Cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir) (BH_26)
Country or territory: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Name of organisation compiling the information: Commission to Preserve National Monuments
Contact name: Mirela Mulaluć Handan
Email address: mirela.m.handan@kons.gov.ba
Name and address of building(s) or site: Cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir)
Inventory reference number(s): 09-40/09-47
Building type(s): Cultural landscape
Main date(s): 20th century
Current use(s): Residential
Significance
The cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir) was created by human action in a markedly inhospitable high mountain region at an altitude of about 1470 m, which is cut off by snowfalls for six months of the year, making Lukomir one of the most isolated villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The village of Gornji Lukomir is on Mt. Bjelašnica, in an area of outstanding natural beauty and with a high degree of biodiversity of both flora and fauna.
Continuity of habitation in the area is evidenced by 27 stećci, mediaeval tombstones.
The most significant feature of the village of Lukomir is its vernacular architecture, dating from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but wholly unchanged from the type of house of much earlier times, reflecting the fact that the way of life, cultivation of the land and animal husbandry underwent no significant changes in the village right up to the outbreak of war in 1992.
The changes that began after the war ended in late 1995 and gain momentum with each new summer, are leading to the total destruction of the very features of the village that make it unique in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the obvious connection between man and nature, from the way the land is used to the design of the living space, as well as the specific features relating to the building of the village itself.
Categories of Significance
- Of outstanding national importance.
Categories of ownership or interest
- Privately owned residential buildings, mainly Muslim ethnic.
Documentation and bibliographic references
1908. Dedijer, Jefto. “Vrste nepokretne svojine u Hercegovini” (Types of Real Property Ownership in Herzegovina), Jnl of the Provincial Museum, Sarajevo, vol. XX, 1908.
1909. Dedijer, Jefto. Hercegovina. Belgrade: Serbian Royal Academy, Ethnographic papers, vol. 12, “Naselja srpskih zemalja” (Settlements on Serbian Lands), vol. VI, 1909.
1914. Dedijer, Jefto. “Stočarske zone u planinama dinarskog sistema” (The herding zones of the Dinaric mountains), Jnl of the Serbian Geographical Society, yr.III, vols. 3 and 4. Belgrade: 1914.
1918. Skok, Petar. “Češka knjiga o vlaškom pravu” (Czech Book on Vlach Law), Jnl of the Provincial Museum XXIX, 1917. Sarajevo: 1918.
1922. Cvijić, Jovan. Balkansko poluostrvo i južnoslovenske zemlje (The Balkan Peninsula and South Slav Lands), vol.I. Belgrade: 1922.
1924. Glušac, Vaso. “Srednjovekovna ‘bosanska crkva’” (The mediaeval “Bosnian church”), in: Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor (Contributions to literature, language, history and folklore), IV. Belgrade: 1924.
1932. Soldo, Špiro. “Tipovi kuća i zgrada u pređašnjoj Bosni i Hercegovini” (Types of houses and buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the past), Special publication of the Geographical Society, vol.13. Belgrade: 1932.
1932. Popović, Jovo. “Ljetni stanovi (mahale) na planini Bjelašnici” (Summer Residences [Mahalas] on Mt. Bjelašnica), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. XLIV. Sarajevo: 1931.
1958/9 Hadžibegić, Hamid. "Porez na sitnu stoku i korišćenje ispaša" (The Tax on Small Livestock and the Use of Grazing), Contributions to Oriental Philology, VIII-IX. Sarajevo: 1958/9.
1963. Benac, Alojz. Stećci. Belgrade: Prosveta, 1963.
1966. Beljkašić Hadžidedić, Ljiljana. “Nošnja na Bjelašnici” (Costumes on Bjelašnica), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. XX/XXI. Sarajevo: 1966, 117-133.
1967. Kadić, Muhamed. Starinska seoska kuća u Bosni i Hercegovini (Old Village Houses in BiH). Sarajevo: Cultural Heritage Series, 1967.
1971. Bugarski, Astrida. “Daščani krovovi u Bosni” (Shingle Roofs in Bosnia), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. XXVI. Sarajevo: 1971, 85-115.
1971. Bešlagić, Šefik. Stećci-kataloško-topografski pregled (Stećci, a catalogue and topographical survey). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1971.
1972/73. Bugarski, Astrida. “Kuća sa ‘čardakom’ u Podbjelašničkim selima” (Houses with an Attic Room in the Foothill Villages of Bjelašnica), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. XXVII/XXVIII Sarajevo: 1972/73, 231-247.
1975. Anđelić, Pavao. Historijski spomenici Konjica i okoline (Historic monuments of Konjic and environs). Konjic: 1975.
1980. Various authors. Regional Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, phase B – valorization of natural, cultural and historical assets. Sarajevo: Institute for Architecture and Town and Country Planning of the Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo and the Planning Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, 1980.
1980/81. Pavković, Nikola. “Društveni život stočara na letnjim stanovima u Bosni” (Social Life of Herdsmen in Summer Residences in Bosnia), Jnl of the National Museum N.S. vol. 35/36. Sarajevo: 1980/81, 87-114.
1989. Bugarski, Astrida. “Nastambe stočara u sezonskim naseljima Bosne i Hercegovine” (Living Quarters of Herdsmen in Seasonal Settlements in BiH), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. 43/44. Sarajevo: 1989, 61-94.
1982. Bešlagić, Šefik. Stećci. Kultura i umjetnost (Stećci: culture and art). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1982.
1988. Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine (Archaeological Lexicon of BiH). Sarajevo: 1988.
1989. Bugarski, Astrida. “Nastambe stočara u sezonskim naseljima Bosne i Hercegovine” (Living Quarters of Herdsmen in Seasonal Settlements in BiH), Jnl of the National Museum, vol. 43/44. Sarajevo: 1989.
1990. Südland, L. V. (Ivo Pilar). Južnoslavensko pitanje. Prikaz cjelokupnog pitanja. Varaždin. Title of original: L. v. SÜDLAND, Die Südslawische Frage und der Weltkrieg. Übersichtliche Darstellung des Gesamt-Problems, Wien 1990.
1991. Tabaković-Tošić, Mara et.al. “Prilog poznavanju faune carabidae (Coleoptera) planinskog masiva Igman-Bjelašnica” (Contribution to the study of the Carabidae [Coleoptera] fauna of the Igman-Bjelašnica Mountain Massif), Jnl of the National Museum of BiH – Natural History. Sarajevo: 1991.
1992/1995. Bugarski, Astrida. “Savremene promjene u kulturi stanovanja seoskog stanovništva u Bosni i Hercegovini” (Contemporary Changes in the Lifestyle of the Rural Population in BiH), Jnl of the National Museum, Sarajevo, NS 47. Sarajevo: 1992/95.
2000. Bugarski, Astrida. “Organizacija počivanja u tradicionalnoj kulturi ruralnog stanovništva Bosne i Hercegovine” (The organization of laying to rest in the traditional culture of the rural Ppopulation of BiH), Jnl of the National Museum, Sarajevo, NS 48/49. Sarajevo: 2000.
2001. Bugarski, Astrida. Sjećanje na korijenje - Tradicionalne stambene zgrade Hrvata Bosne i Hercegovine u drugoj polovici XIX i prvoj polovici XX stoljeća (Remembering One's Roots – Traditional Houses of the Croats of BiH in the 2nd half of the 19th and 1s half of the 20th Century). Sarajevo: Matica Hrvatska, 2001.
2004. Brown, Jessica, Mitchell, Nora and Beresford, Michael (Eds.) (2004). The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
2004. Bešlagić, Šefik. Leksikon stećaka (Lexicon of Stećak Tombstones). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 2004.
2005. Mušeta-Aščerić, Vesna. Sarajevo i njegova okolina u 15. stoljeću (Sarajevo and Environs in the 15th century). Sarajevo: 2005.
2005. Gomez, Matias. Zaboravljena Ljepota (Forgotten beauty). Sarajevo: 2005.
2006. Karović, Elma; Kunovac, Saša. Područje sa posebnim karakteristikama: Igman-Bjelašnica-Treskavica i Kanjon Rakitnice (Visočica) (An Area with Distinctive Features: Igman-Bjelašnica-Treskavica and the Rakitnica Gorge [Visočica]). Sarajevo: 2006.
2006. Berilo, Zejnil. Aktuelno stanje populacije Velikog Tetrijeba u planinskom kompleksu Igmana i Bjelašnice (Current State of the Capercaillie Population of the Mountain Complex of Igman and Bjelašnica). Sarajevo: 2006.
Cadastral plan – municipality Konjic.
Photographic record (2008 and 2009), Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
Measured drawings (basic information for seven houses), Commission to Preserve National Monuments, 2008.
Condition
3. Poor - deteriorating structure and/or leaking roof; outbreaks of rot; general internal deterioration; partly affected by fire or disaster.
War or associated damage:
3. Small amount of damage sustained
Condition of the built structures:
- The current condition of the village of Lukomir has been dictated by the village way of life, the use of the properties, and the financial standing of the owners of the properties.
- The greatest and most significant changes to the houses in the village of Lukomir are taking place at the present time, and result from the mass exodus of the residents following the 1992-1995 war.
- Only seven families now live in Lukomir all year round. All the other houses are used solely during the summer months, when their owners come to spend their holidays there or to cultivate their land. Most of the families spend no more than two to three weeks in the village. The only people who stay there longer are older people.
- The changing age structure of the village residents is leading to changes in land use. Another effect is that most of the houses are not kept regularly maintained.
- In addition, most of the owners are in straitened circumstances, and unable to repair their houses. To provide basic living conditions, and given the lack of understanding on the part of donors, most of the houses have been repaired with concrete or brick blocks since the 1992-1995 war. There are also signs of cement plaster on the walls.
- In addition to the introduction of new materials to existing buildings, alterations to the buildings are increasingly common. The addition of an extra storey, alterations to the shape of the roof, the removal of the “hearth,” partitioning the single room of the kuća (literally, house: the main living room) and the loft space, the loss of the smoke vents on the roof and the introduction of chimneys, and even the addition of an external staircase – all these are changes that have taken place in the past ten years.
The findings of an on-site visit conducted in July 2008 were as follows:
- seven properties, five of them shippens, have been demolished or are in ruins,
- on some of the properties, the outer wall facing is falling away or parts of the walls are missing completely,
- on most of the properties the mortar has gone from the walls(5),
- all the properties have minor cracks in the walls,
- cement mortar has been used to repair the walls,
- on most of the damaged walls repairs and the replacement of missing sections of the wall have been carried out with brick blocks, and some have been fitted with reinforced concrete ring beams,
- concrete has been used to build or repair the outbuildings of some of the properties,
- the properties that were badly damaged during the 1992-1995 war (with the roof or part of the building destroyed) have been renovated and extended using concrete and brick block,
- some of the properties have had chimneys added and the smoke-vents removed,
- some of the properties have sagging roof frames,
- the only properties still completely clad with shingles are the school and the mosque, thanks to their having been restored after the 1992-1995 war; all the rest have flat or corrugated galvanized iron laid over all or part of the shingles, and in most cases the metal is rusting,
- window openings have been repaired using cement mortar and polyurethane foam which is still visible on the façade,
- a new building was going up on the northern edge of the village; brick block was being used to build it,
- one new building, on the southern edge of the village, has been built partly on the foundations of an older one; this too has been built of brick block,
- now that children have left the village the school has been restored and turned into a cultural centre.
A repeat on-site visit was made in May 2009, when the following changes were observed in the village since the first visit a year earlier:
- the building on the northern edge of the village that was under construction had been completed. The shape of the roof, the height of the building and the materials used to build it mean that the building does not fit in at all with the village-scape,
- three buildings that were previously found to be empty have deteriorated badly. The roof structure is at risk of collapsing or has already fallen as a result of the winter snows or neglect.
Condition of the necropolis with stećci:
The findings of on-site inspections on 27 June 2008 and 26 May 2009 were as follows:
- a road runs through the stećci at Vlaško groblje (“Vlach burial ground”), leaving some of the tombstones within a Muslim burial ground that is still in use, and the rest outside the burial ground, 5 to 15 metres away. The site with the stećci outside the burial ground is at risk of landslide as a result of possible land erosion caused by the local residents digging the soil just below this site;
- the stećci at Jezerine are almost completely buried, and only five were identified during the first visit; on the second visit, however, another four were found. The site with the stećci is on plots cultivated by the owners;
- some of the stećci are chipped, damaged, overturned, or partly or wholly buried;
- the stećci are at risk of rapid deterioration as a result of neglect;
- plant organisms (lichen and moss) are present on the stećci to a greater or lesser extent;
- during the second visit to the sites in Lukomir, we learned in discussion with the local residents that between ten and fifteen stećci are located in Donji Lukomir. A subsequent study of the relevant literature revealed that these stećci have not been recorded;
- there is no proper rubbish disposal system.
Risk
2. Development – demographic growth:
- Abandonment of countryside due to urbanization:
- introduction of an urban lifestyle to the village,
- changing local population (the new generation has an entirely different perspective on the village and its way of life).
3. Tourism
- Lack of signage, clear paths, guarding, maintenance (’everything is allowed’ attitude): the village is being advertised in a number of tourist agencies, but the road to the village is extremely poor, there are no signs directing one to the village, and the village itself lacks all the necessary amenities (WC for tourists, a guide, opportunities to sample local food, etc.).
9. Lack of maintenance
- Deterioration and collapse of buildings from lack of use and neglect (occupants moving away).
- Alterations to the buildings by building on or using modern materials.
10. Lack of administration and legislation
- Inadequate institutional support – absence of the necessary management plans for the area and for conservation and economic development plans; the village is not integrated into the region’s development plants.
12. Ownership and occupation
- Absentee owner.
- No responsibility for maintenance – as people move away from the village, problems of routine maintenance arise.
14. Resources
- Lack of finance for maintenance and repair – the local residents are extremely poor and are unable to set aside funds for the proper maintenance of their properties.
Condition risk
C. Slow decay; no solution agreed.
Technical assessment and costings
- No technical assessments of condition have been carried out and there are no preliminary costing carried out for repairs and rehabilitation.
The following need to be done as soon as possible:
- with a view to securing a sustainable future for the village and its environs (buildings, the fauna, and long-term economic security and quality of life for the residents), a conservation plan must be drawn up as a matter of urgency (covering the immovable, movable and intangible heritage), along with a sustainable economic development plan (taking fully into account all existing proposals to designate the wider landscape as an area of outstanding national interest) and the implementation of the stage of financing and planning and of current conservation and repair works from public and private sources (so as to help with funding this assessment and current conservation and repair measures);
- drawing up a programme and plan for the maintenance of the cultural landscape, to include specifying the organizations or institutions responsible for implementing the plan;
- conducting a preliminary survey with a preliminary technical assessment to determine the damage to the properties in the cultural landscape that could lose to the total loss of certain properties or parts thereof and to identify works carried out illegally that are detrimental to the appearance of certain buildings and that devalue the cultural landscape;
- carry out repairs and consolidation of buildings where the walls and roof are at risk of collapsing (reconstruction of roof timbers and cladding, using shingles; conservation of walls and other necessary works);
- making good the shingle roof cladding on all the buildings.
Ownership
- Private ownership.
Occupation
- Fully occupied, mostly in occasional use (only a few buildings are in regular use).
Management
Pursuant to the powers allotted to it by Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, in 2009 the Commission to Preserve National Monuments adopted a Decision designating the cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir), Konjic Municipality, Federation of BiH, as a national monument.
The Commission monitors and assesses the condition of national monuments and activities associated with them. It has drawn up a List of Endangered Monuments requiring urgent protection measures to prevent them from being wholly destroyed, with a view to drawing the attention of all relevant authorities at the entity and national (state) level, as well as of potential donors and investors, to national monuments at risk of disappearing for ever if steps are not taken immediately to rescue them.
The cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir), Konjic Municipality, Federation of BiH, is on the List of Endangered Monuments.
Responsibility for implementing the Commission’s decisions lies with the government of the entity in whose territory a given national monument is located. The entity governments, regional planning ministries, heritage protection authorities and municipal authorities responsible for town planning and cadastral affairs are notified of decisions by the Commission to enable them to carry out the measures prescribed by law, and the relevant municipal court is also notified so that the designation may be entered in the Land Register.
Pursuant to the Law on the Implementation of Decisions of the Commission and the provisions of the Decision designating the cultural landscape of the village of Lukomir (Gornji Lukomir), Konjic Municipality, FBiH, as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection, conservation, presentation and rehabilitation of the national monument (the implementation of the Decision). The provisions relating to protection and rehabilitation measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02, 6/04 and 51/07) apply to the National Monument.
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), the Federal Ministry of Regional Planning issues permits for protective, investigative, conservation, restoration and rehabilitation works on national monuments, along with building permits relating to the protected site of a national monument, based on planning and technical documentation approved by the authorized professional body. Technical documentation must be in conformity with the protection measures set out in the decisions designating national monuments. In addition, the basic activity of the entity ministries responsible for regional planning is spatial planning and drawing up planning documents, and implementing them by means of land use.
The Institute for the Protection of Monuments operates under the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport of FBiH. The Institute is responsible for the expert supervision of restoration works on national monuments and for carrying out restoration projects financed from the budget of the Government of FBiH.
The Federal Inspectorate Authority of FBiH, responsible for planning and building inspection, carries out the inspection and oversight of the protected areas on which national monuments are located, and is authorized to take the legally prescribed protection measures, including issuing decisions suspending all interventions not in compliance with the law and restoring the property in question to the condition in which it was prior to the illicit or inexpert works.
Konjic Municipality, acting through its various departments, monitors and controls activities in the field. Municipal authorities are required to bring all their plans and documents relating to the protected area of a monument into compliance with the decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments. The Municipality is also required to refrain from all activities that could be detrimental to the monument, and to cooperate with the Commission to Preserve National Monuments and the entity institutions in the process of implementation of the Commission’s decisions and the protection of monuments.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments is also authorized, in its case by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to conduct international activities in regard to the protection of the historical and cultural heritage. This includes raising donor funds for the protection of national monuments and the implementation of protection projects.
Summary
The village of Gornji Lukomir was settled permanently between the 1950s and the mid 1970s. The reasons given for the move from Donji (lower) to Gornji (upper) Lukomir were the improved road linkages between Gornji Lukomir and other villages on Bjelašnica, and the fact that Gornji Lukomir has an abundance of potable water.
During this period, houses, schools and a mosque were built (the date when the first houses were built is given variously by local residents are 1952 and 1955, and the last, again according to local residents, was built in 1974). The pace at which the houses were built depended on the owner’s finances.
The village of Lukomir was created by its residents, who formed its morphology by adapting to the lie of the land, their own finances and the harsh winter months.
Observing the morphology of Lukomir, one notices that the village took shape on undulating ground between a valley to the south and hills to the west and east.
As dictated by the lie of the land, the buildings in the village form four groups on four hillocks, linked by paths, narrow beaten tracks between the houses and farm buildings (shippens) that were sited seemingly at random. The houses in the village were built right next to the farm buildings, forming a single indivisible entity.
Another feature of the houses and shippens is that their yards are seldom fenced. The absence of fencing and the intimate association of living quarters, shippens and paths reveal much about the way of life in the village.
Prominent in the village-scape, on account of their form, function and setting, are the mosque, the school, the burial ground, and a necropolis with stećci, all of which are on the outskirts of the village.
Also typical of the village-scape are its small stone houses with high hipped roofs set between the green pastures and the rocky hills.
New buildings are now beginning to appear in the village, built without regard for the existing ambient. These changes are most noticeable in the shape of the roofs- the tall, very steep roofs clad with shingles are being replaced by gabled roofs of shallower pitch, clad with tiles.
Some of the buildings are completely derelict and have been abandoned to the ravages of time. Disuse and the consequence neglect are causing them rapidly to disappear.
The changes that began after the war ended in late 1995 and gain momentum with each new summer, are leading to the total destruction of the very features of the village that make it unique in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the obvious connection between man and nature, from the way the land is used to the design of the living space, as well as the specific features relating to the building of the village itself.
Given its uniqueness and value, the preservation of the village, which entails preserving its morphology and architecture and presenting its way of life, is one of the priorities of the heritage protection institutions.
Significance – international importance
Condition – slow decay, no solution agreed
Risk – potential problem with production and implementation of the management plan and plan for conservation/restoration of the site
Priority level: HIGH
Reinforced by the List of Endangered Monuments led by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments
Signed and dated
Amra Šarančić Logo, architect
11 May 2010
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