Old Town - Ljubuški (BH_17)
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: Historic site of Ljubuški Fort
Inventory reference number(s): 06-6-976/03-2
Building type(s): Military - Fort
Main date(s): Fifteenth / beginning /nineteenth centuries
Works were carried out on the Old Fort throughout its history until the early nineteenth century.
Current use(s): Historic 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The earliest reference to the site in historical documents dates from 1444 with reference to the settlement around the Ljubuški and the local church there, though it does not say to whom the church was dedicated.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 defence 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 recognisable 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 fort.
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 metres. The average width of the fortifications east-west is about 49.5 metres, 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 than that in the extreme northern area around the entrance.
About 250 metres 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 metres, and walls surviving to a height of about 4.5 metres. The exterior face of the walls is revetted 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.
Categories of Significance
- Of outstanding national importance.
Categories of ownership or interest
- Of national interest.
Documentation and bibliliographic references
Documentation
The following documentation is in possession of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments
- Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and copy of land registry entry).
- 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.
- Historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography.
Bibliography
1. Documentation of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
2. Ćirković, Simo. Herceg Stefan Vukčić Kosača i njegovo doba (Duke Stefan Vukčić Kosača and his times). Belgrade: Serbian Literary Cooperative, 1964.
3. 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.
4. Kovačević-Kojić, Desanka. Gradska naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Urban settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1978.
5. Kreševljaković, Hamdija and Kapidžić, Hamdija. “Stari hercegovački gradovi” (Old forts of Herzegovina), Naše starine II. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of RBiH, 1954, 9-21.
6. Šabanović, Hazim. Bosanski pašaluk, postanak i upravna podjela (Bosnian pashaluk, genesis and administrative division). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1982.
7. Tošić, Đuro. Trg Drijeva u srednjem vijeku (Drijeva market in the middle ages). Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1987.
8. Vego, Marko. Naselja bosanske srednjovjekovne države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1957.
Condition
1. Very poor
Information dating from 1932 reveals that the fort was already in a somewhat ruinous state.
An on-site visit in August 2003 ascertained the following:
- 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 metres, 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 in the full height of the walls. In some places there are considerable mounds of fallen stone up against the walls.
- The mosque is in ruins and the burial ground is completely laid waste.
- 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
- The Fort is at risk of rapid deterioration as a result of the lack of regular maintenance.
- The Fort is at risk of further detoriation due to the insufficiency of means to execute the project of conservation.
Condition risk
F. Immediate risk of further rapid detorioration or loss of fabric, solution agreed but not begun.
Technical assessment and costing
A project for urgent measures to protect the property from further deterioration is to be drawn up, as well as projects for the next stages of protection – repairs, conservation and restoration projects.
The following measures apply to the national monument, which consists of the old fort of Ljubuški, the mosque and the “Hasan u Docima” burial ground:
- 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.
- 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.
- all damage to the ruins and the removal of cut stone is prohibited.
- the dumping of all kinds of waste is prohibited.
The site of the monument shall be open and accessible to the public.
The site may be used for educational and cultural purposes.
The enforcement of the following measures in particular is required:
Old fort of Ljubuški
- clearing the walls of vegetation posing a threat to the structure of the monument
- conservation of the existing state of the ramparts and towers of the old fort
- structural repairs and consolidation of damaged walls, merlons of the towers and ramparts
- all fallen stone fragments of the walls shall be registered, photographed and restored to their original positions
- fragments that are too badly damaged to be reintegrated shall be displayed in the appropriate manner within the architectural ensemble.
Mosque and burial ground
- clear the interior of the mosque building
- conservation of the existing condition of the walls
- repair the nišan tombstones in the burial ground.
At a distance of 100 from the national monument the following measures are applied:
- 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 metres to the roof cornice), maximum horizontal dimensions of 12 x 10 m, and a roof pitch of 40 degrees
- 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.
Summary of stages, proposed in the Preliminary technical assessment and Feasibility study:
Description of activities Cost (€)
Research works, assessment of the condition of materials and structures 27 000
Urgent interventions 40 000
Preliminary archaeological research 12 000
Development of repair, conservation and partial restoration project 10 000
Repair, conservation and restoration works 630 000
Repair of the access road 50 000
Integration of the monument into tourism sector 6 750
Capacity building 2 000
TOTAL 777 750
In 2005, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has earmarked budget funds of 250.000 KM (≈€125.000), for projects and works to protect the old forts of BiH. The Ljubuški Fort is one of seven (7) old forts for which funds are earmarked.
As part of the “Transfer for Cultural Heritage,” the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina allocated €26 000 in 2005 and 2006 for drawing up a Protection Programme and for urgent measures. The works of clearing the site, walls and access road have been completed.
In 2007 within the Programme for the preservation, protection and integration of heritage in the Herzegovina Region of Bosnia and Herzegovina financed by the European Commission EU RED programme and implemented by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, the location of the monument was cleared of litter and vegetation, and a noticeboard with data on the monument was erected. Maps marking tourist routes and a tourist catalogue with an overview of cultural and natural sites of interest in the Herzegovina region, including Ljubuški municipality, have been drawn up and distributed to local owners and tourist organizations.
Since 2008, funds have been allocated from the budget of Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, Tourist Association HNC and FBiH – 160.000 KM; In 2008 The Govt of FBiH– Federal Ministry for Regional Planning provided € 110.000,00.
Conservation of the fortification structure is under way in line with projects and under the expert supervision of the Federal Institute for the Protection of Monuments
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) apply to the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments is a state-level institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and by Decision of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is responsible for adopting decisions designating movable and immovable properties as national monuments, applying the criteria for the designation of national monuments (Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina no. 33/02). The Commission’s decisions prescribe the basic provisions and protection measures pertaining to each national monument.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to protect, conserve and display the National Monument.
The Ministry of Regional Planning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for the implementation of legally-prescribed protection measures. It is responsible for issuing planning approvals and permits for all works and construction in the protected area on the basis of planning and technical documentation approved by an authorised professional institution.
The Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport is also involved in these activities by verifying whether the conditions set out in the technical documentation have been met. The Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport is responsible for expert supervision, as prescribed by the Decision of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, and for the implementation of projects or parts thereof financed by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Decisions designating national monuments are forwarded to the authorities responsible for town planning and cadastral affairs in order to implement the measures prescribed by these decisions, and to the competent municipal court for entry in the Land Register.
Ljubuški Municipality is responsible, through its various departments and the buildings and planning inspectorate of the Federal Inspectorate Authority, for overseeing and controlling on-site activities.
The municipality is required to append all its plans and documents pertaining to the protected area of the national monuments to the decisions issued by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments. The municipality is required to refrain from all activities detrimental to the national monuments, and to co-operate with the Commission to Preserve National Monuments and the Entity institutions in the process of implementing the Commission’s decisions.
Pursuant to the Decision of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Commission to Preserve National Monuments is authorised to perform activities of international co-operation in the field of heritage. The Commission is responsible for the implementation of the project in accordance with the Rules for the implementation of donor funds earmarked for the renovation or protection of the endangered cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Summary
Ljubuski Fort is one of the most important fortifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The structure is exceptionally well conceived but it is now in a ruinous condition. The proposal is to conserve and consolidate the existing structures – towers, walls, mosque – and restore the housing for use. Following revitalisation, this could become an important tourist destination.
The priority level of intervention is HIGH.
NOTE:
Condition
1. Very poor
Condition risk
B. Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric, solution agreed but not begun
Sign. and date
Silvana Ćobanov, archaeologist
Mirela Mulaluć Handan, architect
2010
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