi u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mediaeval Towns/Forts in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 2009.
2009. European Heritage Days – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, Old Forts/Towns of Una-Sana Canton, Bihać Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage, 2009.
(1) Dr. Ćiro Truhelka was of the opinion that Podzvizd is one of the oldest castles in Bosnia, dating from the 13th century. It was known as Kreščić, after the clan that built it. Radoslav Lopašić believed that Podzvizd was built in 1456.
(2) Podzvizd (“the fort beneath the stars”) was so named on account of its unusually high guard tower, standing on high ground and giving the impression of reaching to the stars. Redžić, Husref, Srednjovjekovni gradovi u Bosni i Hercegovini, 2009.
(3) Dr. Truhelka, Ćiro, Naši gradovi, 1904.
(4) Such towers, with the entrance above ground level, were widespread in Europe in early mediaeval times. The construction of the tower is old, dating from the 13th century. Dr. Truhelka, Ćiro, Naši gradovi, 1904, 50-51.
(5) Lopašić states that the tower was built by Ahmed pasha, and according to Kreševljaković the fort was repaired by Mustafa pasha during the reign of Sultan Mahmut I, between 1730 and 1754.
(6) Mujezinović,Mehmed, Islamska epigrafika Bosne i Hercegovine, 1998.
(7) Known as a blind minaret, this type was formerly typical of the Krajina (the old military frontier). Bećirbegović, Madžida, Džamije sa drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini, 75.
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