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 its 55th session held from 6 to 8 November 2012 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The historic building of the First Post Office in Brčko is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 80 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos. 7/68 and 7/241 (old survey), cadastral municipality Brčko 1, Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: Brčko District), 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 Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina no. 2/02 and 19/07).

II

The Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of Brčko District) 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 Government of Brčko District shall be responsible for providing the funds to draft and implement the necessary technical documentation for the protection, conservation, restoration and presentation of the National Monument.

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

III

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

-       all works are prohibited other than conservation-restoration works, routine maintenance works, works designed for the presentation of the National Monument and works designed to ensure the sustainable use of the property;

-       the conservation-restoration works shall include the conservation and restoration of the property and the reconstruction of missing parts;

-       all methods and degrees of intervention must be identifiable and may be carried out only on the basis of approved documentation;

-       all later accretions shall be removed;

-       prior to embarking on the conservation-restoration works, a detailed survey of the property shall be conducted, along with investigative works to include an analysis of the buildingmaterials and the type and colour of the original colour of the exterior façade walls;

-       the conservation-restoration project must be based on the detailed survey of the property, and shall include a methodological approach designed to preserve the historical values of the property;

-       the original appearance of the building shall be preserved as regards the treatment of architectural details, the colour of the walls, the treatment of the façades, the construction of the building and pitch of the roof and the type of roof cladding; changes to its stylistic features by the removal or addition of decorative elements and architectural details (stone and other mouldings, door lintels, string courses and cornices, etc.) are prohibited;

-       during the conservation-restoration works, original materials and original methods of treatment of the materials and binders shall be applied wherever possible;

-       the mainly public use of the building shall be retained as far as possible. By way of exception, a change of use for catering, educational or cultural purposes may be permitted provided that the new use does not compromise the authenticity of the historic building;

-       all works on the National Monument must be carried out pursuant to the approval of the ministry or government department responsible for spatial planning in Brčko District and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority;

-       a project to lay out the courtyard/garden area of the building shall be produced, with urban furniture and appropriate landscaping, without the erection of physical or visual barriers;

-       a programme for the presentation of the National Monument shall be produced and implemented;

-       a project to floodlight the National Monument shall be produced and implemented;

-       the erection of temporary or permanent structures not designed solely for the protection and presentation of the National Monument is prohibited;

-       on the adjoining plots, c.p. nos. 81, 77/1, 79, 83/1, 75, 73/3, 73/1:

-         the erection of new buildings that could compromise the National Monument in size, appearance or other manner is prohibited, as are alterations to the footprint and height of existing buildings;

-         existing buildings may be repaired or adapted provided that their existing footprint and height are retained (all buildings on which repair and alteration works are carried out must observe the building line of the adjacent buildings at ground- and upper-floor levels);

-         the proportions and colour scheme of the buildings shall not clash with those of townscape value;

-         the erection of advertisement hoardings, notice boards or signs that could compromise the overall appearance of the architectural ensemble and its setting 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 Brčko District, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.

VI

The Government of Brčko District, the authority responsible for regional planning in Brčko District and, the heritage protection authority shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

VII

The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.kons.gov.ba)

VIII

Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

IX

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

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

No. 06.3-2.3-73/12-39    

November 2012                        

Sarajevo

Chair of the Commission

Ljiljana Ševo

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.

The Commission issued a decision to add the First Post Office in Brčko to the Provisional List of National Monuments under serial no. 144.

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

For Brčko, the establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the start of rapid development, in which the town was strongly influenced by Habsburg architecture and culture. By the end of the 19th century the layout of the town had been transformed, with streets laid out orthogonally replacing the organically-shaped mahalas and čaršija. A new kind of “čaršija” also took shape, with buildings combining both functions, shops on the ground floor and flats above.

One of the quarters representing the new style of architecture and urban planning concept was the business and crafts centre of the quarter known as Kolobara, in the heart of the old town, with public, commercial and private mixed-use buildings.

The First Post Office is an L-shaped building with noticeably symmetrical wings, a unique layout in Kolobara, Brčko. It is a relatively large building, and at the time it was built, it was one of the principal visual accents in the Kolobara townscape.

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 state of the property

-       a copy of the cadastral plan

-       a copy of the Land Register entry

-       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 the following letters requesting documentation and views on the designation of the First Post Office in Brčko as a national monument to:

-       the Government of Brčko District of BiH (Lord Mayor; Planning; Cadaster), letter ref. 07.1-35.2-5/12-2 of 16 August 2012

-       the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Archives of BiH, letter ref. 07.1-35.2-5/12-147 of 16 August 2012

During the preparation of this Decision the following letters relating to the designation of the First Post Office in Brčko as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina were received by the Commission from:

-       Lukas co. Brčko, owner of the property, letter dated 25 September 2009 requesting that the First Post Office be removed from the Provisional List, being in very poor condition, and expressing the intention to replace it by a modern mixed-use multi-storey building (basement, ground floor, four upper storeys, mansarde)

-       the Government of Brčko District, Lord Mayor’s office, letter ref. 01.1-39-032129/09 dated 6 October 2009, requesting that the First Post Office be removed from the Provisional List, being in very poor condition

-       the Government of Brčko District of BiH, Public Register Dept, cadastre section, supplying a copy of the cadastral plan for the First Post Office, letter ref. 10-0270RN-02/12 of 13 January 2012

-       the Government of Brčko District, Department of Spatial Planning and Proprietary Rights, supplying cadastral details for the First Post Office, letter ref. 06-0341SC-005/12 of 24 July 2012

-       the Institute for the Protection of Monuments under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, letter ref. 07-40-4-4989-1/12 of 31 August 2012 notifying the Commission that the First Post Office in Brčko was listed but not protected by the Institute, and that the Institute has no documentation on the property

-       the Government of Brčko District, Department of Spatial Planning and Proprietary Rights, letter ref. 06-0341SC-007/12 of 25 September 2012 requesting that the Commission delete the First Post Office from the Provisional List

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

Brčko: 44.87°N; 18.81°E.

Brčko town is in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the confluence of the Brka and Sava rivers, at an altitude of 96 m.

The First Post Office is in the residential quarter known as Kolobara, about 400 m from the Brčko pedestrian zone, on the River Sava bank. The plot on which it stands has an area of approx. 1400 m2.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 80 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. nos. 7/68 and 7/241 (old survey), cadastral municipality Brčko 1, Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: Brčko District), Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The principal pedestrian access to the building is from Islahijet St. to the north-east. The building is L-shaped in plan.

Historical background

Brčko has been inhabited without a break since prehistoric times. This is corroborated by the discovery of the remains of Roman tombstones and glass paste artifacts on the site around the Atik mosque.

Historians believe that the Bosnian Posavina (Sava valley region) came under Ottoman rule only in 1526, much later than the rest of the mediaeval Bosnian state.

Relatively little is known of the Brčko region in the past, particularly as regards population movements. “It is a known fact that almost none of the population living here before the seventeenth century is now present in the Posavina as a whole.” (1) The paucity of information is due largely to the constant warfare at a time when the River Sava was the frontier in the struggle between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires for supremacy.

“Immediately after conquering Bosnia, Turkey carried out a new administrative division of the country. The one-time Usora district and the areas to the east became the Zvornik sanjak, which included the Bosnian Posavina. There were already some major forts in north-eastern Bosnia, between the Drina and Bosna rivers: Srebrenik, Gradačac, Teočak and Sokograd. When the Turkish borders were pushed back to the Sava, the Porte began to build additional forts. Four of these were between Šabac upstream along the Sava to the confluence with the Bosna, a larger one in Šabac and three smaller ones in the Zvornik sanjak: Noćaj, facing Sremska Mitrovica; Novi, near Brezovo Polje, and Brčko. All three small forts were built in the first half of the 16th century, mainly of brick, and garrisoned with ulefedžijas(2). They were wiped out during the Austro-Hungarian or Vienna war, which was followed by major changes in the Bosnian Posavina...

Brčko with its garrison is mentioned in every Turkish census from the mid 16th to the late 17th century. It formed part of the sanjak-bey’s has(3), together with Zvornik, Srebrenica, Noćaj, Srebrenik, Teočak, Gradačac, Soko and Šabac. As the Turkish frontier shifted northwards to Srem and Slavonia, Brčko and Novi ceased to be frontier forts. Nothing now remains of the fortifications in Brčko. In the 16th century they were probably located at the confluence of the Brka and Sava rivers, hence the name of the town. . .”(4)

The earliest reference to Brčko as a toponym, according to one source, is in 1548(5). In 1560 the Flemish geographer Gerhard Kremer (Mercator) recorded the name Barka for a settlement on the banks of the River Sava.

“Brčko underwent a surge in development in the latter half of the 16th century, for largely strategic and transport reasons. The transit of goods and people to and from Slavonia through Brčko saw a revival, and in consequence the township on the outskirts of the fort began to spread, increasingly taking on the features of an urban settlement.

It was referred to as a varoš in about 1600, where the Muslim inhabitants (about 35 households) acquired kasablija privileges(6). It would seem that it had met the conditions for the status of a kasaba. A mosque was built in the township, and a market day was introduced, as in other kasabas.

In the latter half of the 16th century, Brčko was fortified with palisades, a moat and a wall around the kasaba or mahala with the čaršija.”(7)

By 1620 Brčko featured in one of the descriptions of the Bosnian pashaluk.(8)

A Venetian description of Bosnia dating from 1628 refers to a place known as Barchi (Brčko). In 1642 the people of Brčko were exempted from paying dues and performing hard labour, in exchange for conveying people and goods free of charge and protecting the Sava river-crossing.(9) This privilege was renewed in 1644.(10)  

Bishop Fr. Marijan Maravić’s 1645 report to Pope Innocent X refers to Barrcka (Brčko) with 150 households and three mosques(11), and De Vittorio’s 1650 map of the Hungarian lands shows Barka by the River Sava.

Brčko was taken in September 1688 by Ludwig of Baden and an Austrian army, when a pontoon bridge was thrown across the River Sava, only to be destroyed by heavy rain in November. A new pontoon bridge was constructed in April 1689, and in June Ludwig of Baden and his army left Brčko; in the autumn of 1689 the Ottomans torched Brčko Fort and the town. The Austrian colonel Perčinlija took Brčko in 1692, and the Brčko redoubt was reestablished.

The 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz brought the war between Austria and Turkey to a close, with Brčko again coming under Turkish rule(12), whereupon the Muslim population returned to the Brčko redoubt. Well aware that Austria would not be satisfied merely with driving the Turks out of Slavonia and Vojvodina, Turkey proceeded to reinforce and guard its frontiers more effectively, beginning in 1700, just a year after the Treaty of Karlowitz. New forts were built, old, long-abandoned ones were restored to use, and new captaincies were formed. Not only the frontier, but also the roads leading to the interior of Bosnia were fortified.(13) “Repairs to houses and mosques began at once, and continued until the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz, when Austria occupied a narrow strip along the right bank of the Sava, including the Brčko redoubt.”(14)

Brčko experienced a surge in development until 1716, when two public baths, a tower, a mosque and several houses were built.(15) But the town was reduced to rubble during Charles VI’s first war with the Porte (1716-1718), and remained in Austrian hands after the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz. “Following these events, as described, Brčko was left in ruins, among which the frontiersmen of Rajevo Selo pastured their animals or cultivated the plots between the old cobbled streets, burned-down hammams, towers and mosques.”(16) The town was again slowly rebuilt after 1718, and more and more Christians returned to the Bosnian Posavina.

“When the River Sava became the border between Austria and Turkey under the terms of the 1739 Treaty of Belgrade, the Bosnian Posavina again came under Turkish rule. Peace reigned from 1743 to 1786, . . . allowing for the people of these parts to remain in their original settlements along the Sava and to farm the land, raising crops and breeding livestock. The predominantly crafts-based economy of the towns also revived, particularly in Brčko.

In the 18th century, Brčko was a redoubt with a substantial wooden palisade surrounded by a moat. Above the entrance to the redoubt were čardaks(17) built of oak. . . During the 18th century a ferry operated in Brčko, for which mukata bađa (a ferry fee) was charged. According to the imperial census, the duty for the ferry crossing was called đumruk, and was charged on goods being transported abroad. The land đumruk here was held by one Mehmedaga, the first certain ancestor of Husejn-captain Gradaščević. The outskirts of the Brčko redoubt were owned by the captains of Tuzla.”(18)

A number of mahalas took shape in the town in about 1820: the Atik [old], Džedid [new], Varoš, Karanfil (on the right bank of the Brka) and Kolobara mahalas (on the left bank of the Brka).

Its location by the Sava gave the town a further boost when the Danube Steamboat Company was founded in 1830 and one of Bosnia’s most important customs houses was located in Brčko. The company had its own agency and docks in Brčko, making the town a major river port and further accelerating the development of trade.

As a result, in the 1860s Brčko was the leading Posavina town and major hub, its ferry linking it with Austria. By 1865 an Austrian consular agent was based in Brčko, representing Austrian merchants before the Turkish authorities in dispute resolution and stamping the passports of Austrian subjects in the Ottoman Empire.(19)  

Brčko’s rapid growth prompted the Austrian government to move its vice-consulate from Tuzla to Brčko in 1865.

The telegraph came to Brčko in September 1869, linking the town with Sarajevo, and the following year, on 2 April 1870, Brčko acquired its own Post Office(20). Integrating Brčko into the post and telegraph system prompted the residents of the town to demand that they also be linked to post and telegraph systems in other countries. The merchant class of Brčko were particularly vocal in their demands. In 1870 Brčko had a population of more than 3,000, making it a fair-sized town by the standards of the day. This is recorded in the minutes of the Vilayet Council in 1870, when delegates from the Zvornik sanjak called for Brčko, as a trade centre, to be linked by post and telegraph with Rajevo Selo in Slavonia, which would integrate it into the telegraph-telephone system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The delegates argued their case before the Vilayet Council in Sarajevo by pointing out that more than 150 telegrams were sent from Brčko, as a trade centre, to Austria every year. A 20-word telegram cost 20 groschen, they stated, and besides the cost, much time was wasted conveying the post from Brčko to Rajevo Selo. These facts indicate that Brčko’s merchants had already developed solid trade links with neighbouring Austria and, through it, with other European countries.(21)  

In 1878 the people of Brčko, led by kajmakam Mehmed-bey Ćerimagić and Niko Ristanić, mounted a fierce resistance to the Austro-Hungarian occupying forces, which entered the town on 18 September 1878. From then until 31 December 1879 Brčko was under martial law, and it was not until 1 January 1880 that civilian rule was introduced; even then, a sizeable military garrison remained in the town.(22)  

The establishment of Austro-Hungarian rule brought more rapid development to Brčko and the strong influence of the European life style and building techniques. Since the borders on the river Sava ceased to exist with the occupation, trade began to flourish, bringing prosperity to all spheres of life.

Brčko had never been a mediaeval fortified town, nor had the urban centre taken shape as a walled town; rather, it had grown up around the confluence of the Brka and Sava rivers, and was thus funnel-shaped in plan. The entire townscape was dominated by the tenets of the oriental Islamic tradition, but even in the mid 19th century and later, before the Austro-Hungarian occupation, Brčko had undergone a transformation dictated by the demands of the new bourgeois merchant class, or more accurately, by the needs of the great merchant families, whose names feature as owners of the big commercial properties on the “Austrian map.” The right bank of the Brka was largely unbuilt at that time, and the oriental layout survived to some extent on the left bank, where the street was not the defining feature but one that echoed the irregular layout of the mahalas. This part of the town thus retains the streetscape of 1882, with streets winding between buildings following the lie of the land, with no orthogonal layout or regard for the rules of geometry. The streets in question are those now known as Pante Pantelića, Islahijet, Rizaha Štetića, Danila Kiša, Suljagića sokak, Omerbašića, Braće Trebinjčević, Vasifa H. Zajčirević and A. Branka Šimića Streets, with Kantardžića Street following the line of the River Brka.

In the latter half of the 19th century, Brčko’s boom period, the Post Office was opened (the former Yugoslav River Shipping building)(23), a hospital was built in 1886 and the Central Library in 1892, and the Business Academy was opened in 1883. The iron railway bridge over the River Sava, 755 m long with 27 piers, was opened to traffic in 1894, linking Brčko by rail with Vinkovci in Croatia. The Posavina Hotel was also built at this time, along with schools, nursery schools, the post office, the hospital and banks.

The 1895 Austrian geodetic survey of Brčko reveals the new layout of the town, with an orthogonal street layout replacing the organically-formed mahalas and čaršija.

Electricity came to Brčko in 1900, and in the early 20th century the town had five hotels, six banks, a number of prune-drying ovens, a spirits industry, two sawmills and two brickworks.

“Given Brčko’s location on a major trade route, it is no wonder the economy developed so rapidly. Trade was of particular note in the early 19th century, mainly in the hands of Jewish settlers. In 1809 the French consul in Travnik, Pierre David, reported to his government that trade was conducted in Brčko in the European manner. Goods were obtained by means of bills of exchange. Merchants from the town went to Vienna, Trieste and Venice to purchase goods. There were merchants there from Mostar, Livno, Sarajevo and other towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who opened branches in Brčko to procure raw materials. A substantial merchant class of all confessions came into being, initially dominated by major merchant families such as the Krsmanović and Kojdić families. Then and later, prunes were a major export, for which the Bosnian Posavina and Brčko itself were famous throughout Europe. The first steam-powered mill was built during the Turkish period, replacing the water-mills of the countryside.”(24)

Even as the fighting was going on in 1878, military postal services were being set up in part of the occupied territories. In Brčko, which was occupied on 17 September, the 17th field post office was opened, with a staff of one, and by 27 October the first telegraph office was established, offering a round-the-clock service. The telegraph line linked Sarajevo with Zvornik, Tuzla and Bijeljina, while Brčko was linked with Croatia via Rajevo Selo. In 1879 a direct Osijek-Vinkovci-Brčko telegraph line was introduced. The central post office in Brčko had sub-post offices in Brezovo Polje, Bukvik, Ćelić, Koraj, Obudovac, Lopare and Rahić, most of them opened in 1912. They were abolished during the war, and replaced by Post-Haltestelle. In the final decade of Austro-Hungarian rule, travelling post-offices were introduced on the country’s major routes, including one on the Brčko-Vinkovci route. The post was taken by motor vehicle from Brčko to Tuzla, a service introduced in 1892, and by horse-drawn vehicle to Obudovac, Gornji Rahić and Bukvik.

Public telephones were introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1888, and a local telephone exchange was opened in Brčko in 1904, linked to eight towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A connection was Vinkovci was introduced in 1907, and Brčko was later connected to Sarajevo, Bijeljina and Tuzla. The list of telephone subscribers illustrates who was using the service in Brčko in 1913: the military and civilian authorities had seven of the 38 numbers, merchants, hotels and cafés had twelve, the banks ten, lawyers two, doctors and hospitals three, and factories and businesses four. Nothing is known of the development of PTT services in Brčko between 1918 and 1941. PTT services in pre-war Yugoslavia as a whole, and no doubt therefore in Brčko, were modernized rapidly to meet the growing needs of the economy and society.(25)  

The First Post Office in Brčko was placed under municipal protection in 1979 (spatial planning Decision, Brčko Municipality, “Building of the first old post office in Brčko – now the JRB building(26)), as recorded on a plaque mounted on the building by the Committee to Mark Cultural Monuments, Brčko, 1984. The programme for the protection, restoration and construction of monuments and memorials in Brčko Municipality from 1977 to 1987 required the Brčko Council and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Sarajevo to render decisions placing the properties under statutory protection, including the First Post Office in Brčko, then the JRB building, which required its regular maintenance, the erection of a plaque, and remedial works on the façade by 1987.

2. Description of the property

The Post Office is a single-storey L-shaped building, with two asymmetrical wings, with an overall area of 511 m2. It dominates the townscape as regards the formal treatment of the plot, and is one of the most important surviving buildings.

Access to the building’s two pedestrian entrances is from Islahijet St. and from Danila Kiša St. In addition, there is a traffic and pedestrian entrance to the courtyard and the building itself from Danila Kiša St, through a wide central passageway. The part of the building along Danila Kiša St. has a basement.

The north-east façade, facing onto Islahijet St. (wing 1), is about 34.5 m long, and the south-east façade, facing onto Danila Kiša St. (wing 2) is about 22 m long to the 4-m wide passageway. The inner courtyard has an area of 253 m2, with inner façades of approx. 24 m (wing 1) and 12 m (wing 2, to the passageway).

The building is of rendered brick, with a multi-paned roof clad with plain tiles.

The outer façades, facing onto the streets, are the more elaborate, while the inner façades, facing the courtyard, are completely plain. The main street fronts, in the historicist, neo-Renaissance manner, reflected in the regular rhythm of the fenestration and the pronounced roof cornice, are articulated by shallow bands executed in plaster. The moulded roof cornice projects outwards along the whole length of the building, and is fitted with typical guttering; below is a shallow frieze terminating in a horizontal plaster moulding, also extending along the full length of both street fronts. The roof cornice, frieze and horizontal moulding constitute the frame of the entire composition of the street fronts, accentuating the horizontality of the building, which is further enhanced by the succession of windows. An old photograph reveals that in 1914 this element was present only on the projecting angle of the building. There is another moulded string course below the windows. Continuity is achieved by extending this moulded string course along the entire length of the street fronts. All the string courses are plain, with no particular decorative elements. Above the socle, where the small rectangular basement windows on the side facing Danila Kiša St. are also to be seen, is the window parapet, above which are the two-light windows with overlights. The building is also articulated vertically by shallow rectangular pilasters with small moulded capitals, particularly on the angle of the building. All the mouldings are of plaster.

The north-east façade has fourteen openings, thirteen of which are windows: twelve set symmetrically, six on each side of the main pedestrian entrance, and the thirteenth corner window, accentuated by a extra moulding on the architrave, lintel and corresponding pilasters. Above this window is a linear cantilevered jutty about 50 cm from the upper edge of the window, resting on a decorative element of artificial stone. The south-east façade has seven windows, of which the three corner windows are accentuated by an extra moulding on the lintel, jambs and corresponding pilasters, forming a jutty of about 54 cm out from the wall face. Above these openings to are linear cantilevered jutties, of which the decorative supports (visible on the 1914 photographs) have not survived.

The original window openings have survived in part, set symmetrically at even distances apart and framed by moulded jambs, with the lintels accentuated on the corner jutty by a more pronounced moulding. Most of the woodwork is in very poor condition.

The structural system is massive, with solid brick walls. The ceiling joists are wooden, with board cladding. The roof is a classic timber-framed roof, gabled on each wing and clad with plain tiles.

The original render has fallen away from almost all the façades, or is in very poor condition with only fragments remaining. The structure and colour of the façade can be seen only from the few surviving areas. The rustic elements and moulded string courses have also survived only in part, and are badly damaged. The façades were rendered and painted.

The right-hand part of wing 1 was laid out as living quarters and is currently in use as such. It was not possible to enter the building, but given that the courtyard side of this part of the building has been much altered by the addition of store rooms, toilet blocks and entrance corridors, it is likely that the layout of this part of the building has also been altered, particularly on the courtyard side. The left-hand part of wing 1 is not in use and is currently in a state of neglect and dilapidation. Much the same is true of wing 2, which is also out of use. In these vacant parts of the building, the woodwork has been completely destroyed, the floors and ceilings are in very poor condition, and the walls are in a poor state. The floors are covered with litter and rubble. The part of wing 1 and wing 2 that are not designed as living quarters are in extremely poor condition through damage and disuse. There is no glass in the windows, leaving the building exposed to constant pollution.

The courtyard contains not only the extensions already mentioned but also a free-standing single-storey outbuilding, also vacant and in a state of dilapidation.

3. Legal status to date

The programme for the protection, restoration and construction of monuments and memorials in Brčko Municipality from 1977 to 1987, adopted by Brčko Council and the Assembly of the Self-Managed Cultural Society, required a proposal and explanation to be drafted and application made to Brčko Municipality and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments in Sarajevo to render decisions placing the properties under statutory protection, including the First Post Office in Brčko, then the JRB building, which required its regular maintenance, the erection of a plaque, and remedial works on the façade by 1987.

The First Post Office in Brčko was placed under municipal protection by Brčko Municipality pursuant to a spatial planning decision of 12 June 1979, Article 241, “Building of the first old post office in Brčko – now the JRB building,” which was designated as a built heritage monument of historical, cultural, architectural, artistic and scientific importance.

The First Post Office in Brčko is on the Provisional List of National Monuments of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments under serial no. 144.

In the Master Plan for Kolobara, Brčko, drawn up by the Town Planning Institute of BiH in Sarajevo, no 0-02-022-179/03, adopted on 29 May 2003, the First Post Office in Brčko is listed as a building of architectural value earmarked for revitalization and restoration, with the production of a planning project for the area where a group of cultural heritage properties are located (a number of properties on the Provisional List) within Kolobara, including the First Post Office.

The First Post Office in Brčko was valorized as a building of architectural value under the terms of the amended Urban Plan for Brčko (II), no. 0-02-022-96/07, adopted on 19 July 2007, and is located in the first protection zone, within the Kolobara townscape.(27)  

4. Research and conservation-restoration works

It is not known whether any conservation-restoration works have been carried out on the property.

5. Current condition of the property

The findings of an on-site inspection are that the building is in very poor condition as a result of exposure to the elements, dilapidation and neglect, posing a serious structural threat:

-       changes of use to parts of the building have resulted in alterations to the layout

-       the façades, particularly the street fronts, have been badly affected by exposure to the elements and neglect

-       the roof timbers are in poor condition and visibly deformed, particularly where damage to the cladding (tiles missing altogether, or old and cracked) leaves them exposed to damp

-       the roof flashings and guttering are in ruins

-       the socle is damaged in several places and the render has fallen away over large areas. There are no visible signs of deformation caused by damage to the foundations

-       the ceilings are deformed and have been completely destroyed in places; elsewhere there is evidence of water damage from the leaking roof. The ceiling joists are damaged in places

-       the brick-built chimneys have worked loose and some of the bricks are falling away

-       the original structure has been seriously compromised within the courtyard by extensions, alterations to the interior, the addition of pent roofs and new doors and windows

-       the original woodwork of the windows is still extant, mainly window frames without lights, but most of the woodwork is badly damaged as a result of neglect and exposure to the elements; in the part of the building that is in use, the woodwork has become dilapidated from lack of maintenance.

6. Specific risks

-       precipitation

-       rising damp

-       neglect

III – CONCLUSION

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

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.         Time frame

B.         Historical value

C.         Artistic and aesthetic value

C.iii.      proportions

C.iv.     composition

D.         Clarity

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

E.         Symbolic value

E.iii.      traditional value

F.         Townscape/ Landscape value

F.i.       relation to other elements of the site

F.ii.       meaning in the townscape

G.         Authenticity

G.i.       form and design

G.iv.     location and setting

I.          Completeness

I.i.         physical coherence

I.ii.        homogeneity

I.iii.       completeness

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

-       Copy of cadastral plan

-       Copy of land register entry and proof of title

-       Photodocumentation

-       Drawings

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the historic building of the First Post Office in Brčko as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted:

1971.    Dr. Marković, Jovan. “Brčko – najveći grad Bosanske Posavine”, Gradovi Jugoslavije (Brčko – the largest town of the Bosnian Sava valley, Towns and Cities of Yugoslavia). Belgrade: Institute for the Publication of Textbooks of SR Serbia, 1971, 175 – 178.

1977.    Self-managing cultural society, Brčko. Program zaštite, obnove i izgradnje spomenika i spomen-obilježja na području opštine Brčko od 1977. do 1987. godine (Programme for the protection, restoration and construction of monuments and memorials in Brčko Municipality from 1977 to 1987). Brčko, January 1977.

1983.    Blago na putevima Jugoslavije (Treasures on Yugoslavia's Roads), encyclopaedic tourist guide. Belgrade: Jugoslavija publish, 1983, 2.

1983.    Odluka o provođenju urbanističkog plana Općine Brčko (Decision on implementation of the town and country plan for Brčko Municipality), Official Gazette of Brčko Municipality. Brčko: 1983.

1985.    Various authors. Brčko i okolina u radničkom pokretu i NOB (Brčko and environs in the workers’ movement and the war of national liberation). Tuzla: Committee for the edition Brčko i okolina u radničkom pokretu i NOB-u and the Universal publishing print and trade labour organization, Tuzla, Izdavačka djelatnost co, 1985.

1985.    Prostorni plan Općine Brčko, Stanje prostornog uređenja, kulturno-istorijsko i prirodno naslijeđe (Spatial Plan for Brčko Municipality: state of spatial planning, cultural, historical and natural heritage). Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture, Town Planning and Spatial Planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo, 1985.

1987.    Krzović, Ibrahim. Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine 1878-1918 (Architecture of BiH 1878-1918) (catalogue), exhibition design and selection of exhibits. Sarajevo: Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1987.

1987.    Odluka o provođenju prostornog plana Općine Brčko (Decision on implementation of the spatial plan for Brčko Municipality), Official Gazette of Brčko Municipality. Brčko: 1987.

1989.    Hadžimuhamedović, Amra. Struktura historijske gradske jezgre Brčkog (Structure of the Historic Urban Centre of Brčko), seminar paper for post-graduate study on the development of architecture and settlements. Belgrade: Faculty of Architecture, 1989.

1995.    Mujačić, Mehmedalija. Brčko srce bosanske Posavine (Brčko, heart of the Bosnian Posavina) Verlag BOSANSKA RIJEČ – DAS BOSNISCHE WORT, Wuppertal, Federal Republic of Germany, 1995.

1998.    Kurto, Nedžad. Arhitektura Bosne i Hercegovine, Razvoj bosanskog stila (Architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Development of the Bosnian style). Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing, 1998.

2003.    Ristić, Dušan. Brčko – Stari srpski trgovci u Brčkom (Brčko - old Serbian merchants in Brčko). Brčko, December 2003.

2007.    Amendments to the Urban Plan for the town of Brčko (II)

2008.    Projekt joint stock company Banja Luka, Prijedlog Urbanističkog projekta Istorijsko gradsko jezgro Brčko – nacrt projekta (Proposal, planning project for the historic urban centre of Brčko – draft project).

(1) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske Posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 30

(2) Translator’s note; from ulefa, a soldier’s wages or spahi’s dues. By “the Austro-Hungarian or Vienna war” the author presumably means the later years of the 300-year Habsburg-Ottoman war, during which the Ottomans laid siege unsuccessfully to Vienna in 1683 and sued for peace after another major defeat at Zenta in 1697, leading to the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz and the loss of large areas of the Balkans to Austria.  The dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, of course, did not come into existence until 1867.

(3) Has, from the Arabic khas, was an imperial holding. Trans.

(4) Ibid, 14-17

(5) Blago na putevima Jugoslavije, 1983, 274.

(6) Translator’s note: a varoš is a town or township; a kasaba was a small town with certain privileges.

(7) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 18

(8) The description of the settlement is associated with the ferry over the River Sava and the people who lived there, many of whom were ferrymen

(9) Ristić, Dušan, Brčko – Stari srpski trgovci u Brčkom, Brčko: 2003, 12

(10) Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Izabrana djela III, Banje u Bosni i Hercegovini (1462-1916), 1991, 339

(11) Ibid, 21

(12) Ristić, Dušan, Brčko – Stari srpski trgovci u Brčkom, Brčko: 2003, 12, 13

(13) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 20

(14) Ristić, Dušan, Brčko – Stari srpski trgovci u Brčkom, Brčko: 2003, 22

(15) Hadžimuhamedović, 1989.

(16) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 30

(17) Translator’s note: the word čardak has several meanings, but here probably denotes a look-out of some kind.

(18) Ibid, 20

(19) Various authors, Brčko i okolina u radničkom pokretu i NOB, article: Dr Pavo Živković – “Pregled historije Brčkog i okoline od najstarijih vremena do austrougarske okupacije (1978)”, 1985, 38

(20) The latter half of the 19th century was a time of rapid administrative, cultural and social development in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following the final defeat of the ayans (feudal lords) in 1850 and the consequent lull in the political life of the Muslims in BiH, the Ottoman authorities attempted to complete the military and administrative reforms they had already begun, as regards the tax system and other aspects of social life. A decree on the organization of the Bosnian vilayet was issued on 1 June 1865, but practically speaking, did not come into effect as the Constitution of the Bosnian Vilayet until 1867. This was followed by a reorganization of local government with a view to greater centralization, an Executive Council was introduced to represent the vali, along with kajmekams (representatives of the vali), who ran the sanjaks, and the esnaf (guild) organization in Bosnian and Herzegovina, which had long been a break on production and trade, was abolished. The economy was boosted by the construction of roads and railway lines. The telegraph was first introduced in 1858, and by 1875 there were nineteen telegraph stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were interconnected and also linked with Istanbul. The construction and restoration of places of worship and schools by the Christian population also stepped up during the latter half of the 19th century.  (http://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzimat - accessed 14 April 2011, last amended 14 October 2010).

The last great governor of Bosnia, Osman Šerif Topal-pasha, was particularly active in carrying out the reforms during his term of office in the 1860s, striving to set the country on the path to civic development from the economic, administrative and political perspective. He helped to open the first modern printing house in Sarajevo in 1866, and to launch the vilayet’s bilingual weekly paper Bosna. During his term of office, the Sarajevo to Brod road was laid, secular schools known as ruždijas were introduced, and many new public edifices in the European style were built (including the konak, the merkez or police station, the sanjak headquarters in Bistrik, the military hospital at Hiseta and the Medžidija barracks), particularly in Sarajevo, which Omer-pasha Latas reestablished as the capital city of Bosnia after 150 years by returning the vizir’s court to the city. The city also acquired a modern post office and telegraph link to Istanbul and Bosanski Brod (Mustafa Imamović, Historija Bošnjaka, Sarajevo: Bošnjačka zajednica kulture, Izdavačko preduzeće Preporod, 1997, 340-342). The great powers of Europe opened consulates in Sarajevo and Mostar.

(21) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 34

(22) Various authors, Brčko i okolina u radničkom pokretu i NOB, article: Dr Luka Đaković – “Brčko u novijoj istoriji (1978-1918)”, 1985, 63

(23) The building was entered on the Land Register on this plot in 1888.

(24) Mujačić, Mehmedalija, Brčko srce bosanske posavine, Wuppertal: 1995, 23

(25) Various authors, Brčko i okolina u radničkom pokretu i NOB, article: Dr Dušan Penezić, Dr Šefik Mulabegović, Dr Božidar Stavrić – “Ekonomski razvoj Brčkog i okoline,” 1985, 106-107

(26) Yugoslav River Shipping

(27) New building is prohibited in this zone, other than the restoration of important buildings to which value has been accorded, by restoring their original appearance based on archive, photographic and technical documentation and detailed projects for their protection. Landscaping is proposed with a view to restoring the former appearance of the area. In protection zone 1, buildings that clash in appearance with the townscape are to be removed. All interventions in protection zone 1 require a survey report, detailed protection measures, and the approval of the competent institution.