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Konak, the site and remains of the historic building

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the Official Gazette of BiH, no. 72/11.

Pursuant to Article V para 4. 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 11 March 2011 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The site and remains of the historic Konak building in Bihać is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the below-ground remains of the Konak building and the stone structure of the rampart passageway and the remains of the ramparts themselves.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 5134, cadastral municipality Bihać-grad (new survey), corresponding to plot no. 1/231, cadastral municipality SP_Bihać (old survey), 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, no 2/02, 22/07, 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 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

           

The following protection measures are hereby prescribed for the site defined in Clause I para. 3 of this decision:

-          systematic archaeological investigations shall be carried out on the site of the National Monument where the Konak and its appurtenances are located and along the rampart passageway, subject to the prior 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);

-          all archaeological remains shall be conserved and suitably presented in situ, under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-          during reconstruction of the Konak, the original Austro-Hungarian project documentation dating from 1888-1908 shall be used;

-          the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the building and its layout must correspond exactly to those of the original project documentation dating from 1888-1908;

-          the structural system must consist of triple-unit solid longitudinal stone walls and solid transverse reinforcing walls at ground-floor level, half-timbering at first-floor level, and timber-framed roof with vents tiled with plain beaver-tail tiles;

-          the execution of the façades, the fenestration and the size of the openings shall correspond to the project documentation of 1888-1908 and to old photographs of the Konak;

-          the Konak may be revitalized by the introduction of new features appropriate to its original function in a manner that will not compromise the value of the property, subject to the prior approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-          the stone sculptures, monuments in memory of the victims of World War II fascist terror, shall be removed to another suitable location to be recommended by the heritage protection authority;

-          the current above-ground and underground infrastructure systems shall be removed as recommended by the relevant authorities and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority.

 

IV

 

All movable artefacts found during the course of the archaeological survey shall be deposited in the nearest museum able to provide the necessary personnel, material and technical conditions or in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, processed, and suitably presented.      

All movable and immovable archaeological material found during the course of the archaeological investigations shall be professionally processed.

Upon completion of the archaeological works the archaeologist leading the investigations shall submit a report to the Commission and to the institution that conducted the investigations.

The archaeologist leading the investigations must have access to all the movable and immovable archaeological material found during the course of the investigations and until his/her report is completed, for a period not exceeding three years.

All immovable finds shall be conserved in situ as the archaeological investigations proceed, and the movable archaeological material shall be conserved and placed for safe keeping in a suitable storage facility.

Upon receipt of the report on the investigations conducted, the Commission shall identify which movable artefacts shall be subject to protection measures to be determined by the Commission.

The removal of the movable heritage defined in para. 1 of this Clause from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.

By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 7 of this Clause, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable artefacts for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if the leader of the investigations determines that a given artefact must be processed abroad, and provides evidence to that effect to the Commission, which may permit the temporary removal of the artefact from the country subject to detailed conditions for its export, treatment while out of the country and return to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

V

 

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.

 

VI

 

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.

           

VII

 

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.

 

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://kons.gov.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

 

On the date of adoption of this Decision, the protection measures set forth in Clause III para. 1 point 2 of the Decision designating the historic building of the Captain’s Tower in Bihać as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 90/07 and 1/10) shall cease to apply to c.p. 5134, c.m. Bihać-grad (new survey), Municipality Bihać.

 

XI

 

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

 

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

 

No: 06.1-02.3-77/11-6    

11 March  2011                                                                                     

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 19 October 2009 the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać submitted a petition/proposal to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to designate the Konak in Bihać 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

When it was built, in the latter half of the 19th century, and for another eighty years or so, the Konak within the town walls, along with the Captain’s tower and the parish church of St Anthony of Padua, gave the old town its familiar silhouette, particularly when seen approaching the town over the bridge east of the fort or from the far side of the River Una. Its size and distinctive appearance made it one of the most important edifices in the urban matrix of the old town. It was a favourite meeting place for local residents, a place to congregate and chat in the central café, and also provided comfortable accommodation for guests or, later, for those who worked for the authorities. It offered a magnificent view of the River Una, the Otok (island) and Trgovište, the town square. All this was cruelly cut short when Bihać was bombed in World War II, and its reconstruction would constitute a significant contribution to restoring the old familiar outline and view of the walled town of Bihać.

 

II – PRELIMINARY PROCEDURE

In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

-          Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on interventions and works on the property, etc.

-          An inspection of the condition of the property.

-          Copy of the cadastral plan.

-          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:

-          Letter ref. 06.1-35.2-23/09-207 of 05.01.2009 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the Konak in Bihać was sent to Bihać Municipality, the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and sport, and the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning.

-          Letter ref. 06.1-35.2-10/10-237 of 06.12.2010 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the Konak in Bihać was sent to the Archives of Una-Sana Canton.

-          Enclosed with letter ref. 03/1-23-1-246/10 of 27.01.2010 from Bihać Municipality were:

-         Decision no. 01-02-¬3-446/09 classifying the site and destroyed building of the Konak in Bihać as a protected built heritage property; Una-Sana Cantonal Assembly, Bihać, 28 and 29.12.2009,

-         Ruling no. 03/1-23-1-6443/09 of 17.11.2009 granting planning permission to the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać to carry out routine maintenance works on the ramparts of Bihać Fort and to remove vegetation from the site designated as c.p. no. 5134, c.m. Bihać-grad, corresponding to c.p. nos. 1/231, 1/230 and 1/99, c.m. SP_Bihać (old survey), with a view to conducting a geodetic survey and archaeological investigations of the site.

In July 2008, Bihać Municipality produced a document entitled “Strategic development plan for Bihać Municipality, 2008-2013.(1) This document identified the “rebuilding of the Konak” as one of its operational goals, of which the estimated cost was 1,345,000 KM, with the reconstruction to be completed by 2013.

The document assesses as unsatisfactory the current the premises where the cultural institutions of Una-Sana Canton are housed and from which they carry out their archival, library and museum work and their work on the preservation of the cultural heritage(2). A solution could be found by rebuilding the Konak in the old urban centre of Bihać to provide premises for three cantonal cultural institutions (the Museum, the Archives and the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage). Moving the Museum and the Institute from the Kloster would make room for the Art School to expand, providing enough space for its long-term needs.

The same document specified the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać as the body in charge of the reconstruction of the Konak. The projected time frame for these works was 36 months(3).

At its 44th session, held on 28 and 29 December 2009, the Una-Sana Cantonal Assembly adopted Decision no. 01-02-¬3-446/09 classifying the site and destroyed building of the Konak in Bihać as a protected built heritage monument(4). Article 1 para. 3 of the Decision states: “The protection measures(5) prescribed by the Law on the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage (official Gazette of Una-Sana Canton no. 3/04) shall apply to the classified site and the destroyed Konak, a built cultural heritage monument, until such time as a Decision is rendered by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

 

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 Bihać Konak was built in the heart of Bihać, within the old town walls, abutting onto the east perimeter wall of the Bihać Fort, very close to the Sajmište, where all trade was conducted. The street to the west of the Konak was known as Konak Gasse(6). 

The western limit of the Konak was about 15-20 m west of the parish church of St Anthony of Padua with the tomb of the Bihać nobility (the tomb of the Croat grandees)(7), and its southern limit was about 10 m north of the historic building of the Captain’s Tower(8).

The site where the Konak once stood is now an open green area.

Historical background

Buildings designed to provide for travellers, including accommodation, usually located beside roads or in towns, have been built since ancient times. In Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, caravanserais were built alongside temples, to provide accommodation for pilgrims. The Code of Hammurabi, ruler of Babylon, describes these buildings. Ancient Greece had premises known as xenodokeion, providing foreign travellers with comfortable accommodation, as well as those known as pandokeion, katagogeion and katalyzeion(9), where traders could obtain overnight accommodation, food, and stabling for their animals. Others provided only food and drink: kapaleion, thermopoleion, oinopoleion and taverns. In the Roman Empire, too, such buildings were erected alongside roads and in towns: stabulum (where travellers and their teams could rest), diversorium (an inn or lodging house), caupona (an inn or tavern), taberna (shops), and horreum (a barn or storehouse). Churches and monasteries had hospitale (guest rooms)(10).

The Romans built an extensive network(11) of good roads in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, along which there must have been staging posts where travellers could change horses, rest or find overnight accommodation.

In mediaeval Bosnia, trade focused on Dubrovnik, and in the absence of hostels, travellers – especially traders travelling as caravans – carried tents. There were a few lodging houses along the way – Herceg Stjepan’s lodging house in Tjentište, the Butkova house in Mokro, the “house of the Patarene” (12) Radojko in Ljupkovo, the “house of the Patarene” Milorad in Bradina, and the landlady Boljka’s inn by Čemerno – and there are numerous instances of the toponym gostilj (from gost, a guest) – Gostilj on the Srebrenica-Bratunac road, Gostilj by the Srebrenica-Zalužje road, the Mali and Veliki Gostilj heights above the Gračanica-Boljanić-Maglaj road, the villages of Mala and Velika Gostilja by the Rtar on the Drina-Dobrunj road, Gostilj hill near the Samobor fort by Čajniče, han (caravanserai) Gostilj on the Travnik-Ugar-Banja Luka road, the village of Gostenice near Miletkovići by Čajniče, and Gostulj on the Travnik-Guča Gora road. The words vitalište and vitalica were also used to denote roadside inns: Vitovlje Municipality, with the villages of Malo and Veliko Vitovlje, a not far from han Gostilj on the Travnik-Ugar-Banja Luka road(13). 

Caravanserais(14) and khans (Bos. han)(15) were built alongside main and lesser roads as well as in villages and towns; several places were named for their han, among them Han, Hanić, Hanina and Hanište. According to Hamdija Kreševljaković(16), there are 134 places associated with a han, 74 known as Han qualified by another word, e.g. Han Pijesak, seven known as Hanište, and fifty where the name of the owner or han-keeper is associated with the noun Han, e.g. Pobrin Han, Pajtov han; there are two places known as Hanina, two as Hanića, and one each as Hanište, Hanovi and Hansko Polje(17).

In the 16th century, Bihać(18) and the surrounding walled towns or forts became part of the Military Frontier, a string of fortifications designed to defend the area from increasing Ottoman incursions. Ottoman troops occupied Bihać in June 1592, and over the next three centuries, Bihać was to be crucial to the westernmost fortifications of the Ottoman Empire, as well as serving as the point of departure for Ottoman attacks and constant pressure on the Croatian borders.

The walled town of Bihać differs from other towns and forts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Ottoman period in that the old urban structure within the ramparts was preserved.

Bihać became the military, religious, trade and crafts centre for the wider region of the Bosnian eyalet(19); it became the seat of the sanjak of the same name in 1851, of a district (okrug) in 1879, and of the Bihać district (oblast) from 1921 to 1929(20). 

Following the reforms(21) introduced by Sultan Mahmut II (r. 1808-1839), a regular postal service was introduced in 1842, and a number of roads were built after 1860, the most important of which was the Brod-Sarajevo road. The Sarajevo-Metković, Sarajevo-Gradiška-Bihać and Sarajevo-Tuzla-Brčko lines were opened, and after 1878 a roads network was laid and a number of narrow-gauge railway lines were built, all major towns acquired a telegraph office, and hotels were built in some towns.

There were 21 khans between Čađavica(22) and Bihać: Čađavica – Han Čeprkal – Han Previja – Han pod Velečevom – Ključ – Dervin han – Ključko Bravsko – Han Kokoroš – Han Kapljuh – Bosanski Petrovac – Vrtoče – Dugo Polje – Han Dubovsko – Jasen – Ripač – Bihać(23). 

According to Kreševljaković, there were four khans in Bihać, all outside the walled town, in the area known as Prekounje (lit. “trans-Una”). “The largest and oldest was Mujaga Hadžić’s khan, which stood right by the bridge. A road ran below it. The last handžija [khan-keeper] was Omer Hasić.  It remained open until 1878. The next big khan was owned by Hadžiabdić. It had about ten rooms on the first floor, and a coffee-house, kitchen and two bakeries, and shops on the ground floor; there was stabling in the courtyard behind the khan. The owners were also the khan-keepers. It was demolished when the road was widened and the new bridge over the Una was built in 1886. The two smaller khans were by the road to Ripač. The first was owned by Bojo Jovanović, and remained open until 1914, the second by Talić, which closed down in 1918.” (24)

Reflecting the fact that during the Ottoman period Bihać was an important trade and crafts centre, and that it stood on major roads, the Sarajevo-Travnik-Jajce-Varcar Vakuf-Ključ-Bosanski Petrovac-Bihać road and the Banjaluka-Ključ-Bosanski Petrovac-Bihać road, a Konak(25) was built in the town in 1860(26).

The Konak was built right in the town centre, by the ramparts of the Bihać Fort and very close to the Sajmište, where all trade was conducted at that time.

In or about 1890 the ramparts were demolished, new streets were laid and a park was laid out by the Una and the canal.

Further evidence that Bihać was an important trading centre is to be found in the fact that even though relations between Austria and Turkey were distinctly hostile, Austria maintained a subconsul in Bihać from 1851 to 1865, mainly to develop trade relations(27).

The Konak is shown on Austrian plans of 1884(28) and on the Austrian blueprints for the adaptation of the Konak drawn up in 1888, 1889, 1891, 1906, 1907 and 1908. There is also a record of its appearance in the form of archive photographs(29) taken in 1890 and 1929.

The Konak was adapted from 1889 to 1908, during the Austro-Hungarian period, to provide accommodation for the County office as the centre of Bihać District.

The Konak was bombed in World War II. With the approval of the authorities, the remains were removed between 1946 and 1948 and used to erect public and private buildings(30).

 

2. Description of the property

ANALYSIS OF THE FEATURES OF THE BUILDING AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSES

Curiously, Hamdija Kreševljaković makes no reference in his work on baths, waterworks and caravansarais(31) to the existence of a caravanserai or konak (as a kind of lodging house) within the Bihać ramparts, but says only of all four khans associated with the town that they were outside the walls, on the other side of the Una.

Kreševljaković classifies khans/caravansarais into three kinds: “a) roadside khans, used by travellers to rest awhile or to stay overnight. No traveller ever stayed for more than one night, for all were anxious to reach their final destination as soon as possible. A traveller could stay there for more than one day in winter if the road was blocked by snow. He could also be prevented from continuing his journey by sickness, and there are cases of travellers dying in a khan; b) trading khans, which were located in major commercial centres. Merchants would usually stay in these khans for several days, weeks or even months, buying and selling their wares. There were khans of this kind in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Kreševo and Vareš; c) seasonal khans, the name given to the khans in Ilidža near Sarajevo and in Kiseljak, where people came for the cure or for an outing.

Also to be found in towns, villages and roadsides were musafirhanas, charitable institutions where a traveller could obtain accommodation and even food for himself and his horse at no cost.” (32)

There is little historiographic information on the Konak in Bihać in the available written sources other than the photographic monograph of Bihać, which includes the following passage on the Konak: “Worthy of mention among the older facilities in Bihać that offered hospitality to the townspeople and all those who had contacts of any kind with a town like Bihać is the Konak. This edifice was built alongside the thick town walls, facing the spacious town square. The Konak (inn, hostel) was built during the Turkish period, in 1860. For years, along with the Pavilion(33), it was the most popular place where people went to relax and enjoy themselves. The Konak seems to have occupied an area of almost 900 square metres, with the entrance facing the Sajmište. The building itself was about 30 metres long (the space between the Captain’s and the Selmanović houses), and was a standard two-storey building with the typical hipped, shingle-clad Bosnian roof. The ground floor contained a large kitchen and saloon on one side and a large stable to accommodate the horses of a large number of kiridžija(34) and fijakerdžija [coachmen]. The building itself was of cut stone, with large guest rooms on the first floor and spacious accommodation for horses and teams on the ground floor. The most frequent guests of the Konak were kiridžijas from Travnik, Sarajevo and elsewhere come to supply Bihać and other towns in the Krajina with a wide range of goods. The Bihać Konak was renowned for its hospitality and amenities, and particularly for its coffee from the stupa (a vessel made of cherry wood, about a metre high, in which coffee was ground with a wooden or metal pestle). It is said that when the aroma of coffee wafted up from the Konak, the women of Fethija and Hatinac would open their windows to inhale it. Older Bihać residents say that it was easy to enter the town’s passageways (catacombs) from the basement of the Konak. These passageways were about a metre wide, and were used by military garrisons to maintain contact between the ramparts. The Bihać Konak suffered the same fate as many other fine buildings in the town. Aerial bombardment wiped it from the face of the town, so that only a few old photographs now survive as a record of its existence.” (35)

A few further details can be obtained from the Austro-Hungarian plans of the town of Bihać, Austro-Hungarian drawings of the Konak dating from 1889 to 1908, and photographs in the Una-Sana Cantonal Archives featuring the Konak. A study of the plans, drawings and photographs provides some indirect details on the history of the Konak.

The following conclusions may be drawn from a comparison of the details on the 1884 Austro-Hungarian plan(36) showing the Konak with those on the 1889-1908 drawings, where the dimensions are identical, and an examination the Konak as shown on the Austro-Hungarian drawings:

a) the 1884 Austro-Hungarian plan shows the building with the name Konak, and the street to the west of it with the name Konak Gasse. These toponyms clearly indicate that the building was in existence prior to 1884;

b) the 1888 Austro-Hungarian blueprint, a cross-section of the building(37), shows three groups of chimneys rising only up to the roof space, with their cowls ending at about 100 cm above the wall plates (i.e. above the attic floor). The same blueprint shows these groups of chimneys as increased in height from approx. 4.90 to 6.60 m, 5.60 to 6.30 m and 6.00 m (from east to west). An examination of this drawing makes it clear that the chimneys originally ended about a metre above the attic floor and that the smoke escaped into the attic, from which it was then evacuated through roof louvres; the smoke both carbonized and impregnated the roof timbers, and in particular the original roof cladding, which was probably(38) of shingles (which were most exposed to the elements), thus providing an additional degree of protection against damp and fungal infections.  The same drawing shows the roof louvres on the east and west roof panes, at three levels: approx. 3.20 m, 5.80 m and 8.00 m above the attic floor (the roof ridge was about 10.20 m above the attic floor);

c) the 1891 Austro-Hungarian blueprint, a cross-section of the building(39), shows four groups of chimneys rising above the attic, meaning that smoke was no longer evacuated through louvres, the number of which was correspondingly reduced; there were now louvres on the east and west roof panes at only one level, about 3.20 m above the attic floor. The louvres that were retained on the roof after the chimneys were increased in height served to ventilate the roof space and maintain the roof timbers at optimal moisture levels. The chimney cowls were at a minimum distance from the roof cladding of about 100 cm, but as they had fireproof extension pipes, the minimum distance between the outlet of the chimney pipes and the roof cladding was about 150 cm;

d) the very strict building regulations(40) introduced and enforced by the Austro-Hungarian authorities, which included regulations on chimneys, which were required to rise above the roof (“to have a height above the ridge of 0.70 m where emerging in the middle of the roof ridge, and at least two metres above the roof area reckoning to the mouth of the chimney” (41)), together with conclusions b) and c) above, are the basis for concluding that the Konak was in existence before 1878, i.e. before the advent of the Austro-Hungarian authorities;

e) the regulations(42) governing the type of roof cladding (of non-flammable material) to be used on public buildings also indicate that the Konak was built before 1878 and that the original cladding was shingles, replaced by non-flammable material between 1888 and 1891 (see conclusions b) and c) above). Old archive photographs of the Konak suggest that the shingles were probably replaced by plain beaver-tail tiles and that the eaves were fitted with sheet metal flashings;

f) in layout, the plan(43) of the first floor of the Konak is very similar to that of the first floor of the khan in Rakovica(44). Both have two flights of stairs leading from the ground to the first floor, and one back staircase for the side entrance or the toilet block in the outer part of the building. Merchants’ and guest rooms are arranged around a central vestibule on the first floor, so that each room enjoys daylight and natural ventilation through the windows in the façades of the building. In both khans this vestibule had no ceiling. The similarity of layout in these two khans suggests that the Bihać Konak approximates to the type of commercial khan from the Ottoman period (used principally by travellers and traders travelling through or staying in Bihać), a conclusion corroborated by their layout.  Further evidence of this is the fact that in the mid 19th century Bihać was an important trading centre. A comparison between the size of the first-floor guest rooms and merchants’ rooms of Morića han in Sarajevo (approx. 12-15 sq.m.) and of the khan in Rakovica (guest rooms approx. 16-20 sq.m.) suggests that the first-floor guest and merchants’ rooms of the Konak were somewhat larger (approx. 20-35 sq.m.);

g) works were carried out on the existing Konak building from 1889 to 1908 to accommodate the County office, as the centre of Bihać District, making it a building with a distinctly administrative function. The nature and extent of the changes carried out between 1889 and 1908, as shown on the Austro-Hungarian blueprints(45), did not alter the basic layout of the building or affect its structural system or outward appearance, consisting as they did mainly of partitioning or enlarging some rooms within the building.  These numerous alterations are further evidence that the original Konak was not used for administrative purposes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE KONAK AFTER 1891 – ADMINISTRATIVE USE OF THE BUILDING

An examination of the plan and elevation of the building as shown on the 1888 to 1908 blueprints and of the building as it appears on archive photographs reveals that on completion of the alterations, the Konak had become an administrative building.

The Konak was rectangular in plan, measuring 22.20 x 33.80 m on the outside, with a ground floor (ceilings about 3.35 m high) and first floor (ceilings about 3.50 m high), and a hipped roof.

The entrance(46) to the Konak, at ground-floor level(47), was originally on the south side of the building, leading into a vestibule or waiting room (Partein Warteraum) measuring approx. 5.80 x 29.50 m on the inside. The vestibule ceiling rested on a row of five square wooden pillars on stone bases set about 5.00 to 5.30 m apart, about 2 metres from the east wall and about 2.80 m from the west wall of the central section.

The ground floor consisted of three sections divided by longitudinal bearing walls running north-south. The outer walls were about 80 cm thick and the interior longitudinal walls about 50 cm and 60 cm thick respectively. The central section was about 5.80 m wide and served as a corridor leading to the offices and other rooms of the east section, which was about 8.30 m wide, and the west section, which was about 5.30 m wide. The cross walls of the ground floor, running east-west, separating the rooms and also adding rigidity, were about 50 cm thick.

The ground floor housed the offices of the archives, the Land Registry, the Surveyor, the Cadi, the Military Deputy, and the Roads officer, the Dispatch office, the Writers’ office with reception office, the Cashier’s office and two prison cells(48).

In the middle of the west section was an extension with an area of 41.73 sq.m. interconnecting with the waiting room, and containing the main split-flight staircase leading to the first floor.

In the northern part of the building, the continuation of the central section contained an annex measuring approx. 3.40 x 6.30 m on the outside, housing the toilet block. The two-storey annex, with ceilings about 2.50 m in height, was half a storey higher than the ground and first floors of the main body of the Konak, with a single-flight back staircase linking it to the waiting room, ground floor and first floor.

The first floor contained the following offices(49): no. 19, area approx. 210.36 sq.m. (landing and stairwell); no. 20, area approx. 25.83 sq.m. (Town Engineer), no. 21, area approx. 39.37 sq.m. (Building Authority); no. 22, area approx. 20.31 sq.m. (deputy engineer); no.23, area approx. 25.62 sq.m. (tax inspector; no. 24, area approx. 39.68 sq.m. (dispatch and registry); no. 25, area approx. 11.62 sq.m. (vestibule); no. 26, area approx. 22.32 sq.m. (urban construction); no. 27, area approx. 42.63 sq.m.(urban construction); no. 28, area approx. 29.76 sq.m. (town commissioner); no. 29, area approx. 11.62 sq.m. (vestibule); no. 30, area approx. 22.32 sq.m. (town commissioner); no. 31, area approx. 39.68 sq.m. (town secretary); no. 32, area approx. 19.37 sq.m. (lithography); no. 33 (back stairs); no. 34, area approx. 15.37 sq.m. (toilet block); no. 35, area approx. 18.43 sq.m. (cadi); no. 37, area approx. 3.06 sq.m. (prime minister); no. 37,area approx. 25.89 sq.m. (medical department).

The ceiling height was about 3.35 m on the ground floor and about 3.50 on the first floor.  The height to the roof cornice as measured from Konak Gasse (the west side of the Konak) was about 7.50 m, while on the east side it was about 11.35 m(50). The roof pitch was 45 degrees, and the height from the eaves to the roof ridge was about 10.20 m, making the overall height of the building from ground level about 21.55 m on the east side and 17.70 m on the west side of the Konak.

The roof timbers consisted of purlins, double queen posts resting on wooden trusses(51), and collar beams about 9 m long level with the top purlins. The purlins were set at three levels: the wall plate at eaves level, a purlin at about 3 m above the eaves, and a top purlin at about 5.25 from the eaves. There was no ridge purlin.

The 1891 Austro-Hungarian drawing of the Konak in section(52) shows that the east outer wall of the Konak rested directly on the east stone rampart of the Bihać Fort, which was thus used over a length of about 33.80 m as footings for the east wall of the Konak. The substantial stone rampart had a batter of 1:5 on the outside, and was about 270 cm thick at the base and 5 m high. Seven buttresses about 6.30 m in height(53) were created from the east rampart where the Konak rested on it. These buttresses were about 110 cm thick at the top.

A rampart passageway was made below the east section of the building(54), about 3.30 m below ground-floor level, consisting of an underground passageway with a stone barrel-vaulted roof about 40 cm thick. On the east side the foot of the vault rested on and was tied into the rampart wall. The passageway, which ran right next to the east rampart, was about 2.90 m wide and about 2.40 m high from floor level to the apex of the intrados.

Only one vaults features on the 1891 Austro-Hungarian drawing of the building in cross section(55), whereas the photographs(56) taken on 4 July 2004 reveal that there were in fact two vaults, one above the other(57).

 

3. Legal status to date

The Konak in Bihać was not on the Register of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor was it listed or protected by the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of BiH, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR BiH in Sarajevo or the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities in Sarajevo(58). 

At its 44th session, held on 28 and 29 December 2009, the Una-Sana Cantonal Assembly adopted Decision no. 01-02-¬3-446/09 classifying the site and destroyed building of the Konak in Bihać as a protected built heritage property. Article 1 of the Decision states: “The historic building of the Konak in Bihać is an integral part of the historic centre of the town of Bihać, which consists not only of the site and remains of the Konak but also of the remains of the fortifications system – rampart wall, visible (to the east and south) and concealed remains (observed in the building of the former Jugobanka, the new post office and the passageway), the rampart passageway with surrounding roads and paths, and the canal or Jarak. These sites and buildings are classified as a protected built heritage property, real property of Una-Sana Canton.”

According to a letter from Bihać Municipality, the site where the Konak once stood (c.p. no. 5134, c.m. Bihać-Grad) is an open green space within the inner urban area and a mixed-use zone with features of cultural, historical and natural importance as defined by the Bihać Town Plan (Official Gazette of Bihać Municipality no. 03/03). No master plan or other detailed planning document has been adopted for the area in question(59). 

 

4. Research, conservation-restoration works on the property

4.1. INTERVENTIONS

Much of the original project documentation for the adaptation of the building during the Austro-Hungarian period to accommodate the County Office as the centre of Bihać District was found in the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the holdings for the Provincial Government for BiH (1878-1918). The adaptation projects bore several dates: 1889, 1891, 1899, 1905, 1907, 1908.

As noted in the description of the property, these interventions did not alter the basic layout of the building or affect its structural system or outward appearance, consisting as they did mainly of partitioning or enlarging some rooms within the building.

Interventions on the ground floor

The 1906 plan of the Konak(60) shows that the entrance on the south side of the building was bricked up and that a new main entrance was made in the middle of the west wall, facing onto Konak Gasse and directly opposite the entrance to the parish church of St Anthony of Padua.

The wall between the two prison cells(61) in the north-east angle of the building, running east-west, was demolished, as was the east wall of the cells, and a new one about 30 cm thick was built running north-south, creating new offices of about 3 x 6.20 m for the cadi, with an office of about 5 x 6.20 m for the judge to the west.

Inside the annex to the north of the building, the three toilet cubicles, originally by the west wall of the annex, were moved to the north wall, and a new north-south partition wall was built, separating(62) the toilet block from the storm porch of approx. 3 x 1.90 m of the side entrance to the Konak.

The same drawing(63) shows that a single-flight exterior staircase was added east of the side door, abutting onto the north façade of the Konak, leading to a newly-opened side entrance to the courtyard of the Konak on the east side.

The 1907 drawing of the ground floor(64) shows in detail part of the plot north of the Konak, from which it is clear that there was a tradesmen’s courtyard(65) with the usual outbuildings on the plot, which was trapezoid in plan, measuring approx. 11.20(66) /12.20(67) x 23,90 on the outside(68). This plot had two tradesmen’s entrances, one to the west, from Konak Gasse, consisting of a doorway about 105 cm wide in the middle of the 11.20 m long boundary wall, and the other about 130 cm wide pierced in the rampart wall on the east side of the plot, about 1.50 m from the north-east angle of the Konak building.

About 3.20 m north of the Konak annex, next to the Hećimović house(69), was a woodshed of approx. 4.50 x 9.80 m. To the west of the woodshed was a wooden outbuilding of approx. 4.50 x 6.30 m extending all the way to the west boundary wall.

On the 1908 drawing(70), the outbuilding is marked as a stable (Ger. Stall), and the woodshed has been extended on the east by about 7.10 m, to the level of the rampart wall. A carriage house (Ger. Wagenremise) had been added in the courtyard by the north façade of the building, at ground-floor level between the north extension of the Konak and the west boundary wall.

The 1906 plan of the ground floor(71) shows a new office(72) to the south, at the beginning of the central section of the building, the tax office (Ger. Steueramt), measuring approx. 3 x 5.20 m on the inside. 

The same drawing shows the storm porch partition between the waiting room (Partein Warteraum) and the central area of the west section, forming a space of 41.72 sq.m. where the main staircase was located.

The 1908 plan of the ground floor(73) shows further interventions. In the main entrance area, the entrance doorway, which had been in the middle opening(74), had been moved to the south, and the shorter flight of the L-shaped staircase, running north-south, had been removed; instead the flight abutting onto the transverse wall of the Konak had been extended eastwards by five steps.

The same drawing shows the changes carried out in the south-west part of the ground floor, consisting of enlarging the tax office(75) on the north side by approx. 3.30+0.50+2.60+0.50=6.90 m, and partitioning the part of the tax office in the south-west angle into a number of smaller offices. The office in the north-east angle of the building was also partitioned.

Interventions on the first floor

With the first floor in 1891(76) as the starting point, certain interventions were carried out at the end of that year(77): the room in the east section of the building was increased in depth by about 90 cm at the expense of the vestibule; two vestibules of approx. 2 x 11.62 sq.m. were added; and the cubicles in the toilet block in the annex on the north side of the building were moved – three cubicles originally by the west wall were moved to the north wall; the back staircase, which was about 125 cm wide, was shifted about 2.80 m to the east; two doors between rooms 35, 36 and 37 in the north-west angle of the building were bricked up; the doors between rooms 30, 31 and 32 in the north-east angle of the building were also bricked up; a narrow room about 170 cm wide in the middle of the east section was divided into two halves, which became part of the offices to its north and south; a narrow room about 2 m wide on the south side of the building was widened to 4.10 m and the office to the west of it, which was originally about 4.70 m wide, was reduced in width to about 3.25 m.

The blueprint of the adaptation approved in September 1905(78) shows further changes: an annex was built on to the north (part of the wall was demolished and the area was extended northwards by about 1.80 m,, and the toilets were replaced by a kitchen of 3.95 x 5 m), and a storeroom of 1.80 x 3.30 was also added on the west side.  The toilet was moved to the north pat of the annex.

The same drawing(79) shows that a large vestibule of approx. 4.80 x 8.10 was created by the rooms on the north perimeter of the first floor, at the expense of the landing.

The 1891 drawing of the first floor of the Konak(80) shows the addition of a toilet with vestibule of approx. 1.10 x 4.70 m and an office for an usher, measuring approx. 2.60 x 4.70 m (Germ. Amtsdiener), north of the main staircase. The drawing also shows a single-flight staircase in the north-west corner of the landing, leading to the attic.

The 1905 drawing(81) shows that the partition wall between offices 23 and 24 in the south-east angle of the building had been demolished to make one larger office.

4.2. EXCAVATIONS OF THE RAMPART PASSAGEWAY

During the 2004 excavations and the removal of the soil filling the passageway, the surviving remains of the passageway and its stone walls and vault were discovered. These works were carried out under the supervision of the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać. The excavations were carried out by the east rampart wall, from the north angle of the Konak south-eastwards, exposing a length of about 13 metres of the rampart passageway, and the structures were cleaned, surveyed and mapped. Six transverse profiles of the tunnel of the rampart passageway were taken, showing widths of (from north to south), 3.27 m, 3.30 m, 3.26 m, 3.19 m, 2.65 m and 2.24 m. The loophole niches in the rampart passageway were also excavated and surveyed. These niches, which are about 65 cm wide and 105-110 cm deep, are in the east rampart wall, about 2.65 m from the northernmost uncovered point of the rampart passageway.

4.3. GEODETIC SURVEYS

A detailed geodetic survey of the site of the former Konak was carried out in 2009, along with the area around it to the north, south and east, and a site plan(82) was drawn and updated showing the positions of the surrounding buildings, the geodetic survey contour features, and the position of the remains of the rampart passageway was also surveyed and mapped. Before the geodetic survey was carried out, the trees that had taken root in the stone structure of the rampart wall and were a threat to it were removed and the site of the Konak was cleared, with the approval of the municipal authorities(83).

4.4. GEOLOGICAL AND GEOMECHANICAL SURVEYS

In November 2009, Geoprojekt doo of Tuzla conducted geological and geomechanical surveys(84) of the site consisting of plots no. 5131/2 and 5134 c.m. Bihać-Grad in Bihać (seven bores were sunk and two trenches dug by the ramparts of the fort, on the east side), with a view to carrying out preparatory works to obtain the relevant parameters for the reconstruction and revitalization of the Konak building. The tests consisted of field works, geomechanical laboratory tests, a computation of the permissible bearing capacity and subsidence, and a general assessment of the stability and suitability of the site. All the results of the investigations tests with relevant parameters are set out in a report(85).

The investigations shows that the site and the composition of the soil where the proposed revitalization of the Konak in Bihać with the construction of a new building are suitable for such a building.

4.5. GEOPHYSICAL INVESTATIONS OF THE SITE OF THE KONAK BY GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR

Archaeological investigations by non-destructive methods, using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), were conducted in 2009 under the expert supervision of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina(86).

The purpose of the investigations was to discover the remains of the architectonic structures of the Konak below ground on the site of the former Konak in Bihać and to locate their exact position, as well as to ascertain the extent of their preservation. The investigations were carried out to determine the extent of the area that will need to be covered by archaeological excavations at a later stage, and to estimate the quantity of archaeological or infrastructure and the depth of the strata.

The methodology of the GPR survey was as follows

Ground-penetrating radar was used to measure the depth profiles below the soil surface, where changes to the soil structure can be seen as an electromagnetic signal passes through them. Each change in conductivity is reflected in the amplitude of the reflected signal, thus generating an image of the relative proportions of the various materials in the given area. The profiles are measured in parallel lines 0.50 to 1m apart within a geodetic grid, making it possible to analyze and interpret the data at a later date. The geophysical survey of the site of the Konak was carried out by Subsurface Interface Radar – SIR 3000 from the US company Geophysical Survey Systems Instruments and a 200 MHz antenna. The measurements were carried out with the 200 MHz antenna with a time window of 120 ns, which after testing signal speed gave a GPS survey of 5 to 6 m depth. The dielectric constant was found to be 7 to 8.

The results of the GPR profiles were analyzed using the RADAN 6.5 program, also from GSSI.

The following analyses and filters were applied: Velocity Analysis, Gain range, MigrationBackground removal, IIR filters.

The geophysical surveys were carried out on 22 November 2009.  After inspection of the documentation and further consultation with the heritage protection authority, the area to be investigated was approved three GPR grids were laid where measurements could be taken, followed by the GPR survey of grids S1, S2 and S3, within which 72 GPR profiles were measured. The radar profiles within the grids were measured using a zigzag method, 0.50 m apart.

Grid 1 could not be fully surveyed because of physical obstacles, consisting of stone artefacts in the park. The area was partly covered by the survey of grid 3.

A detailed report(87) of the findings of the geophysical investigations was produced, with an executive summary and expert opinion:

“The geophysical survey of the site in central Bihać where the Konak once stood provided a great deal of information on the distribution and quantity of solid materials in the below-ground strata. The surveys were carried out by GPR over an area of about 1000 sq.m., within three GPR grids, mapping the site with the positions of the solid structures. Structures resulting from human action – architectural remains – appeared within a depth interval of 0.5 to 3.5 m, while the survey reached a depth of about 6 m. We interpreted the structures as the remains of architectonic elements – foundations and walls. The greatest concentration of solid linear structures – foundations and walls – was on the central part of the site, within grids S1 and S2. The position and form of the structures were clearest at depths of 1 and 1.5 m, where the simplest interpretation is shown. Set in the site plan, these are seen to correspond with the structures observed in all three grids, suggesting that they belong to a single building. At greater depths, parts of the rampart walls can be observd, along with some features that cannot be interpreted without further investigation.”

 

5. Current condition of the property

The Konak suffered major bomb damage during World War II, and was demolished between 1946 and 1948. The site where it once stood is now an open green space, containing a monument to the victims of World War II fascist terror and a modern sculpture.

According to the Bihać Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, this was a memorial to the victims of fascist terror at Garavice. A stone plaque mounted on the front of the monument bears the following inscription(88):

 

НАРОД СРЕЗА И ГРАДА БИXАЋА                               [The people of Bihać county and city

ПОДИЖЕ ОВАЈ СПОМЕНИК                             have erected this memorial

КАО ТРАЈНУ УСПОМЕНУ ……..                                   in perpetual memory

………………………………………………

………………………………………………

ЗЛИКОВ…………………… ОД ЈУНА                  evil.................... of June

1941. ……ДО………….1941. ГОД.                                 1941..... to ..... 1941.

НЕКА ЈЕ СЛАВА И ТРАЈНА УСПОМЕНА                      May it stand in perpetual memory

НЕВИНИМ ПАЛИМ ЖРТВАМА                          of  innocent fallen victims

…………………………. ГОДИНЕ                                                                                    year.

 

The sculptures now on the site of the Konak were originally in Garavice near Bihać, and were moved to Bihać(89) before work began on the construction of the memorial park in memory of the victims of fascist terror in Garavice(90).

There are also three wooden telephone poles with telephone cables on the site.

 

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

D.         Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

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

E.         Symbolic value

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

G.         Authenticity

G.v.      location and setting

H.         Rarity and representativity

H.i.       unique or rare example of a certain type or style

 

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-          Ownership documentation

-         Copy of cadastral plan, c.p. 5134, c.m. Bihać Grad (new survey), title deed no. 4200, plan no. 36; scale 1:1000 (old survey c.p. no. 1/231, c.m. Bihać), issued on 19.11.2009 by the Department of Real Property Cadastre, Bihać Municipality, Una-Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

-         Copy of title deed 4200/20, no. 04/2-30-0009 of 19. 11. 2009 for plot no. 5134, c.m. Bihać Grad; issued by the Department of Proprietary Rights and Geodetics, Bihać Municipality, Una-Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

-         Copy of Land Register entry no. 157 of 10.11.2009 for plot no. 1/231, c.m. SP_Bihać; issued by the Land Registry office of the Municipal court in Bihać, Una-Sana Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-          Documentation on previous protection of the property

-         Letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport no. 07-40-4-4158-1/09 of 09.11.2009;

-         Decision no. 01-02-¬3-446/09 classifying the site and destroyed building of the Konak in Bihać as a protected built heritage property; Una-Sana Cantonal Assembly, Bihać, 28 and 29.12.2009.

-          Photodocumentation

-         Photographs of the site and remains of the historic building of the Konak in Bihać taken on 7 September 2010 by architect Emir Softić using Canon PoserShot S51S digital camera;

-         Photographs of the ramparts and rampart passageway taken in 2004 and 2007, Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać;

-         Old photographs of the Konak in Bihać taken in 1890 and 1929 (Una-Sana Cantonal Archives, Bihać).

-          Technical documentation

A. Technical drawings: Material from the holdings for the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo:

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5562/88, 1888;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Elevation of the Konak, K, 31. no.5, view from the grain warehouse, 1891;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, adaptation, no. 2682/91, 1891;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5563/91, 1891;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, no. 2684/91,  1891;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak/, 1891, no. 2685/91;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Ground-floor plan of the Konak/, 1891, no. 2686/91 (holdings for the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo);

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, no. 2683/91,  1891;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan, Plan for the adaptation of the Konak of 1891, no. 169309/05, approved in Sarajevo on 28.09.1905;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Ground-floor plan of the Konak, additional adaptation (for the District Court in Bihać) no. 3804/1906, March 1906;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Ground-floor plan of the Konak with extension, no. 4B/07,  1907;

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Ground-floor plan. Extension of the Konak, 1907, no. 9475/1907, approved 21 January 1907; 

-         Copy of original Austrian drawing – Ground-floor plan of the Konak, no. 44/1908, additional adaptation of 1908.

Note: the drawings for the adaptation of the Konak in Bihać to accommodate the County Office as the centre of Bihać District were signed by Carl Čermák and the town engineer, W. Helmish. The surname Schlesinger is also mentioned among the signatories to the drawings.

B. Plan. Bihać, 1884, Ortsried Bihać, scale 1:3125, Una-Sana Cantonal Archives;

C. Geodetic survey – site plan marking the site of the former Konak and surrounding buildings, updated with details of the contours of the site and the position of the remains of the rampart passageway, Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać, 2009;

D. Site plan marking the places of geomechanical drillings (B-1, .., B-7) and geomechanical excavations ( R-1 and R-2), Geoprojekt doo of Tuzla, November  2009;

E. Geomechanical profiles of the drillings (B-1, .., B-7) and excavations ( R-1 and R-2), Geoprojekt doo of Tuzla, November  2009;

F. Report on geological and geomechanical investigations of the site for the revitalization of the former Konak on c.p. no. 5231/2 and 5134 c.m. Bihać-Grad in Bihać, Geoprojekt d.o.o. Tuzla, Tuzla, November  2009;

G. Laboratory tests on soil samples at the site of the former Konak in Bihać, University of Tuzla, Faculty of Mining Geology and Construction, dept. of Mechanical and Geotechnical Engineering, Tuzla, November 2009;

H. Report on geophysical investigations at Bihać-centre, site of the former Konak; 2009.

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the site and remains of the historic building of the Konak in Bihać as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted: 

 

1890     Lopašić, Radoslav. Bihać i Bihaćka krajina (Bihać and the Bihać frontier region). Zagreb: 1890

 

1953     Kreševljaković, Hamdija. “Stari bosanski gradovi” (Old Bosnian towns and forts), Naše starine. Sarajevo: 1953

 

1960     Pašalić, Esad. Antička naselja i komunikacije u Bosni i Hercegovini (Settlements and roads of Antiquity in BiH). Sarajevo: National Museum, 1960

 

1966     Škaljić, Abdulah. Turcizmi u srpskohrvatskom jeziku (Turkish loanwords in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1966

 

1982     Bišćević, Ismet.  Bihać. Belgrade : BIGZ – Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod, 1982

 

1988     Spasojević, Borislav. Arhitektura stambenih palata austrougarskog perioda u Sarajevu (Architecture of mansion blocks of the Austro-Hungarian period in Sarajevo). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, 1988

 

1991     Kreševljaković, Hamdija. Izabrana djela III, Banje, vodovodi, hanovi i karavansaraji (Selected Works III, Baths, waterworks, khans and caravansarais). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1991

 

1997     Radić, Nikola. Bihać sa starih razglednica (Bihać on old postcards). Bihać: Bihać Municipality, 1997

 

1998     Anić, Šime, Klaić, Nikola, Domović, Želimir. Rječnik stranih riječi: tuđice, posuđenice, izrazi, kratice i fraze (Dictionary of foreign words: loanwords, phrases, abbreviations and phrases). Zagreb: Sani-plus, 1998

 

2001     Dobre, Ratko. Ekonomika i organizacija ugostiteljskih poduzeća (Economy and organization of catering corporations). Šibenik: Udžbenici Visoke škole za turizam u Šibeniku, 2001

 

2005     Program gradskog centra Bihać (Programme for the urban centre of Bihać). Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture, Urbanism and Spatial Planning, Sarajevo, December 2005

 

2007     text by Mirza Mujadžić, director of the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać on Austro-Hungarian buildings in Bihać

 

2008     Strateški plan razvoja općine Bihać, drugi dio – strategija razvoja, 2008-2013 (Development Strategy Plan for Bihać Municipality, part 2 – development strategy, 2008-2013). Bihać: Bihać Municipality, July 2008

 


(1) The decision to adopt the Strategic Development Plan for Bihać Municipality for 2008-2013 was taken by Bihać Municipal Council at a session held on 30 June 2008 and published in the Official Gazette of Bihać n. 09/2008.

(2) Strategic Development Plan for Bihać Municipality, part 2 – development strategy, 2008-2013, Bihać Municipality, Bihać, July 2008, 7

(3) Strategic Development Plan for Bihać Municipality, part 2 – development strategy, 2008-2013, Bihać Municipality, Bihać, July 2008, 30

(4) For more see section 3, Legal status to date (note by Emir Softić)

(5) The measures prescribed for the Konak are set forth in Article 3 of the Decision, which reads:

“To ensure the on-going preservation of the built cultural heritage monument, the following measures are hereby prescribed, which shall apply to the area defined in Article 1 paras. 1 and 2 of this Decision:

-          the Konak may be rebuilt with a view to housing cultural institutions (the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, the Archives, the Museum) as may the rampart passageway (if investigations reveal that the road extends beyond the area in ruins). All works are prohibited on the rampart wall except for conservation-restoration works or, by way of exception as a result of investigative works and with a view to its preservation, the rampart wall may be repaired and reconstructed. An open-air Lapidarium may be installed in the area by the ramparts and the Captain’s Tower, the cultural monuments may be flood-lit and the area landscaped, and works designed for the presentation of the monument are also permitted subject to the permission of the relevant heritage protection authority;

-          on the plots designated as c.p. [numbers missing – trans.], the site and remains of the Konak, the rampart wall and the rampart passageway, the construction or erection are prohibited of above-ground electric and telecoms poles and cables or other intrusions the use, size and appearance of which compromise the meaning of the protected monuments.

Decision no. 01-02-¬3-446/09 classifying the site and destroyed building of the Konak in Bihać as a protected built heritage monument, Una-Sana Cantonal Assembly, Bihać, 28 and 29.12.2009.

(6) Bihać, 1884, Ortsried Bihać, scale 1:3125, Una-Sana Cantonal Archives 

(7) Designated as a national monument of BiH by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Decision no. 07.2-2-923/03-14 of 10 November 2006.

(8) Designated as a national monument of BiH by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, Decision no. 07.2-2-923/03-21 of 12 September 2007.

(9) Translator’s note: the word “katalyzeion” is not found in any on-line Greek dictionary, but the entry for caupona in William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (John Murray, London, 1875, reads: “CAUPOʹNA, signified, 1. An inn, where travellers obtained food and lodging; in which sense it answered to the Greek words πανδοκεον, καταγώγιον, and κατάλυσις. 2. A shop, where wine and ready-dressed meat were sold, and thus corresponded to the Greek καπηλεον.”

(10) Dobre, 2001, 15-16; Kreševljaković, 1991, 245-252

(11) Map of the settlements, roads and mines of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Antiquity (Pašalić, Esad, Antička naselja i komunikacije u Bosni i Hercegovini, Sarajevo: National Museum, 1960).

(12) The term “Patarene” is taken from  Kreševljaković, 1991, 247 (op. Emir Softić).

(13) Kreševljaković, 1991, 246-247

(14) “Caravansarai (ultimately < Persian kārwān-sarāī, < kārwān caravan + sarāī, or sarā palace, mansion, inn. A kind of inn in Eastern countries where caravans put up, being a large quadrangular building with a spacious court in the middle.” (OED on-line, accessed 19 January 2011; definition in Bosnian original of this decision taken from Anić, Šime; Klaić, Nikola; Domović, Želimir; 1998, 668)

(15) “Han < Arabic khān, inn. In the East: a building (unfurnished) for the accommodation of travellers; a caravanserai.” (OED on-line, accessed 19 January 2011; definition in Bosnian original of this decision gives a derivation from the Persian, which uses the Arabic word). A building providing a resting-place and overnight accommodation for travellers.  Khans were built in towns and alongside roads.  Larger khans had a large open central courtyard where goods could be unloaded. The ground floor of such khans consisted of stone-built storerooms with fireproof iron doors. Sarajevo had three such khans: Tašlihan, Kolobara and Morića-han. Morića-han is still extant, but no longer used for its original purpose. “Po kahvama i po hanovima” (K.H. I 98), < Tur. han < Pers. khān, hāna, a house.  See handžija, hane. (from Škaljić, 1966, 309; / note by Emir Softić: the abbreviation K.H. = Narodne pjesme muslimana u Bosni i Hercegovini, coll. Kosta Hörman, vols. I II, Sarajevo, 1888-1889.)

(16) Kreševljaković, 1991, 247

(17) Kreševljaković, 1991, 247

(18) For more on the history of Bihać, see the decisions designating the historic building of the Captain’s Tower and the architectural ensemble of the Fethija Mosque with harem, nine tombstones and epitaphs in Bihać as national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(19) “Eyalet< Turkish èyālet, < Arabic iyālah (-at), noun of action < āl to preside. An administrative division of the Turkish empire.” (OED on-line, accessed 19 January 2011; definition in Bosnian original of this decision taken from Anić, Šime; Klaić, Nikola; Domović, Želimir; 1998, 348)

(20) Kreševljaković, 1991, 359

(21) The education system, legal system and administration were reformed, the Janissary order was abolished in 1827, and a new governmental structure with a cabinet and ministers of state was introduced.

(22) The place where the caravan roads from Jajce to Banja Luka and Jajce to Bihać forked off in different directions.

(23) Kreševljaković, 1991, 358-359

(24) Kreševljaković, 1991, 359 (In fn. 6 on p. 359, Kreševljaković notes: “I obtained some of the information on the khans of Bihać from Džafer Režić.”)

(25) kònak m “< Turkish qonaq halting-place, inn. A large house, palace, or official residence, in Turkey, or in the (former) Ottoman Empire.” (OED on-line, accessed 19 January 2011). The Bosnian original of this decision gives a more comprehensive definition: (Tur.) 1. boarding house, hostel, overnight accommodation. – “I u Ključu konak učiniše” (M.H. III 41); “i handžiji za konake platim” (K.H. I 268).  2.a day’s journey, a day’s walk (from one hostel to the next). – “a daleko trideset Konaka, / đe nas care ni čuti ne može” (Vuk II 30); “Odavlen je pa Sibinj kameni, / brate slatki, dvanaest Konaka” (M.H. III 19).  3. a fine house, the house of a well-to-do householder. – “Eno paše, hasta u konaku” (K.H. I 86); “Pa on uze dva sužnja nevoljna, / dovede ih do Konaka svoga” (M.H. III 42). 4. the residence of a vali or other civilian leader or military commander; a sarai, a court, a residence.  It is in this sense that the word Konak is used to denote the building next to the National Assembly of SR BiH in Sarajevo. 5. Men’ quarters’ men’s house. – “Odvede ga na muške konake” (K.H. I 375).  < Tur. konak, derived from the Tur.. inf. konmak “to stay, to be a guest.” See konačište, konakčija, konačiti, ukonačiti, zakonačiti. (from Škaljić, 1966, 414; / note by Emir Softić: the abbreviations stand for: K.H. = Narodne pjesme muslimana u Bosni i Hercegovini, coll. Kosta Hörman, vols. I II, Sarajevo, 1888-1889;  M.H. = publ. Matice Hrvatske: Hrvatske narodne pjesme, I 1896, II 1897, III 1898, IV 1899, V 1909, VI 1914, VII 1929, VIII 1939, IX 1940, X 1942; Vuk = Vuk Stefanović Karadžić: Srpske narodne pjesme, I, 1953, II, 1953, III, 1954, IV, 1954, publ. Prosveta, Belgrade, V, 1898, VI, 1899, VII, 1900, VIII, 1936, IX, 1936, publ. Državne štamparije, Belgrade / from Škaljić, 1966, 49-58)

(26) Bišćević, 1982, 30.

Note: on p. 30 of the 1982 monograph on Bihać, the author gives the year the Konak was built: “Despite the difficult and often uncertain circumstances of the day, Bihać was flourishing at the time – in 1860 a fine Konak was built”  but does not quote his sources or relevant reference (op. E. Softić).

(27) Bišćević, 1982, 30

(28) Bihać, 1884, Ortsried Bihać, scale 1:3125, Una-Sana Cantonal Archives

(29) Collection: Photographs of old Bihać, Photo library of the Una-Sana Cantonal Archives

(30) Information from the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać

(31) Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Izabrana djela III, Banje, vodovodi, hanovi i karavansaraji, 1991

(32) Kreševljaković, 1991, pp. 268-269

(33) The reference is to one of the town’s oldest coffee-houses, the Pavilion, which was built after the advent of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, north of the point where the Una enters the Jarak canal. The building had a covered podium, where brass bands would play on Sundays and holidays. It was designed and built in the pseudo-historicist style, with elements of the neo-Baroque and the Alpine styles. It later housed one of the town’s best-known cafés. A modern catering establishment was built on the site in 2008-2009 (note: Emir Softić).

(34) kiridžija, ćiridžija m (Ar.Tur.) drover, carrying goods on pack horses for a fee (from Škaljić, 1966, 409)

(35) Radić, Nikola, Bihać sa starih razglednica, Bihać: Municipality Bihać, 1997, 59-60

(36) Bihać, 1884, Ortsried Bihać, Scale 1:3125, Una-Sana Cantonal Archives

(37) Section of the Konak, no. 5562/88, 1888. (holdings of the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo)

(38) See conclusion e) (op. E. Softić) 

(39) Copy of original Austro-Hungarian blueprint – Section of the Konak, 1891, no. 5563/91 (holdings of the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo)

(40) Before the introduction of the Bauordnung (Building Regulations) of 14 May 1880, the Austro-Hungarian authorities applied the 1863 Turkish Law on Construction and Roads (1280 AH). The 1880 Bauordnung was followed by the 1893 Building Regulations pursuant to a decree by the Provincial Government for Bosnia and Herzegovina published on 5 August 1893, no. 76.174). The following are some of the regulations set forth in the 1893 Building Regulations:

“Art. 51 Chimneys

A) General provisions

All buildings, whether existing or newly-built, where there are fireplaces, must be fitted with chimneys. The chimneys must be installed so as to heat the entire living space.

Chimneys shall be built and used such that a chimney sweep may enter them. For those where this is not possible, both construction and use are subject to the following provisions:

Every kind of chimney must be brick-built.

In the case of both wide and narrow chimneys, every fireplace or fireroom, and every group of two or more fireplaces with a common connection, must as a rule have a separate chimney, and the merging of chimneys belonging to different fireplaces, and in particular in different flats and storeys, is therefore prohibited.  Separate chimneys must not therefore be built in the relevant storeys, but must rise through all the storeys to above the roof ridge. The masonry of the chimneys must be clad and mortared inside and out.

All chimneys are subject to the provision that all woodwork must be at least 15 cm and all iron elements at least 8 cm from the chimney opening.” (Spasojević, Borislav, Arhitektura stambenih palata austrougarskog perioda u Sarajevu, Sarajevo: Svjetlost, Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, 1988, 178)

(41) From Art.. 51, Chimneys; B) Detailed provisions (1893 Building Regulations, from Spasojević, 1988, 178).

(42) Provisions of Art. 40 of the Bauordnung of 14 May 1880:

“Buildings designed for public use must without exception, and residential and commercial buildings as a rule, be built:

a) of well-fired brick or stone

b) have roofs of which the timbers are clad with non-flammable material and far enough away from adjacent buildings in case of fire.

Existing roofs not clad with non-flammable material must be replaced by non-flammable roofs with 15 years of publication of these regulations, in the part of town specified in Article 41.” (from Spasojević, 1988, 161).

(43) Copy of original Austro-Hungarian blueprint – plan, first floor of the Konak, 1891, no. 2685/91

(44) Plan of the first floor of the caravansarai in Rakovica near Sarajevo. Source: Kreševljaković, 1991, 256

(45) See list of drawings under the heading “Technical documentation” (op. E. Softić)

(46) Though this drawing shows no entrance door on the west side of the extension towards Konak Gasse, it must have been there, since all later drawings of the ground floor show the main entrance to be on that side (op. Emir Softić)

(47) Copy of original Austro-Hungarian blueprint – plan, first floor of the Konak, 1891, no. 2685/91 (holdings of the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo).

(48) Details from the 1891 drawing of the ground floor plan of the Konak, no. 2686/91

(49) From copy of original Austrian drawing with room numbers and descriptions in German, also giving the area of the rooms– First-floor plan of the Konak, adaptation, no. 2682/91, 1891.

(50) From copy of original Austrian drawing - Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5563/91, 1891.

(51) The wooden trusses were set longitudinally and the half-trusses transversely (op. E. Softić).

(52) Copy of original Austrian drawing - Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5563/91, 1891.

(53) Measured from the foot of the rampart wall (op. E. Softić).

(54) Visible on copy of original Austrian drawing - Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5563/91, 1891.

(55) Copy of original Austrian drawing - Cross-section of the Konak, no. 5563/91, 1891.

(56) From the Photo Library of the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać

(57) Concentric vaults. The radii have the same centre, with the intrados of the upper vault resting on the extrados of the lower (op. Emir Softić).

(58) Letter from the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport no. 07-40-4-4158-1/09 of 09.11.2009..

(59) From a letter from the Mayor of Bihać, Hamdija Lipovača MA (ref. 03/1-23-1-246/10 of 27.01.2010, sent to the Commission by the Planning and Construction Department of Bihać Municipality).

(60) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor of the Konak, further adaptation (to accommodate the District Court in Bihać) no. 3804/1906, March 1906.

(61) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor of the Konak, 1891, no. 2686/91 (holdings of the Provincial Government for BiH, 1878-1918, Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo)

(62) In the initial design, the way out from the waiting room to the side door was through the toilet block (op. E. Softić).

(63) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor of the Konak, further adaptation (to accommodate the District Court in Bihać) no. 3804/1906, March 1906.

(64) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor. Enlargement of the Konak 1907, no. 9475/1907, approved 21 January 1907. 

(65) Marked Hof in German on the plan. (op. Emir Softić)

(66) Length of the west boundary along the line of the ramparts facing the River Una (op. Emir Softić)

(67) Length of the east boundary, facing Konak Gasse (op. Emir Softić)

(68) Boundary of the plot where it adjoins the Hećimović house and garden (op. Emir Softić)

(69) On the drawing, this is marked in German: Haus des Hečimović. The site is now occupied by Selmanović-Fash art.

(70) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground of the Konak, no. 44/1908, further adaptation in 1908.

(71) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor of the Konak, further adaptation (to accommodate the District Court in Bihać) no. 3804/1906, March 1906.

(72) This office did not feature on the 1891 plan of the ground floor of the Konak, no. 2686/91 (op. Emir Softić)

(73) Copy of original Austrian drawing – Plan of the ground floor of the Konak, no. 44/1908, further adaptation, 1908.

(74) On the 1906 ground-floor plan, the entrance area had three openings in the west wall, with the main entrance to the Konak in the middle. (op. Emir Softić).

(75) The tax office features on plan no. 3804/1906, March 1906.

(76) Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, 1891, no. 2685/91

(77) Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, adaptation, no. 2682/91, 1891.

(78) Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan, Plan of the adaptation of the Konak, 1891, no. 169309/05, approved in Sarajevo on 28.09.1905

(79) 1891, no. 169309/05

(80) Copy of original Austrian drawing – First-floor plan of the Konak, no. 2684/91, 1891.

(81) of 1891, no. 169309/05

(82) Geodetski snimak – Situacija sa ucrtanim lokalitetom nekadašnjeg Konaka, okolnih objekata, ažurirana sa podacima o visinskoj predstavi terena i položajem ostataka bedemskog puta, Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać, 2009.

(83) Ruling no. 03/1-23-1-6443/09 of 17.11.2009 granting planning permission to the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać for routine maintenance works on the ramparts of the Bihać Fort and the removal of vegetation from plot no. 5134, c.m. Bihać-grad, corresponding to c.p.no. 1/231, 1/230 and 1/99, k.o. SP_Bihać (old survey). 

(84) These activities were carried out under the terms of contract no. 000446/09 of 11.11.2009 between Una-Sana Canton, the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać and Geoprojekt doo of Tuzla.

(85) Elaborat o geološkim i geomehaničkim ispitivanjima terena za revitalizaciju nekadašnjeg Konaka na k.č. no. 5231/2 i  5134 k.o. Bihać -Grad u Bihaću, Geoprojekt d.o.o. Tuzla, Tuzla, November  2009.

(86) Information from the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać

(87) Izvještaj o geofizičkim istraživanjima na lokaciji Bihać – centar; lokalitet nekadašnjeg Konaka; 2009.

(88) The plaque is damaged and part of the inscription is missing (op. E. Softić).

(89) The information on the relocation and original location of the sculptures was obtained from Mirza Mujadžić, director of the Institute for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Bihać.

(90) The complex at Garavice was designed by Academician Prof. Bogdan Bogdanović. It was built in 1981.



Konak, photo taken before World war IIBihać, archival photoKonakSite of the Konak buiding
RampartRampartRampart path Rampart path
Rampart path, collapsedRampart  


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