Prioritized Intervention List:
Ÿ Country:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ÿ Name of organization compiling the information:
Commission to Preserve National Monuments
Ÿ Contact name:
Mirela Mulaluć Handan
Ÿ email address:
mirela@aneks8ko.com.ba
The monument, sites or ensemble
Ÿ Name and address of building(s) or site:
Historical site of the Old Town Ljubuški
Ÿ Inventory reference number(s):
 06-6-976/03-2
Ÿ Monument or site type(s):
Military - Fort
Ÿ Main date(s):
Date range from middle of fifteen century to middle of nineteen century
There have been works on the Old town constantly from its construction till begging of nineteen century.
Ÿ Current use(s):
Historical site
Significance:
The earliest reference to the site in historical documents dates from 1444 with reference to the settlement around the Ljubuški and the local church there, though it does not say to whom the church was dedicated.
In 1452 appears the first reference to the old fort of Ljubuški in connection with battles between Duke Stjepan and his sons Princes Vladislav and Vlatko. The construction of the fort is linked with Duke Stjepan Vukčić Kosača.
Between 1468 and 1477 the Ottomans finally conquered Ljubuški. By 1477 it was already a frontier fortress with a strong garrison.
The fortress was abandoned in 1835
General information
The fort consists of two parts. The first fortifications date from the time of the mediaeval Bosnian state – according to historical sources, from the mid fifteenth century. These were erected on the highest and most prominent elevation. During the Ottoman period it was surrounded by walls all round. The entire defense system and spatial arrangement of the fortress is extremely well conceived.
Within the walls the remains of various structures can be seen: guard rooms, barns or granaries, a bakery, a powder magazine, and four cisterns, of which three are still recognizable on the ground (Kapidžić-Kreševljaković, 1954, 13).
The mediaeval fort consists of a massive projecting tower known as the Herceguša and the bailey outside the tower. The Herceguša tower, which dominates the fort, is rectangular in form, with internal dimensions of 5.2 x 2.1 m and external of 9.7 x 5 m.
The strongest wall of the Herceguša tower faces the north-west, where access to the fort was easiest (and where later, in the fifteenth-sixteenth century, the entrance to the fort was built), and from where the area was defended.
The settlement associated with the mediaeval fort probably developed on the Crkvica terrace beneath the southern part of the fort. Later a town developed in the valley to the west of the fort6.
The Ottoman part of the fort was built around the mediaeval fortress, which now became the centre of a major fortress, like an acropolis, surrounded on all sides by walls. The perimeter walls were built between 1472 and 1565. The final form of the fortifications is an irregular polygon, extending north-south for a length of about 93 m. The average width of the fortifications east-west is about 49.5 m, and the total area of the fort is some 3,350 sq.m.
The fort consists of several parts. In the northern part is the entrance area and the large lower bailey with a bastion. To the south is the upper bailey, surrounded by a wall. Between them is the complex of the mediaeval fort, protected by one of the partition walls, and separating this complex to the east from the lower bailey. The central defense point of the fort remained this central part, since to the south-east of these two massive east-facing towers were built, also dominating the fort. The western perimeter rampart extends for the most part by a gentle line on inaccessible karst terrain, other that in the extreme northern area around the entrance.
About 250 m north-west of the entrance to the fort are the ruins of the mosque that was probably built by Nesuhaga Vučjaković in the mid sixteenth century. The mosque has a rectangular ground plan, with the longer sides measuring 7 m, and walls surviving to a height of about 4.5 m.
The exterior face of the walls is rewetted with well cut blocks, carefully laid in horizontal courses.
Somewhat closer to the northern ramparts of the old fort are the faint remains of a burial ground, consisting of a few tilted, broken or sprawling nišan tombstones. The mosque and burial ground have not been in use since the beginning of 19th century.
Research and Conservation and Restoration Works
Apart from reconnaissance and a bare description, with a survey of the ground plan of the fort, no works have been carried out. The ground plan was drawn by architect Ferhat Mulabegović of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of SR BiH.
Categories of Significance:
Of outstanding national importance
Categories of ownership or interest:
Of national interest
Documentation and bibliographic references:
Documentation:
The following documentation is in possession of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments
Ÿ Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and copy of land registry entry),
Ÿ Data on the previous and current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage if any, data on restoration or other works on the property if any, etc.
Ÿ Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography.
Bibliography:
- Documentation of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments
- Ćirković, Simo, Herceg Stefan Vukčić Kosača i njegovo doba (Duke Stefan Vukčić Kosača and his times) Serbian Literary Cooperative, Belgrade, 1964
- Dinić Mihajlo, Zemlje hercega Sv. Save (Lands of Duke St Sava) in Srpske zemlje u srednjem veku (Serb lands in the middle ages), Belgrade, 1978, 178-269
- Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka, Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Urban settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state), Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1978.
- Kreševljaković, Hamdija and Kapidžić, Hamdija, Stari hercegovački gradovi (Old forts of Herzegovina), Naše starine II, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of RBiH, Sarajevo, 1954, 9-21
- Šabanović, Hazim, Bosanski pašaluk, postanak i upravna podjela (Bosnian pashaluk, genesis and administrative division), Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1982
- Tošić, Đuro, Trg Drijeva u srednjem vijeku (Drijeva market in the middle ages), Veselin Masleša, Sarajevo, 1987
- Vego, Marko, Naselja bosanske srednjovjekovne države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state), Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1957
Condition:
1. Very bad
Information dating from 1932 recounts that the fort was already in a somewhat ruinous state.
An on-site visit in August 2003 ascertained the following:
Ÿ The fort is in a ruinous state. The damaged caused by the earthquake of the 1960s is plain to see (entire blocks of the walls of the towers, up to 1.5 m, have collapsed). In many places cracks are visible in the walls as a result of tectonic shifts. The merlons of the towers and ramparts, their outer corners, and the revetments of the walls are crumbling. In many places wide gaps can be seen the full height of the walls. In some places there are considerable mounds of fallen stone up against the walls.
Ÿ The mosque is in ruins and the burial ground is completely laid waste.
Ÿ Much of the site is covered by vegetation.
Amount of war or associated damage:
0. No damage
•The Fort suffered no damage as a result of war action
Risk:
Ÿ The Fort is at risk of rapid deterioration as a result of the lack of regular maintenance,
Ÿ The Fort is at risk of further deterioration due to the insufficiency of means to execute the project of conservation.
Condition risk:
B. Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric, solution agreed but not begun
Technical assessment and costing:
Project of urgent protection measures from further deterioration needs to be done, as well as projects for next fazes of protection – project of sanation, conservation and restauration.
On the National monument, which consists of the old fort of Ljubuški, the mosque and the “Hasan u docima” burial ground the following measures shall be applied:
Ÿ only works of research, conservation and restoration works, including those intended to display the monument, shall be permitted, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Ÿ all construction, felling of timber, or works that could have the effect of altering the site are prohibited, as are the erection of temporary facilities or permanent structures not intended solely for the protection and presentation of the National Monument,
Ÿ all damage to the ruins and the removal of cut stone are prohibited
Ÿ the dumping of all kinds of waste is prohibited
Ÿ The site of the monument shall be open and accessible to the public,
Ÿ The site may be used for educational and cultural purposes.
The enforcement of the following measures in particular is required:
Old fort of Ljubuški:
Ÿ clearing the walls of vegetation posing a threat to the structure of the monument
Ÿ conservation of the existing state of the ramparts and towers of the old fort
Ÿ structural repairs and consolidation of damaged walls, merlons of the towers and ramparts
Ÿ all fallen stone fragments of the walls shall be registered, photographed and restored to their original positions
Ÿ fragments that are too badly damaged to be reintegrated shall be displayed in appropriate manner within the architectural ensemble.
Mosque and burial ground:
Ÿ clear the interior of the mosque building
Ÿ conservation of the existing condition of the walls
Ÿ repair the nišan tombstones in the burial ground.
In a distance of 100 from the National monument the following measures shall be applied:
Ÿ the renovation of residential buildings that existed prior to 1992 and the construction of new ones shall be permitted, subject to observing the limits of two storeys (6.5 m to the roof cornice), maximum horizontal dimensions of 12 x 10 m, and a roof pitch of 40 degrees;
Ÿ all works of any kind detrimental to the natural environment or the architectural ensemble, the removal of the ruins of stone buildings, the dumping of waste, and the erection of temporary or permanent structures that block the view of the National Monument are prohibited.
Costing proposals for projects and rehabilitation works have not been done.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has planed, in its budget, financial means, in total of 250.000 KM (≈125.000 EURO), for projects and works on protection of the old towns of BiH.
Old town Ljubuški is one of seven (7) old towns for which financial means are planed.
Ownership:
Public property
Occupation:
No occupancy
Management:
The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02 and 27/02) shall apply to the National Monument.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve and display the National Monument.
Summary:
The fort consists of two parts. The first fortifications date from the time of the mediaeval Bosnian state – according to historical sources, from the mid fifteenth century. These were erected on the highest and most prominent elevation. During the Ottoman period it was surrounded by walls all round. The entire defense system and spatial arrangement of the fortress is extremely well conceived.
In the Regional Plan for BiH to 2000 the Old town Ljubuški is listed as a category II monument – of regional importance.
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument, this national monument reaches the following criteria (criteria of significance):
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
D. Clarity
D.i. material evidence of a lesser known historical era
E. Symbolic value
E.iii. traditional value
F. Townscape/ Landscape value
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
F.iii. the building or group of buildings is part of group or site
G. Authenticity
G.v. location and setting
I. Completeness
I.iii. completeness
The priority level of intervention is HIGH.
NOTE:
Condition
1. Very bad
Condition risk
B. Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric, solution agreed but not begun
Criteria employed for the Priority Intervention List:
Ÿ The monuments are designated as national monuments,
Ÿ They represents rear or unique example of the typology or chronological - stylistic corpus,
Ÿ They are damaged/destroyed during the 1992-1995 war in BiH or they are endangered by the post war conditions (illegal constructions, lack of funding for restoration and maintenance, inexpert reconstruction,…) and are imposed to further deterioration,
Ÿ Their restoration will encourage return process in BiH,
Ÿ Their restoration will support development of the region.
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