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Decisions on Designation of Properties as National Monuments

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National Theatre, the historic monument

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Status of monument -> National monument

Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 4 to 6 June 2012 the Commission adopted a

 

D E C I S I O N

 

I

 

The historic monument of the National Theatre of Republika Srpska (the King Petar I the Liberator Memorial Hall, the National Theatre of Vrbas Banate, the Croatian National Theatre, the National Theatre, the National Theatre of the Bosnian Krajina, the Krajina National Theatre) is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument consists of the National Theatre.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 3355/1 and 3355/2, cadastral municipality Banja Luka VII (new survey), title deed no. 2251/1, corresponding to c.p. nos.  14/1; 14/4; 14/5; 14/22; 14/27; 14/28, c.m. Banja Luka (old survey), Land Register entry no. 9719, City of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, 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 Republika Srpska no. 9/02, 70/06 and 64/08) shall apply to the National Monument.

 

II

 

The Government of Republika Srpska 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 property on the site specified in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:

-       all works are prohibited other than conservation-restoration works, routine maintenance works and works designed for the presentation of the monument, with the approval of the ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska;

-       changes to the stylistic features of the property by the removal or addition of decorative elements and architectural details (stone and other mouldings, string courses, cornices, etc.) are prohibited;

-       a maintenance plan shall be produced for the property;

-       the dumping of waste is prohibited.

 

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 Republika Srpska, 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 Republika Srpska, the ministry responsible for regional planning in Republika Srpska and the heritage protection authority of Republika Srpska, 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 – 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: 02-2.3-73/12-24

5 June 2012                                                                                

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 25 August 2003 a group of citizens of Banja Luka, Friends of the Built Heritage, submitted a proposal to the Commission to designate the National Theatre of Republika Srpska 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 National Theatre of Republika Srpska was built to a design by Josif Goldner, and opened in late 1934, when it was known as the King Peter I the Liberator Centre. It originally housed several cultural facilities, the principal one of which was the theatre. The National Theatre of the Vrbas Banate was the second national theatre to be founded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after that of Sarajevo.

The building occupies a dominant position in the city centre townscape. As the last in the planned layout of Gospodska and Bana Milosavljevića Streets, the building differs stylistically from those built previously in that it introduces Bauhaus and functionalism elements into the architecture of the urban block, and is thus regarded as a pioneering example of this kind of architectural design in Banja Luka. The contradictory nature of its architectural expression and urbanistic precept renders it a rare example of architectural and urbanistic activity during the modernist period: though it has features of the international style based on the principles of detraditionalizing architecture and decentralizing the city, it is not a modernist but rather an eclectic building, with elements of historicism and national revival. As a result, its architecture combines almost irreconcilable elements. The architect expressed understanding and respect for the existing traditional structure and the need for enhancing the city centre in his urbanistic precept, thereby providing a further interpretation of the emergence of the modernist concept.

 

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:

-       details of the current condition and use of the property, including a description, architectural survey and photographs

-       an inspection of the current condition of the property

-       a copy of the cadastral plan

-       a copy of the Land Register entry

-       proof of title

-       a plan of the building

-       valorization of the cultural heritage

-       a plan of the summer gardens and their extent for the purpose of a competition

-       a plan of the parcelization

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

 

Pursuant to Article V para. 2 of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, before rendering a final decision designating a property as a national monument, the Commission is required to provide the owner of the proposed monument, the person submitting the petition, the institutions responsible for heritage, professional and academic institutions, experts and scholars, as well as other interested parties, to express their views. Accordingly, the Commission sent letters ref. 35.2-8/11-249 of 6 December 2011, 02-35.2-5/12-46 of 15 March 2012 and 02-35.2-5/12-135 of 25 July 2012 requesting documentation and views on the designation of the National Theatre of RS as a national monument to the owner of the theatre, the City of Banja Luka, the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights Banja Luka, the Ministry of Regional Planning, Construction and the Environment of Republika Srpska, the Archives of BiH, the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Republika Srpska and the Archives of Republika Srpska.

In response, the Commission has received or inspected the following documentation:

-       letter ref. 03-364-2950/11 of 26 December 2012 from the City of Banja Luka, Department of Spatial Planning, supplying the following documentation:

-         details of the location of the property with cadastral plot and cadastral municipality numbers,

-         excerpt from the Master Plan for the centre of Banja Luka with the following drawings:

enclosure 4: spatial plan,

enclosure 8: plan showing the position of major urban furniture features and scope for the purposes of a competition,

enclosure 11a: plan for parcelization – area,

valorization of the cultural heritage,

-         table showing buildings and townscapes classified by the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage as cultural heritage with protection zones and protection measures for the buildings in question.

-       letter ref. 02-36.1-11/12-28 11 of 13 February 2012 from the Department of Geodetics and Proprietary Rights Banja Luka supplying the following documentation:

-         copy of cadastral plan,

-         proof of title,

-         Land Register entry.

-       project documentation in the Archives of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka, inspected on 16 March 2012.

-       letter ref. 07/4.01.0201/1 section no. 058-377/12 of 2 August 2012 from the Archives of Republika Srpska notifying the Commission that it does not possess the project documentation.

-       letter ref. 03-364-1855/12 of 2 August 2012 from the Administration of the City of Banja Luka, Department of Spatial Planning, notifying the Commission that it has no documentation on works carried out on the National Theatre of Republika Srpska.

 

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 National Theatre is in the city centre, occupying an important position in the urban matrix. It is flanked by the main road and main pedestrian street, while on the entrance side is a small square with a monument to Veselin Masleša. 

The theatre ends the block formed by the Banate Residence, also dating from the Vrbas Banate period, with a well-laid-out public space between the two properties.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot nos. 3355/1 and 3355/2, cadastral municipality Banja Luka VII (new survey), title deed no. 2251/1, corresponding to c.p. nos. 14/1; 14/4; 14/5; 14/22; 14/27; 14/28, c.m. Banja Luka (old survey), Land Register entry no. 9719, City of Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Historical background(1)

Banja Luka was already inhabited in Roman times(2). The town grew up alongside the road and river, extending longitudinally(3).

The first certain reference to Banja Luka dates from the late 15th century, when it was in the old Bosnia župa (county) of Zemljanik. It became part of the Jajce Banate in 1463(4), and part of the Ottoman Empire in 1528(5).

With the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, Banja Luka came under their rule, probably in 1528. The part of town now known as Srpske Toplice (Gornji Šeher) then developed as the centre of the Bosnian sanjak.

After 1851 and the reorganization of the administration in Bosnia, Banja Luka became a district centre, and a number of education and religious facilities were built, the Banja Luka-Sarajevo telegraph line was installed, and the first railway line was laid from Banja Luka to Dobrljin(6). Conceived as part of the future Ottoman trans-Balkan railway, it prompted the construction of a number of new edifices and blocks of flats in the European revival and Secession styles(7). Present-day Gospodska Street was also laid out at this time(8).

In 1878, following the Berlin Congress, Austria-Hungarian was given the mandate to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon after, a tobacco factory was opened in Banja Luka in 1888, followed by a mine in Lauš, and a number of new schools, a printing press, and an Orthodox and a Catholic church were built(9). From then on the town developed as a modern town markedly influenced by Europe, while retaining its longitudinal layout(10). 

After World War I and the establishment of the state of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Banja Luka became the centre of the Bosnian krajina (the former military frontier region) and a county town, and in 1929, following the administrative division of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it became the capital of the newly-founded Vrbas Banate(11). 

At that time Banja Luka’s urban plan was already defined, with fully defined roads and architectural accents, supplemented by the new architectural period, when many public edifices and a few mixed-use buildings were erected in various styles, ranging from the revival of the national style (with the emphasis on the neo-Byzantine style) to functionalism. The town developed along the left bank of the Vrbas, and the right bank, with the old oriental čaršijas and residential quarters, was neglected. The longitudinal layout of the town was still retained, with the existing transverse streets(12).  

The first major building to go up after World War I was the Orthodox Cathedral Church, built in 1925-29 in the historicist style with the revival of elements of the mediaeval Serbian architecture of the last quarter of the 14th and first half of the 15th centuries (the so-called Moravan school of architecture)(13). This began another new architectural period in the history of Banja Luka, characterized by the construction of substantial representative public buildings to meet the needs of the newly-formed Vrbas Banate. The symmetrical construction of blocks along both sides of Gospodska Street continued, beginning with the Banate Residence and Banate Headquarters in 1931-34(14).

Before the National Theatre was founded in Banja Luka, the only National Theatre in Bosnia and Herzegovina was in Sarajevo, founded in 1920. One of the leading instigators of this was the Prosveta Serbian Cultural and Education Society of Banja Luka(15), along with the ban himself, Svetislav Tisa Milosavljević, a champion of the city’s cultural development. On coming to power, Ban Milosavljević remarked on the poverty of the city’s cultural life – “there is no opportunity for spiritual leisure in the entire region” – and realized that a major task lay ahead of him in that regard. He retained fond memories of the theatre since his days in Niš, and believed that the theatre was “a pioneer of culture, art and folk ideas,” which not only moulded the literary and artistic taste of the general public, but was also a “first-rate national focal point.” 

Though the economic conditions were extremely unfavourable for such an enterprise, the ban believed that urgent steps should be taken to advance cultural life by initiating the construction of a theatre(16).

In the summer of 1930, ban Milosavljević invited leading representatives of the performing arts in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to be his guests(17), calling on their expertise to consider possible designs for the theatre. On 2 September 1930 he published a decree on the establishment of the National Theatre of the Vrbas Banate, and fifty days later the idea became a reality. The main problem was the design of the building to house the theatre. It was initially housed in the Sokolan(18), which was quickly converted to its new use with the help of members of the Actors’ Association(19). The National Theatre of the Vrbas Banate was opened on 18 October 1930, in the presence of leading members of the town’s administrative, national, religious, commercial, military, cultural and sporting organizations.

The National Theatre of the Vrbas Banate was opened on 18 October 1930, in the presence of dignitaries from the city’s administration and its national, religious, commercial, military, cultural, sports and other organizations. For the first four seasons, the converted Sokolan building was used by the theatre, as an interim solution until the resources could be found to build suitable premises for the theatre(20).

The National Theatre building was the logical outcome of the need to define the urban structure of the representative centre of the Vrbas Banate and to complete the city blocks begun with the construction of the Banski dvor. It was built to a design by Josif Goldner, in an eclectic manner, with a mix of different styles ranging from neo-Renaissance elements to functionalism Bauhaus, with decorative features of a folklorish nature(21).

The Zmijanje Society for the erection of a monument to and establishment of the Petar Kočić foundation also contributed to the building, which was known when first opened as the King Peter I the Liberator Centre. The rest of the funds earmarked for the Petar Kočić monument were divided between the Petar Kočić Fund and the cost of the theatre(22). At a session held on 4 April 1933 the Zmijanje governing board resolved to join forces with the Theatre Building Committee to begin building works in May 1933. The site for the building was provided by Banja Luka Municipality(23). The works took 13 months, and were completed in September 1934.

The building was opened on 12 November 1934 with the name King Petar I the Liberator Centre(24). As well as the theatre, it also housed the Zmijanje Cultural Society, the Vrbas Banate Museum, KAB and, from 1935, the National Library of the Vrbas Banate.

“It was built in the modern style, with two storeys to the front and one to the rear. The harmony of styles was complemented by the introduction of a balcony and terrace corresponding to the flat roof of the upper storeys. The main entrance was flanked by bas reliefs designed by Dragutin Inkostri.”(25)  

The basement housed the service quarters, with the central heating plant, wood store, workshops, props room and so on. The ground floor housed the National Theatre of the Vrbas Banate, consisting of the auditorium with seating for 500 (100 more than the original theatre hall), stage, wardrobes, buffet, foyer and offices.

The Vrbas Banate Museum occupied the east and north parts of the first floor. From the description given by Branko Suručić, the entrance was from Bana Milosavljevića Street. The central section was a large gallery dedicated to the 1875 uprising. The walls were adorned with the figures of leading figures from the uprising and the history of the Bosnian Krajina as a whole.  Beside this gallery was a room in the oriental style(26) or Krajina-Muslim room, depicting the life of the Muslims of the frontier region(27), while a separate section of the exhibition space contained the personal effects, documents and portraits of leading figures from the Austro-Hungarian period. A smaller area housed the archaeological exhibits, and the rest of the space house ethnographic material – costumes, embroidery, ornaments, tools, dishes, jewellery and religious artefacts, classified by territory, date and religious affiliation. The exhibits were designed by the painter Špiro Bocarić(28), who based the entire display on artistic and aesthetic criteria(29).  

Fourteen rooms to the west on the first and second floors were reserved for the library and various Banate societies. The second floor also had a small conference room seating 130, used for lectures, meetings and conferences. The building also housed the Zmijanje Cultural Society, the Vrbas Banate museum, KAB and, from 1935, the National Library of the Vrbas Banate.

After the establishment of the “Independent State of Croatia” the theatre was renamed the Croatian National Theatre.

After World War II the theatre had the whole building at its disposal, and the name was changed again to the National Theatre in Banja Luka. From the 1946/47 season it operated until the name of District National Theatre, before once again having a change of name to the National Theatre. In 1954 the name was again changed, to National Theatre of the Bosnian Krajina. From 1994 to January 1999 it was known as the Krajina National Theatre, before acquiring its present name of National Theatre of Republika Srpska.

The first major alterations to the building were carried out in 1959 to a design by Vladimir Dobrović(30), an architect from Sarajevo, when the stage was updated technically and the auditorium and interior were refurbished.

The building was badly damaged in the 1969 earthquake, rendering it unusable. The decision was quickly given by the city to repair, adapt and modernize the theatre(31). The second major repair and alteration works were carried out to a design by Vjenceslav Rihter(32).

The Petar Kočić chamber theatre, with seating for 77, was made during alterations in 2004. Over the years the use of some of its functional parts and the name of the building changed. 

From 1935 it was known as the Banate Theatre of King Petar I the Great Liberator(33).

It is now used by the National Theatre of RS with the exception of part of the first and second floors, which are leased to Siemens.

 

2. Description of the property

The theatre, a free-standing building, is located in the city centre. Its general architectural expression is in the Bauhaus style, except for the entrance area which has certain neo-Classical features, and the two reliefs flanking the entrance, which are in the national revival style. The shape of the site dictated the position and shape of the building at the end of the block. It is a corner block of irregular ground plan, almost rectangular with rounded corners at the front. It stands lengthwise along Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića and Bana Milosavljevića Streets.

The building has four entrances:

-       the main public entrance, facing the small square and green areas

-       a side entrance for the public facing Bana Milosavljevića and Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Streets, also used as the entrance to the Petar Kočić Chamber Theatre

-       the rear or tradesmen’s entrance from Bana Milosavljevića Street.

The building has essentially retained its original appearance in the seventy years since it was built, from the original multipurpose building to its present use purely as a theatre, the result of a succession of alterations. The exterior of the theatre reflects the functional layout of the building.

The building is 52.50 m long and 35.15 m wide measured on the outside. The classic system of solid walls was used, with the main structural system a linear one of walls 50 cm thick as the primary structural elements, on which the horizontal bearing elements are carried. The interior structural walls are also 50 cm thick. The building has a flat roof clad with concrete slabs.

The changing levels of the architectural volumes of the building derive from the different number of storeys in various parts of the building. It consists of a basement under part of the building, a ground floor and a first floor, with the later addition of a second storey over the ground floor entrance area of the building. This additional storey rises above the original building to the height of five storeys.

The interior has undergone a succession of alterations to connect the public with the auditorium and the stage, thereby resolving these two crucial problems of a theatre.

The layout and form of the theatre were dictated by the centralized nature of the building, with the main auditorium and stage as the principal function, around which the other functional units were laid out. Performances are also held in the Petar Kočić chamber theatre.

The main auditorium, which extends through the ground and first floors and rises slightly above first-floor level, is flanked by two wings, laid out with corridors, staircases and ancillary premises. The ground and first floor have the same footprint, but the second floor over the ground-floor entrance and foyer has a smaller footprint. This later addition to the building rises over the second floor of the building and sis partly above the first floor of the theatre.

The basement, which lies beneath the stage and part of the auditorium and flanking corridors, contains the stage machinery and ancillary facilities – storerooms and workshops.

The central section of the ground floor, which is functionally the most important storey, is occupied by the main auditorium and the principal stage, which rises through two storeys. A proscenium separates the public from the stage. Both the auditorium and the stage are equipped appropriately. The wings flanking the stage longitudinally contain the actors’ dressing rooms and other facilities. To the north-east of the main stage is the entrance area, with the ticket offices, spectators’ cloakroom, staircases and foyer.

The large theatre, lying with its long axis northeast-southwest, consists of the auditorium and the stage. The auditorium, which is horseshoe-shaped, fanning out slightly wider than the stage towards the foyer, consists of the stalls and balcony. The stage is 20.13 m long and 9.80 m wide at the proscenium. The radius of the rounded section is about 13.30 m. The large theatre has a seating capacity of 318; 239 in the stalls, in 14 rows of seats, 57 on the balcony, with three rows of seats, twelve in the box, and ten in the ceremonial box. The auditorium is entered from the north-east, from the foyer area, through double doors at the sides of the auditorium, with a masonry opening of 160 x 227 cm and a daylight opening of 148 x 210 cm. In addition, there is a ground-floor door on each side of the large theatre leading to the corridors and spectators’ toilets.  The daylight width of these doors is 101 cm and height 225 cm.

The stage, consisting of the proscenium and ancillary facilities, is 11.75 m across and 14.25 m long, and is at a height of 1.58 m. The wings and actors’ dressing rooms are to the sides, and the props room is behind the stage. The stage and sets machinery is the proscenium where the performances are held, and the props room is in the extension to the building connected with the stage. The entrance to the props room is from Bana Milosavljevića Street, at a height of 95 cm, with a ramp enabling lorries to load and unload the stage sets.

The areas to the sides of the stage, at the beginning of the side corridors, contain props rooms and stage sets store rooms. The male actors’ dressing rooms are by the corridor along Bana Milosavljevića Street, and include an actors’ lounge directly connected with the stage and a toilet block and dressing rooms. The technicians’ room is behind the actors’ lounge.

The side wing along Kralja Petar I Karađorđevića Street houses the female actors’ dressing rooms, also connected with the stage via the actors’ lounge. Next to the lounge are the dressing rooms, make-up room, toilet block and stairs down to the basement, leading to the stage-machinery room.

The relationship between the public space and the interior of the building is articulated through the main entrance to the building, which is set back by 90 cm, with a flat canopy roof above, projecting out by about 3.00 m. The canopy is carried by pilasters with a radius of 30 cm and a height of 340 cm; between them and the side walls of the storm porch are three monumental portals. These doors, which have masonry openings of 241 x 148 cm and daylight openings of 140 x 231 cm, lead into a storm porch 4.37 m long and 5.50 m wide, with a ramp with three steps extending the full width to bring it level with the ground floor. The steps are 15 cm high and 32 cm wide. The ticket offices are housed in this part of the building, to either side.

The storm porch leads through three doors opposite the main entrance doors into the foyer and cloakrooms. These doors have masonry openings of 155 x 246 cm and daylight openings of 140 x 244 cm. The public cloakrooms are to the sides of the entrance. The part of the foyer next to Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Street contains a display of exhibits from the history of the building.

The public cloakrooms are next to the auditorium, and can be reached from the auditorium and the foyer.

The ground-floor ceiling varies in height from 320 cm in the foyer to 252 cm in the area outside the toilet blocks.

Triple-flight staircases lead to the first and second floors and the single flight down to the basement the main entrance, and are connected with the side entrances from Bana Milosavljevića and Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Streets.

The doorman’s booth is to one side of the storm porch of the side entrance, on the side nearest the main entrance, with on the other side the stairs down to the basement, which are 130 cm wide. 

Stairs with a width of 170 cm lead from the storm porch to the ground floor. This landing leads to the triple-flight staircases up to the first and second floors; these are 130 cm wide, with treads 32 cm wide and risers 15 cm high.

The staircase next to Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Street is used by the theatre, while the one next to Bana Milosavljevića Street is used by Siemens, which has premises off the side corridor on the first floor, facing the street.

The central part of the first floor, reached via the staircase facing Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića, is occupied by the balcony of the auditorium, matching the stalls in shape and size, with boxes and seating laid out gallery-style.

The side corridor beside Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Street houses the theatre office, and the one beside Bana Milosavljevića Street is leased to Siemens, reached by the staircase beside the latter street.

Above the entrance area is a foyer laid out like a club with refreshment facilities; a narrow corridor separates it from the premises housing the sound and light stage equipment beside the auditorium.

The second floor houses the Petar Kočić chamber theatre, with a small foyer and toilet block. The area corresponding to the auditorium of the main theatre contains the actors’ dressing rooms, props room and equipment storerooms, separated from the chamber theatre by a corridor. The machinery room is behind the auditorium, and the stage sets rooms are behind the stage.

When the building was altered after the great earthquake of 1969, the extension was added which is used for preparing stage sets and the props room. This part of the building is more than two storeys high, with part of it built over the topmost storey of the theatre. 

The National Theatre building introduced features of a local interpretation of modern architecture, reflected in its clean, straight lines. The concept was not carried through fully, since the influence of the neo-Classical style is still visible in the symmetrical composition and, in particular, the treatment of the entrance portico. The accentuated geometrical segments of the building are free of decorative mouldings, except on the entrance façade.

In spatial terms, the building largely corresponds to the dimensions of the buildings in its immediate vicinity.

The entrance façade is the dominant feature, characterized by symmetry, the accentuation of the entrance itself, and the dynamism of form expressed by the stepped levels, executed by setting back part of the façade and by the levels at different heights. The central section of the façade, which is rectangular, dominates in height and projects outward the most. To each side are two lower rectangular sections that are set back, these flanked in turn by the ends of the building, which are the lowest and most set-back sections and are also curved. This cubist design of the first and second floors is intersected at ground-floor level by a vertical section projecting outwards towards the open public space, which supports the entrance area. A monochromatic composition of stone slabs and the white-rendered façades accentuates the entrance.

The entire façade is dominated by the entrance porch, with neo-Classical features, midway along the façade. The porch is covered by a canopy roof projecting outwards. The entrance is flanked on either side by matching folklore-style relief decorations set in rectangular panels, with work of Dragutin Karlo Medenjak Inkostri(34), who studied the applied arts in Florence. He was also engaged to decorate the interior.

The entrance façade has three ranks of windows, three at ground-floor and three at first-floor level on the curved ends, and a row of windows on the first floor. Two identical windows were also added to the recessed sections at first-floor level. The second floor has three identical windows, echoed on the first floor. These are flanked on the recessed side sections of the first floor by another two identical windows on either side. This part of the façade has two ranks each of three windows corresponding to those of the first and second floors. The windows on the curved ends of the building, with two ranks each of three windows, are also arrayed in perfect symmetry.

The longitudinal side façades are treated almost identically, with the façades articulated horizontally and the horizontal continuity interrupted by the accent on the staircases. The façade planes are simply rendered and painted in pale tones. Slight horizontal lines echo the band of the window openings set at equal distances apart.

The southwest façade is wholly neutral, with the foreground occupied by the extension. This has five ranks each of two windows.

The building has two kinds of window: the single-light windows of the basement, and the three-light windows of the rest of the building, each with a horizontal overlight. These windows have a masonry opening of 160 cm wide by 204 cm high.

 

3. Legal status to date

The property was subjected to statutory protection as a cultural property pursuant to ruling nol. 496/86 of 18 July 1986(35).

The documentation provided by the Banja Luka administration, department of spatial planning, reveals that the property was listed as cultural heritage by the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage, under serial no. 6, and is located in protection zone I(36).

 

4. Research and conservation-restoration works

The building has been altered on several occasions to suit its changing uses. The original blueprints held in the RS Archives reveals that the building has essentially retained its original concept.

The following major works have been carried out on the building over the years:

-       general refurbishment of the auditorium to designs by Vladimir Dubrović, and technical modernization of the stage in 1959

-       reconstruction of the building following the 1969 earthquake, to a design by Zagreb-based architect and sculptor Vjenceslav Rihter

-       repairs to the building in 2004/05(37).

The relevant RS institutions (Archives of RS and Banja Luka City Authority) notified the Commission that they have no written details of these interventions.

 

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of an on site inspection conducted on 12 December 2011 are as follows:

-       the building is in stable structural condition

-       the façades have retained their original appearance and materials

-       repairs have been carried out on certain parts of the interior

-       no cracks or other damage was observed that could pose a threat to the building’s stability.

 

III – CONCLUSION

Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.         Time frame

B.         Historical value

C.         Artistic and aesthetic value

C.i.       quality of workmanship

C.ii.      quality of materials

C.iii.      proportions

C.iv.     composition

C.vi.     value of construction

D.         Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)

D.iii.     work of a major artist or builder

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

D.v.      evidence of a typical way of life at a specific period

F.         Townscape/ Landscape value

F.i.       relation to other elements of the site

F.ii.       meaning in the townscape

F.iii.      the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.ii.      material and content

G.v.      location and setting

G.vi.     spirit and feeling

 

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-       Ownership documentation

-         copy of cadastral details for c.p. 3355/1 and 3355/2 c.m. Banja Luka VII (new survey), c.p. 14/1; 14/4; 14/5; 14/22; 14/27; 14/28 c.m. Banja Luka (old survey)  issued on 22 December 2011

-       Photodocumentation

-         photographs of the National Theatre in Banja Luka taken on 16 March 2012 by Milka Grujić using Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H10 digital camera

-       Other documentation

-         architectural survey of the National Theatre in Banja Luka conducted by and drawings produced by architects Milka Grujić and Nermina Katkić

 

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the property as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

 

1965.    Basler, Đuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr Jovan and Tihić Smail. Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote (Bosnia and Herzegovina, sights and beauties). Beograd: Književne novine newspaper and publishing house, 1965.

 

1974.    Ravlić, Aleksandar. Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća (Banja Luka, ages and centuries). Mladost newspaper and publishing house, 1974.

 

1996.    Ševo, Liljana. Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke (Urban development of Banja Luka), ed. Ljiljana Ševo. Banja Luka: Municipality Banja Luka, Institute for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Monuments of Banja Luka , 1996.

 

2004.    Pejašinović, Zoran. Ban Milosavljević čovjek koji je Banjoj Luci obistinio ime (Ban Milosavljević, the man who put Banja Luka on the map). Banja Luka: Narodna i univerzitetska biblioteka republike Srpske Banja Luka , 2004.

 

2006.    Vidaković, R. Siniša. Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941) (Architecture of public buildings in Banja Luka, 1918-1941). Banja Luka: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Republike Srpske,  Banja Luka, BiH,  January 2006.

 

(1) For more on the history of Banja Luka, see the decisions designating the historic site of Kastel fort, the architectural ensemble of the Ferhadija Mosque, and the architectural ensemble of the Baths in Ilidža mahala in Gornji Šeher as national monuments.

(2) Basler, Djuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr. Jovan and Tihić Smail, Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote, published by Književne novine publishing house Beograd, Francuska 7 1965, 273-276

(3) “There can be no doubt that the Roman road ran through present-day Banja Luka, and that a staging post took shape where the town is now located, with military and civilian facilities. Both the Antonini Itinerarium and the Tabula Peutingeriana, which give details of the stations and distances on the Salona to Servicium road and locate their positions, show the name Castra for the station between Lamatis and Ad fines. Most scholars studying the Salona to Servicium road believe that Castra was on the site of present-day Banja Luka.” (Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka, 1996)

(4) The earliest reference to the name Banja Luka dates from 1494, in a charter of Hungary’s King Vladislav II Jagelović, issued in Buda in Latin. At the time the Banja Luka fort was in the Jajce Banate, a Hungarian entity created immediately after the fall of the mediaeval Bosnian kingdom to the Ottomans in 1463… (Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996)

(5) “... It became the seat of the Bosnian sanjak at the beginning of the Ottoman period, and then of the pashaluk, until the early decades of the 17th century. During that period it developed as a fortified administrative and trade centre with several mahalas and more than 100 shops/workshops. Extensive use was also made by the Turks of the curative sulphur waters. By the end of the 16th century the town had already acquired piped water and two bridges, one of stone over the Crkvina brook and the other of wood over the River Vrbas. An arsenal was also built at that time, and later converted into a fortress, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times....”  Basler, Djuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr. Jovan and Tihić Smail, Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote, published by Književne novine publishing house Beograd, Francuska 7, 1965.

(6) “... A primary school seminary was opened, where Vasa Pelagić worked, and the Trappists set up their monastery in Delibašino Selo. Towards the end of the century the first railway line from Banja Luka came into use (1873), and a few years earlier Banja Luka was linked with Sarajevo by telegraph. It is also worth noting that for not quite a decade an Austrian consular agent was based in Banja Luka...” (Basler, Djuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr. Jovan and Tihić Smail, Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote, published by Književne novine publishing house Beograd, Francuska 7, 1965)

(7) Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996, 73-75.

(8) “An important factor in the layout of a certain of a mixed trade-artisanal and residential character, now known as Gospodska Street, the Albanija building – one of the town’s largest corner buildings, which dictated the layout of a number of shopping streets – was built by a merchant, Toma Radulović, in 1863. It is marked on the geodetic plan of present-day Gospodska Street, on the left hand side, where there is now a high-rise building. The first floor of the Albanija once housed the Austrian consulate. The building was demolished after World War II. The geodetic plan shows that Gospodska Street was already being built up.  One side was lined with wooden buildings, soon to be converted into solidly built edifices. At the other end of the street, the 1880-1884 plan shows the post office, in which a Serb Reading Room would be opened in 1879. Photographs show that both the Albanija and the Serb Reading Room (post office) had features of traditional architecture. Between these two points a row of workshops was built, initially plain single-storey or small two-storey buildings with windows mainly fitted with wooden or iron shutters. Many had eaves, and were in a style that blended in with the traditional way of building in the old Čaršija, around the Ferhad-pasha mosque.” (Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996)

(9) Basler, Djuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr. Jovan and Tihić Smail, Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote, published by Književne novine publishing house Beograd, Francuska 7, 1965, 275 and 276.

(10) “In the Austro-Hungarian period Banja Luka underwent a decisive transformation from an oriental-type town in which there were only few European-style buildings prior to 1878 into a modern urban centre.” (Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996)

(11) Basler, Djuro, Bešlagić Šefik, Miličević Dr. Jovan and Tihić Smail, Bosna i Hercegovina znamenitosti i ljepote, published by Književne novine publishing house Beograd, Francuska 7, 1965, 275.

(12) Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996, 147 and 148.

(13) After World War I the first major construction in Banja Luka was that of the Orthodox Cathedral Church in the city centre, on a vacant plot in front of the Balkan coffee-house. The church was designed by Dušan Živanović, an architect from Belgrade. It is a mature and very fine architectural design, suggesting that the design was preceded by a competition. The comprehensive project and photographic documentation that still survives indicates that the spatial and architectural design of the church largely influenced the formation of a single square, in which the church in the middle and its surrounding areas create the clear impression of a city centre. With its central position, bounded on one side by the Istanbul road and on the other by Gospodska Street, between the Albanija building and the military HQ, the church was the key spot for the further layout of the city centre. (Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka, 1996)

(14) Ševo, Liljana, Urbanistički razvoj Banje Luke, ed. Ljiljana Ševo, Banja Luka: Opština Banja Luka Zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture i prirode Banja Luka , 1996, 148-154.

(15) Vidaković, R. Siniša, Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941), op.cit, Banja Luka: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Republike Srpske,  Banja Luka, BiH,  January 2006, 93.

(16) Pejašinović, Zoran, Ban Milosavljević čovjek koji je banjoj Luci obistinio ime, Banja Luka: Narodna i univerzitetska biblioteka republike Srpske Banja Luka, 2004, 66.

(17) “...the chairman of the board of the Actors’ Association of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Božo Nikolić, his colleague Dušan Radaković, and the stage manager of the National Theatre in Banja Luka.” (Pejašinović, Zoran, Ban Milosavljević čovjek koji je banjoj Luci obistinio ime, Banja Luka: Narodna i univerzitetska biblioteka republike Srpske Banja Luka, 2004, 66)

(18) Official Gazette of the Vrbas Banate no. 40, Banja Luka 28 August 1930.

(19) Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941): On his return from Belgrade, Svetislav Tisa Milosavljević made a statement to the press in which he spoke about founding a theatre. “I have contacted the relevant actors with a view to founding a permanent Banate theatre in Banja Luka, a long-felt need.  Steps have already been taken to choose the artists and the wardrobe needed to begin working in the theatre. We shall obtain part of the theatre wardrobe from Belgrade, and some from Zagreb and Ljubljana.” (Vidaković, R. Siniša, Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941), op.cit., Banja Luka: Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Republike Srpske,  Banja Luka, BiH,  January 2006)

(20) Much as was the case in Sarajevo, where Hatji Makso Despić’s house was used at first for theatre performances (for more on the performing arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina see the Decision designating the Despić house in Sarajevo).

(21) Ševo, Ljiljana, Zlatno doba Bana Milosavljevića, from 70 sezona, Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća, Banja Luka: Narodno pozorište Republike Srpske, GRAFID, 1999.

(22) Politički, privredni i prosvetni pregled Vrbaske banovine yr. V, no. 26, Banja Luka: Friday 7 April 1933

(23) Ibid.

(24) Politički, privredni i prosvetni pregled službenog lista Vrbaske banovine, yr V, no 102 , p. 6 

(25) Dragutin Medenjak Inkostri (Split, 18 October 1886-Belgrade, 16 September 1942). Decorator and painter, collector of vernacular ornaments and handicrafts, based on which he sought to found national decorative styles. He was born in Split as Karlo Inkotri, changing his name to Dragutin when he moved to Belgrade, and adding his mother’s surname Medenjak to his father’s name Inkostri. He attended primary school and five grades of grammar school before dedicating himself to art, initially self-taught (1885-1892) and then in Florence. He then travelled around Yugoslavia, collecting folk designs and church murals. He came to Belgrade in late 1904, remaining there until 1911, decorating many major buildings. By 1912 he was in Bosnia, where he made patriotic posters and was persecuted by the Austrian authorities. He spent World War I in Italy and Trieste, then lived for a while in Ljubljana, before returning to Belgrade in 1923.  He worked at establishing original Yugoslav decorative styles. His principal work of theory is Moja teorija o dekorativnoj srpskoj umjetnosti i njenoj primjeni (1925). One of his most important works was the refurbishment of the interior of the Vuk foundation Centre (then the Ministry of Education building) in Belgrade in 1912.

(26) Ravlić, Aleksandar, Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća, Mladost newspaper and printing house, 1974, 300.

(27) Politički, privredni i prosvetni pregled Vrbaske banovine yr. V1, no. 558, Banja Luka: Tuesday 13 November.

(28) Spiridon Špiro Bocarić was born in Budva on 24 May 1876 to a merchant family. He demonstrated a liking for painting at a young age, and received his first lessons from the age of 12 from his older brother Anastas, also a painter. In 1984 he studied at the Scuola di Disegno in Venice, where enrolled at the Regio Instituto de Belle Arti in 1895. From Venice he went to Novi Sad, before joining his brother Anastas, who was working in Mostar and Sarajevo, in 1896. Anastas stayed in Bosnia for only a short time, but Špiro remained there for the rest of his life, living in Sarajevo from 1897 to 1914 and then in Banja Luka, where he was killed by Ustasha in 1941. 

The Sarajevo City Museum holds official portraits of lord mayors of Sarajevo Mustaj-beg Fadilpašić and Nezir ef. Škaljić, along with a number of portraits of wealthy Sarajevo families, which are among his best works artistically and in terms of quality. His portraits of metropolitans of Dabar-Bosna Antim Krk, Nikolaj Mandić and Evgenije Letica are also in Sarajevo, the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Another of Špiro Bacarić’s better works is the portrait of the boy Beluše Jungić.

Špiro Bocarić was not only a painter, but also a publicist, interesting in studying vernacular arts and crafts.  It was thanks to his acquaintance with Petar Kočić, and hearing his stories of the Bosnian Krajina, that he came to Banja Luka from Sarajevo in 1914.

The Museum of Republika Srpska now holds about 57 of his paintings, including a collection of portraits of insurgents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and another of prominent citizens of Banja Luka, as well as a number of paintings of scenes from everyday life.

When the Museum of the Vrbas Banate was founded in 1930, Špiro Bocarić became its first director. As well as painting, he was interested in ethnography, numismatics, palaeontology, mineralogy and, in particular, photography. His photographs remain an invaluable record of old Bosnian architecture and the people of his time, and he also made a documentary film, Gradovi i predjeli Vrbaske banovine.

Špiro Bocarić also issued the first tourist guide to the Vrbas Banate, with illustrations and text in English, German, French and Serbian. His monograph Narodna ornamentika Vrbaske banovine was ready for the press just before the outbreak of war in 1914 and was luckily preserved, to be published in 1997. Ljubica Mladenović made an important contribution to the work of Špiro Bocarić in Građansko slikarstvo u Bosni i Hercegovini i XIX veku, Sarajevo 1982, exhibition catalogue of portraits of old Sarajevo citizens, 1968, as have Vidosava Husedžinović and Ivanka Bilić (Monografija, Banja Luka: Glas srpski, 1977)

(29) Ravlić, Aleksandar, Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća, Mladost newspaper and printing house, 1974, 300.

(30) Vladimir Dobrović, architect from Sarajevo, whose first period as an architect was from 1959 and 1965, when the architectural scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina was abandoned by a number of Yugoslav architects who had been working in the country pursuant to the planned distribution of cadres. In the years that followed, a new generation of local architects trained at the Faculty of Technology or the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism in Sarajevo made a significant contribution to architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Prominent among them was Vladimir Dobrović, whose works include the alterations to the National Theatre in Banja Luka, the winning entry to the competition for an initial design for a mixed-use building in Prijedor in 1964, the Privredna Banka in Jajce to a sketch by Seat Hajić in 1971, the building housing the city’s socio-political organization in 1980, and the building in Sarajevo housing the city’s socio-political organizations.

(31) Ravlić, Aleksandar, Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća, Mladost newspaper and printing house, 1974, 299.

(32) Vjenceslav Rihter (Donja Drenova nr. Sv Ivan Zelina, 8 April 1917-Zagreb, 2 December 2002, one of Croatia’s leading 20th century architects. He also practised other visual arts (sculpture, painting, graphics, stage design), and has left a significant oeuvre in those disciplines; of particular note, too, is his contribution to theoretical research and debate on the arts. He graduated in 1949 under architect Zdenko Strižić at the architecture department of the Faculty of Technology of Zagreb University.

(33) Ravlić, Aleksandar, Banja Luka razdoblja i stoljeća, Mladost newspaper and printing house, 1974, 297.

(34) “Dragutin Inkostri’s works (reliefs to right and left of the entrance) and part of the lintel from the entrance to the Museum (now kept in the Museum of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka), reveal his great interest in folklore and folklore motifs, as well as the narrative background to his works. He is extremely realistic and descriptive in his representative of motifs, and striking in his verism to theatre and other consumers. As well as folklorism, there are hints of the Secession in his works.” Vidaković, R. Siniša, Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941), Banja Luka: ANU Republika Srpska, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 2006.

(35) This document also prescribes the protection measures for the property:

-       restoration

-       routine maintenance

(36)     

(37) Vidaković, R. Siniša, Arhitektura javnih objekata u Banjaluci (1918-1941), Banja Luka: ANU RS, Banja Luka, January 2006.

 

 



National Theatre Northeast facade Entrance Southeast facade - side entrance
Interior - The large theatreAuditoriumStageFoyer
FoyerClub Dressing room 


BiH jezici 
Commision to preserve national monuments © 2003. Design & Dev.: