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.
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