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60th session - Decisions

‘Missie’s House’ at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street, the historic building

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Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the Official Gazette of BiH, no. 53/11.

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 11 March 2011 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic building known as “Missie’s House” at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 855, cadastral municipality Sarajevo VIII (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXIX (old survey), Land Register entry no. 117, Municipality Centar, Sarajevo, 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 and presentation of the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with basic details of the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

 

III

           

To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument on the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

-          all works are prohibited other than investigative and conservation-restoration works, remedial  works, and works designed to display the monument, subject to 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 original appearance of the building shall be retained during restoration;

-          interior alterations to adapt the property to suit modern requirements (installation of heating and other interior works) are permitted provided that the stylistic features of the building are retained, and subject to the approval of the relevant ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-          the ground-floor extension on the north side of the building shall be redesigned or removed;

-          the property may be used for residential, educational and cultural purposes in a manner that shall not compromise the integrity of the building and its meaning in the townscape.

 

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 relevant ministry, the 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.

 

IX

 

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. 07.3-2.3-77/11-14

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 28 April 2010 Dijana Čustović of no. 23 Branilaca Sarajeva Street, Sarajevo, submitted a proposal/petition to the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to designate the residential property and the (painted) façade of the residential property on Obala Maka Dizdara (next to the Greek Embassy) in Sarajevo 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

The historic building known as “Missie’s House” at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo is a rare example of the architecture of the Austro-Hungarian period in Bosnia and Herzegovina with wall paintings in sgraffito. It is also one of the few examples of a residential property that falls in size between a villa and a small-scale mansion.

 

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 of the property and the current owner and occupant.

-          Details of legal protection to date.

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

-          Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.

 

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. 07.3-35.2-10/10-80 of 28.05.2010 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo was sent to the Archives of BiH.

-          A letter ref. 07.3-35.2-10/10-81 of 31.05.2010 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo was sent to the Archives of BiH, the Construction Authority of Sarajevo Canton, the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo Canton, the Planning Authority of Sarajevo Canton, Centar Municipality and the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning and the Environment.

 

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the site are as follows:

 

1. Details of the property

Location

“Missie’s House” at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo was built in the Skenderija quarter in the inner city centre of Sarajevo, with Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street to the south and the embankment known as Obala Maka Dizdara and the River Miljacka to the north.  To the west, the building abuts onto a building of the same period now used as the Greek Embassy, while 55 m to the east is the DPO building, erected in the latter half of the 20th century.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 855, cadastral municipality Sarajevo VIII (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXIX (old survey), Land Register entry no. 117, Municipality Centar, Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical background

The historic building known as “Missie’s House at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo was built in the Austro-Hungarian period, when there was a construction, industrial and commercial boom in Sarajevo, further boosted by the adoption of new building regulations for the Provincial capital, Sarajevo, adopted in 1893. These regulations supplemented the first building regulations, the Bauordnung, introduced in 1880(1). The new 1893 regulations, which applied to the construction of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street, included provisions specifying in detail the building materials to be used and the standards applicable to the appearance and number of storeys of new buildings(2). ACUnder the provisions of these regulations, building on the left bank of the Miljacka from the Ćumurija Bridge to the Skenderija Bridge was restricted to two-storey residential properties with gardens on the riverside. The 1893 Bauordnung remained in force until the end of the Austro-Hungarian period, though at the end of the period the provisions concerning the number of storeys were no longer applied consistently(3).

From 1905 until 1935 the property was owned by ddo Sarajevo. A deed of sale of 19 September 1935 transferred ownership of the property to Ilija Cvijanović of Sarajevo(4).      

The building was undamaged in both world wars and in the interwar period. It was nationalized in 1962, but the heirs of the owner were permitted to retain the first-floor and attic-storey flats. The building was slightly damaged by shelling during the 1992-1995 war. It was abandoned after 1955, with the exception of the ground-floor flat, and the roof structure is now visibly in a state of dilapidation, with damp penetrating, as is the painted north façade.

 

2. Description of the property

The historic building at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo, built in the historicist manner, like the Hermina Rädisch villa(5), is one of a few residential properties dating from the Austro-Hungarian period that fall between a villa and a small-scale mansion in scale(6).

The building is roughly square in plan, with sides of 12.00 m, and has four storeys (basement, ground floor, first floor, attic), with a height to the ridge of the gabled roof lying east-west of 12.70 m.  The entrance to the building is on the south side, two steps higher than Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street. The double-valved entrance door measures 1.40 x 2.35 m, and opens onto a stairwell with a double-flight staircase 1.00 m in width. On the west side of the stairwell, on each floor except the basement, there is a double-valved front door to the flats, measuring 1.25 x 2.20 m. These doors are at the north end of the stairwell, except for the ground floor, where the door is on the west side, the north end of the stairwell being occupied by a double-valved door of 1.60 x 3.05m(7),  the top part of which is glazed, leading into the garage. The ground-floor, first-floor and attic flats are all 116.00 sq.m. in area. 

The first space in each flat is an east-west corridor of 9.40 x 1.10 m, opening on both sides, north and south, onto rooms of various sizes and purpose. The living room of 5.55 x 3.60 m, the dining room of 3.70 x 3.55 m and the kitchen of 2.40 x 2.65 m all face north onto the River Miljacka and the city centre; the two bedrooms of 3.80 x 5.40 m and 3.25 x 5.40 m and a boxroom face south(8). A ceiling hatch on the north-eastside of the living room with a metal spiral staircase with a diameter of 1.65 m leads up to the attic.

The north and south façades of the building are in the historicist manner, forming roughly symmetrical compositions characterized by their evenly-spaced rectangular windows at basement, ground-floor and first-floor level; the attic storey has a central gable wall with one two-light window and one round window directly above it. At ground-floor level both façades are rendered in imitation of a stone wall at ground-floor level, with prominent string courses and tertiary mouldings above; the north façade is painted at first floor level.

The north façade has ground-floor and first-floor ranks each of four two-light windows with overlight, measuring 105 x 205 cm overall(9). A pronounced string course separates them from the attic storey, which has a central gable wall with a central arched two-light window of 90 x 200 flanked by blind windows of the same size and shape, bearing traces of painted decoration.

The south façade is very similar in composition to the north, differing in that there are two additional windows on each storey and a double-valved rectangular entrance door of 1.40 x 2.35 m at the east end, above which is a stairwell window of 135 x 70 cm. The central gable window of the attic storey is rectangular, as are the blind windows flanking it(10).

The entire east façade is the brick-built gable wall of the building, with two windows belonging to the service quarters of the attic flat, one circular, with a diameter of 30 cm, and the other a two-light arched window of 90 x 150 cm.

The building materials and quality of construction of the building matched the high European standards of the day. The footings and foundations are of dry stone construction, while the other bearing and partition walls are of brick. The bearing structure consists of three longitudinal walls lying east-west, the central wall 60 cm thick and the outer walls 45 cm thick.  The partition walls are 15 cm thick. The ceiling joists are wooden, except for the basement ceiling, which consists of a brick vault resting on steel crossbeams. The parquet floors in the flats were laid on a layer of sand and gravel; the basement has stone floors. The steps are of stone, resting on steel beams, with a wrought iron railing and wooden handrail. The roof is timber framed and clad with tiles. The doors and windows both inside and out are of wood, and the exterior painted decoration was executed with durable sepia pigments. The basement ceiling is 2.30 m high, those of the ground and first floors are 3.10 m high, and the maximum headroom in the attic storey is 3.30 m.

Wall paintings on the north façade

The wall paintings on the north façade, consisting of three panels between the windows, measuring about 105 x 205 cm, and a band above the windows and panels, were executed in sgrafitto technique, and constitute the most valuable artistic and aesthetic element of this historic building. Sgrafitto as employed to decorate walls entails “scratching a drawing into plaster, and first appeared in Italy in the 15th century. The word sgrafitto derives from the Italian sgraffiare, to scratch, indicating the basic characteristic of this technique.(11)” The panels between the windows are in sepia tones, mainly terracotta red (for the background and outlines of the drawings). The clothing and attributes of the standing figures in the panels, which lean towards the neo-Classical in style, are taken from Roman mythology. The first panel from the left depicts a woman in a long robe with a spear and plumed helmet by her right foot, the usual attributes of the goddess Minerva(12), goddess of wisdom. The central panel depicts a man in the garb of a Roman soldier, with helmet, spear and shield bearing an eagle – attributes that suggest one of the heroes of Antiquity, Perseus or Mercury(13). The composition in the third panel, which is more complex than the other two, depicts a woman, with ramparts, a tower and modern street lighting in the background. She is holding a book in her right hand, while her left is resting on a cogged wheel, a scene seemingly the personification of the modern age or of the transient nature of time in general.

Over the windows and panels are seven arched sections 50 cm in height with drawings also in sgrafitto. Seen from the right, the first, third, fifth and seventh are decorated only with floral ornaments, while the second, fourth and sixth have a face in the middle, encircled with a vine.  The six spaces between the arched sections are filled with drawings. One panel is completely dilapidated, the three with floral ornaments only are badly damaged, and two with the bust of a winged man have survived.

 

3. Legal status to date

The historic building at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo is covered by the 2009 Čobanija Master Plan published in the Official Gazette of Sarajevo Canton no. 20/09.  This provides for the building to retain its existing footprint, and is in line with the earlier protection report drawn up by the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Sarajevo Canton.

 

4. Research and conservation-restoration works

There are no details of conservation-restoration works carried out on the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo.

The bathrooms were updated with modern fittings in the 1960s, when the spiral staircase from the first floor to the attic was also built.

The garage in the north garden was built in the 1970s, thereby blocking the back or garden door leading into the stairwell.

The building suffered minor shell damage to the façades, including the paintings on the north façade, during the 1992-1995 war.

Since 1995, the owner has begun to convert the basement into commercial premises, but the works were suspended in the initial phase.

In 2002 the next-door building of the same period now used as the Greek Embassy was enlarged and extended.

 

5. Current condition of the property

The residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo is now dilapidated, and only the ground floor is permanently occupied. The condition of the roof frame and cladding is poor, allowing rainwater to penetrate into the attic storey and stairwell, where there is visible damage to the plasterwork. The attic is empty and neglected, while the first floor, though also empty, is kept maintained. All the façades are in very poor condition as a result of adverse weather and other conditions. The render has fallen away in places from the south façade, leaving the brickwork exposed, and self-sown plants and weeds are growing in places.  The wall paintings of outstanding value on the north facade are damaged and deteriorating steadily. The interior and exterior woodwork is in a state of neglect. Access to the basement is blocked by rubbish, but the appearance of the outside basement wall, with windowless openings at ground-level, suggests that it is probably very damp.

 

6. Specific risks

-          Penetration of atmospheric damp

-          Risk of loss of the exterior wall paintings as a result of adverse weather and other conditions.

 

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

C.         Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i.       quality of workmanship

C.ii.      quality of materials        

C.iii.      proportions

C.iv.      composition

C.v.       value of details

F.         Townscape value

F.ii.       meaning in the townscape

G.         Authenticity

G. i.      form and design

G.ii.      material and content

G.iii.     use and function

G.v.      location and setting

H.         Rarity and representativity

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

I.          Completeness

I.i.         physical coherence

I.ii.        homogeneity

I.iii.       completeness

 

-          Ownership documentation

-         Copy of cadastral plan for c.p. no. 855, c.m. Sarajevo VIII (new survey), title deed no. 855, plan no. SA 167; scale 1:1000 (old survey c.p. no. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXIX), issued on 31.05.2010 by the Department of Proprietary Rights, Geodetics and Cadastral Affairs, Centar Municipality, Sarajevo Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-         Land Register entry for plot no. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXXIX, Land Register entry no.117 (old survey), no. 065-0-Su-10-002580 of 11.06.2010, issued by the Land Registry Office of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-         Land Register entry for plot no. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXXIX, Land Register entry no.117 (old survey), no. 065-0-Du-II-010-044373 with historical record no. 1384-1366of 17.08.2010, issued by the Land Registry Office of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

-          Documentation on previous protection of the property

-         Letter from the Sarajevo Canton Planning Authority ref. 02-23-3511/10 of 03.06.2010.

-          Photodocumentation

-         photographs of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo taken in 2008 by architect Damir Hadžić, AGD magazine no. 28, Pergola doo, Jan/Feb. 2008, pp.86-88.

-         photographs of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo taken on 16 and 17 June 2010 by architect Adi Ćorović using Sony DSC – H10 digital camera.

-          Technical documentation

-         survey and drawings of the residential property at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street in Sarajevo by architect Igor Palinić, June and July 2010.

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the property as a national monument the following works were consulted:

 

1973     Bejtić, Alija. Ulice i trgovi Sarajeva (Streets and squares of Sarajevo). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Museum, 1973

 

1987     Krzović, Ibrahim. Arhitektura  Bosne i Hercegovine, 1878.-1918 (Architecture of BiH 1878-1918). Sarajevo: Art Gallery of BiH, 1989

 

1988     Spasojević, Borislav. Arhitektura stambenih palata austrougarskog perioda u Sarajevu (Architecture of Austro-Hungarian period mansion blocks in Sarajevo). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1988

 

1988     Mutapčić, Snježana. Pola milenija zidnoga slikarstva Sarajeva (Half a millennium of murals in Sarajevo). Sarajevo: 1988

 

1997     Arheološki leksikon BiH (Archaeological lexicon of BiH). Sarajevo: 1988

 

2002     Impelluso, Lucia. Gods and Heroes in Art. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002

 

2002     Deanović, M., J. Jernej. Talijansko-hrvatski rječnik (Italian-Croatian dictionary). Zagreb: Školska knjiga, XIV ed., 2002

 

2004     Krzović, Ibrahim. Arhitektura Secesije u Bosni i Hercegovini (Architecture of the Secession in BiH). Sarajevo: Kulturno naslijeđe, 2004

 

2008     Mutapčić, Snježana, art historian and Damir Hadžić, BArch. “Zidno slikarstvo Sarajeva, zgrafito tehnika” (Wall painting in Sarajevo, sgrafitto technique). Sarajevo, AGD magazine no. 28, Pergola doo, Jan/Feb. 2008, 86-88

 

(1) The first building regulations stipulated that building works could be carried out only with a permit from the relevant authorities, to which blueprints were to be submitted to the prescribed scale. The regulations also dealt with planning, governing the widening and layout of streets and the creation of new squares and quarters. A separate section dealt with the construction and erection of foundations, walls, slabs, chimneys and so on. See Borislav Spasojević, Arhitektura stambenih palata austrougarskog perioda u Sarajevu, Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1988, 13.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Land Register entry for plot no. 71, c.m. Sarajevo CXXXIX, Land Register entry no.117 (old survey), no. 065-0-Du-II-010-044373 with historical record no. 1384-1366 of 17.08.2010, issued by the Land Registry Office of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(5) Decision designating the architectural ensemble of the complex of Austro-Hungarian period villas in Petrakijina Street – the Mandić Villa, the Heinrich Reiter Villa, the Hermina Rädisch Villa and the Forstrath Miklau Villa in Sarajevo, adopted at a session of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments held from 10 to 16 March 2009 in Sarajevo

(6) A new typology of residential properties emerged in the Austro-Hungarian period: the villa, rental property, mansion, hotel and social welfare buildings. Villas were detached properties standing in their own grounds, usually of two storeys and generally for single-family occupancy, though occasionally consisting of two flats. Unlike the single-family houses of the Ottoman period, of which the principal feature was the interior designed for comfort and functionality, Austro-Hungarian villas, though resembling Ottoman houses in being set in natural surroundings, were distinguished by their elaborate exteriors. see Borislav Spasojević, op.cit, 1988, 25. The house at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street and the Hermina Rädisch Villa were semi-detached, and cannot thus be regarded as typical villas, but as in some sense a small-scale mansion.  See Ibrahim Krzović, Arhitektura secesije u BiH, Sarajevo: Kulturno naslijeđe,  2004, 48

(7) This door was originally the back door leading into the garden, but no longer serves the same purpose since a garage was built in the garden in the latter half of the 20th century, and the door now leads into the extension of 2.40 x 5.50 m with a height of 2.70 m. [Translator’s note: the wording does not make it clear whether the “extension” and the “garage” are one and the same.]

(8) Except for the bathroom of 2.00 x 2.45 m, between the boxroom to the south and the kitchen to the north, and lit by a stairwell to the west, facing the next-door building.

(9) To the east side the building has a back or garden door of 1.60 x 3.05 m at ground floor level, of which only the arch at the top is now visible since it was bricked up when the garage was built.

(10) All that can be seen in the blind windows is the façade brickwork, with no traces of painting.

(11) See Snježana Mutapčić, Damir Hadžić, “Zidno slikarstvo Sarajeva, zgrafito tehnika,” AGD, no. 28 (2008), 86-88.

(12) Lucia Impelluso, Gods and Heroes in Art (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002), 108.

(13) Ibid., 149, 200.



Historic residential building at no. 1 Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street Northern facade Part of the northern facade Part of the northern facade
StaircaseInterior  


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