Bužim Fort, (BH_16)
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 the Bužim Fort
Inventory reference number(s): 06-6-546/03-3
Building type(s): Military - Fort
Main date(s): Date of construction: unknown, suggestion is that it dates from the fourteenth century. There have been constant works on the fort from its construction till the beginning of the 19th century.
Current use(s): Historical site
Significance
The Bužim fort appears in historical documents under two names, Čava and Bužim. The fort of Čavnik or Čavica, built at a time when the region was threatened by Ottoman incursions, stands not far from Bužim in the valley of the river Čava. Although Bužim is one of the largest mediaeval forts in the Krajina (military frontier region) and was of major importance, nothing is known of when it was first built. The system to which it was built suggests that it dates from the fourteenth century, from which time on there is rather more information.
General information
The old fort of Bužim is an interesting example of the older type of fortifications, erected before the age of firearms, with a new set of ramparts and towers built later in the early days of defensive fortifications against artillery fire. The ruins of the fort of Bužim consist of inner and outer fortifications, with the entire complex covering an area of 72 ares (1 are = 100 sq.m) and 67 sq.m. The inner, older fortifications constitute a small citadel forming a relatively regular quadrangle, with tall round towers at the angles. In the late fifteenth century the citadel was surrounded by new fortifications, trapezoid in plan, with polygonal towers at the angles. The walls and towers of these fortifications are considerably lower, and have emplacements on top for cannon. At the same time, apertures and emplacements for artillery weapons were added to the towers and walls of the inner fortifications. The erection of the outer line of defences protected the old citadel from direct artillery fire, and the defence approach was fortified, since the towers of the inner fort were taller than the walls of the outer fortifications.
Inner fortifications
The ramparts of the inner fortifications enclose an area of about 750 sq.m. At the centre of the north wall was a rectangular entrance tower (5 x 4 m) from which a platform with steps extended from the north rampart towards the north-west tower; the entrance gate was entered from this platform, and thence into the fort. The entrance was at a height of about 13 m. The ramparts were topped by walkways for the defending troops, up to 1 m wide, and there were probably artillery apertures. Loopholes have survived at the top of the west rampart, set approximately 1 m apart. From the outside, the walls are about 15 m high, and from the inside about 3-4 m. The bailey of the fort is level and earth-filled, but in the middle ages the soil level was lower than now. The outside of the walls was revetted with finely worked limestone, which now survives only in part on the west wall.
The round towers at the angles projected from the ramparts, with only a quarter of the tower built into the ramparts. As a result, all the towers were entered from the inner bailey. They were basically of the same construction, but differed in detail and purpose. The outer walls of the towers are 2 to 2.8 m thick, and their height was up to 20 m. They were three-storeyed, with a ground floor (basement) and two upper floors. There were no openings on the ground floor, which was reached from the first floor by steps inside the tower. The ground floor and first floor had stone ceilings in the shape of a pointed dome.
The south-east tower is the best preserved.
Between the south-east tower and the south wall of the mosque there was a cistern 40 arshins (about 28 m) deep, of which no trace now remains.
When Bužim was occupied, a large and well-built stone mosque was erected within the older fortifications. The mosque occupies more than a third of the area of the bailey, lying parallel with the eastern rampart of the fort, with the entrance to the mosque in line with the main gates to the fort. The mosque in ground plan forms a slightly irregular rectangle, with external dimensions are 19 x 19,5 m. The mosque was used for worship until the mid nineteenth century, when a wooden mosque was built in the middle of the town below the fort.
The outer fortifications cover an area of about 4500 sq.m., with the ramparts about 15 to 20 m. from those of the inner fortifications. The ramparts are from 5 to 8 m high. There are low, polygonal, projecting bastions at the angles. The north-western bastion (approx. 10 x 9 m, and somewhat lower than the rest) and the north-eastern bastion (approx. 10 x 13 m) are hexagonal. The south-western bastion (approx 15 x 14 m, and 12 m high) is octagonal, and the south-eastern (approx 10 x 5, height 9 m) is quadrangular. The bastion walls are about 2 m thick. The northern outer side of the fort has largely collapsed as a result of weathering.
The perimeter walls of both forts were topped by walkways, cannon emplacements and loopholes. Traces of these can be seen in part on the southern ramparts of both forts. Openings for artillery weapons on the southern rampart of the outer fortifications, measuring 0.5 x 0.3 m, are set every 0.9 to 1.5 m. The entrance to the fort was in the west wall alongside the north-western bastion. There was a bihacite (local stone) transom measuring 101 x 24.5 x 20 cm) above the arched entrance, bearing the following inscription:
“Ta grad sazidal iz fudumenta izibrani knez Juraj Mikuličić. U nu vrime va vsei hrvatskoj zemlji boljega čovika ne biše, zač u kralja Matijaša u veliki počtenji biše, zač ot cara turskoga Ugarskoj zemlji mir našal biše. I car rimski, ta ga dobrim čovikom zoviše. I vsaki od tih poglavit dar dal mu biše. A Hrvati ga za nenavist hercegom Ivanišem pogubiše. Ki li se oće takim čovikom zvati, neka takov grad iz fundamenta ima izzidati, tere sebi tako...”(quoted from Fučić, 1982, 112, no. 71).
“The fort was built with funds from the elect prince Juraj Mikuličić. . . .”
The inscription is written in careful glagolitic script, in glowing terms, and one may deduce from it that it was written after the death of Juraj Mikuličić, who was killed in 1495. The final part of the inscription is missing, and was probably incised on another stone adjacent to the first. According to Brunšmid, the inscription was removed from the wall in 1876 by an Austrian army officer who handed it over to the then National Museum in Zagreb. The slab is now in the collection of stone monuments of the History Museum of Croatia (inv. no. 6830).
Truhelka (1904, p. 36, illus. p. 35) also describes the stone transoms framing the slab. On the vertical sides symbols were carved in bas relief: to the left, an arm in armour with a mace and battleaxe, and to the right a soldier with a banner, a crescent moon above him, topped by two stars. Above there was yet another slab with an incised spear as the central image. Beneath was a bird on either side and above were two stars. These were clearly heraldic in nature, probably from the arms of various owners of the fort in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. One relief, measuring 0.7 x 0.25 x 0.25, was built into the western corner of the south-eastern bastion when the fort was repaired in Ottoman times. This is in two sections, one with a horse, the other with two birds. There is also a clumsily carved head of a man.
From a sketch made by a spy in the early nineteenth century, there were buildings inside the outer fortifications.
Research and conservation and restoration works
From available documentation, the Republic Institute for the Protection of Monuments surveyed the fort in the 1980s and made preparations for major conservation works. It was at this time that the facing of the lower part of the east wall and south-western tower of the inner fort were conserved.
No archaeological investigations have been conducted.
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. Brunšmid, Josip. Kameni spomenici (Stone monuments), Newsletter of the Croatian Archaeological Society, New Series III. Zagreb: 1912, 163-164, no.866, illus. p. 62.
3. Fučić, Branko. Glagoljski natpisi (Glagolitic inscriptions), Works of the Yugoslav Academy of Science and the Arts, Vol. 57. Zagreb: 1982.
4. Kreševljaković, Hamdija. Prilozi povijesti bosanskih gradova pod turskom upravom (Papers on the history of Bosnian towns under Turkish rule), Papers on Oriental Philology and History of the Yugoslav Peoples under Turkish Rule, no.II. Sarajevo: 1952.
5. Kreševljaković, Hamdija. “Stari bosanski gradovi” (Old Bosnian towns), Naše starine I. Sarajevo: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of BiH, 1954, 22.
6. Popović, Marko. Srednjovjekovne tvrđave u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mediaeval forts in BiH), Collected Papers on the History of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts, 1995, 33-55.
7. Popović, Marko. Vladarski i vlasteoski dvor u srednjovekovnoj Bosni (Court of the rulers and landed aristocracy in mediaeval Bosnia), Collected Papers on the History of Bosnia and Herzegovine 2. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts, 1997, 1-33.
8. Truhelka, Ćiro. Naši gradovi (Our towns). Sarajevo: Editions J. Studnička & Co booksellers, 1904.
9. Vego, Marko. Naselja srednjovjekovne bosanske države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1957, 105.
Condition
1. Very bad
By the late nineteenth century there were already reports that the fort was being plundered by the local population (Truhelka, 1904, 35). What Truhelka recorded in the early twentieth century no longer exists.
On site inspection revealed the following:
Inner fort
- the fort is in a state of some collapse, particularly the western and eastern ramparts of the inner fort, and the upper parts of the towers. The north-west tower has almost entirely lost its outer facings. The area inside the fort is tidy and passable, and there is no vegetation posing a danger to the walls.
- the entire structure of the entrance gate and the steps are in ruins. The fort is entered via an embankment and through a breach in the wall where the gate formerly stood.
- the steps referred to by Truhelka at the entrances to the north-west tower and the mosque no longer exist.
- there are no fireplaces, door jambs and window frames in the towers.
- every piece of stone slab that could have been used for building has been removed.
Outer fort
- where the entrance gate in the west wall stood there is just a large gap.
- the eastern rampart has been pulled down.
- houses and a rural road have been built alongside the south-west outer angle of the fort and part of the western rampart.
- although the fort has suffered considerably from the effects of time, it is still very impressive, and remains one of the best preserved mediaeval forts.
Amount of war or associated damage:
1. Small amount of war damage sustained
Risk
- the area is at risk of rapid deterioration due to lack of maintenance and failure to implement even a minimum set of protection measures.
- the area is at risk from the elements.
Condition risk
D. Immediate risk of further rapid detorioration 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 fases of protection – project of sanation, conservation and restauration.
For the protection and conservation and restauration of the National monument following measures and works shall be done:
- only conservation and restoration works, including works designed to display the monument, shall be permitted, carried out to a design project approved by the relevant Federal Ministry and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of FBiH
- all construction, works that could have the effect of altering the site, and the erection of temporary or permanent structures not intended solely for the preservation and display of the monument are prohibited
- the site of the National Monument shall be open and accessible to the public, and may be used for educational and cultural purposes
- the following measures in particular shall be carried out:
- clearing the walls of vegetation representing a danger to the structure of the monument
- conservation of the monument in its current condition
- clear the pathway/walkway on the ramparts of the fort and make good the access to the entrances to the towers
In the area that surrounds old fort of Bužim (this zone encompasses the slopes immediately adjacent to the fort; a residential building erected at the base of the fort alongside the south-western bastion, and is separated from the outer ramparts of the fort only by the road), no new building shall be permitted, but the rehabilitation and adaptation of existing buildings may be permitted to a maximum height of two storeys (ground plus one upper storey, 6.5 m. to the roof cornice) and maximum horizontal dimensions of 12 x 10 m with hipped roofs with a pitch of at least 40o.
In this zone the erection of industrial buildings and facilities, major infrastructure, or potential polluters as defined by regulations, is prohibited
Summary of required works and costing, within the Preliminary Technical Assessment and Feasibility Study is as follow:
Description of works Cost (€)
Priority protection 19 000
Investigatory works 69 500
Drawing up repair, reconstruction and conservation project 65 000
Repair, reconstruction and conservation works 986 000
Revitalisation of the property 50 000
TOTAL 1 189 500
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina allocated budget funds in the total sum of 250.000 KM (≈125.000 EURO), for projects and works on protection of the forts of BiH, in 2005. Bužim Fort is one of seven (7) forts for which funding is planned.
The Government of the Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina within “Transfer for Cultural Heritage” in 2005. and 2006. provided 26.000 EUR for drawing up Programme for Protection and for urgent measures.
The geodetic survey of the site and production of a geodetic plan in 2006 was financially funded (2.340 KM) by the Federal Ministry for Culture and Sport. Archaeological investigations were funded (28.166 KM) by the Federal Ministry for Regional Planning.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has planed, in its budget, financial means, in 2007 total of 25.000 EUR for projects and works on protection of the old town Bužim of BiH.
In 2008, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport, Tourist Association USC provided 82.000 KM. Conservation is under way in line with projects of Federal Institute for Protection of Monuments
The repair and protection of ramparts of the mediaeval fort in Bužim, conservation of ramparts phase 1 was funded (231.885,31 KM) by the Federal Ministry for Regional Planning. In 2008 the Govt of FBiH - Fed.Min.Regional Planning provided € 88.000,00.
Ownership
- Public property.
Occupation
- No occupancy.
Management
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 and 27) apply to the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments is a state 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 rendering decisions designating movable and immovable property as national monuments, applying the criteria on 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 national monuments.
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, display and rehabilitate the National Monument.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for providing the resources for drawing up and implementing the necessary technical documentation for the rehabilitation of the National Monument.
The Ministry of Regional Planning of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for implementing the protection measures prescribed by law. The ministry is also responsible for issuing planning permission and approval for all building and other works on a protected site, based on planning and technical documentation approved by an authorized specialist institution.
The Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport is responsible for professional supervision, as prescribed by Decision of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, and for implementing the projects or parts thereof that are financed by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Decisions designating national monuments are forwarded to the authorities responsible for town and country planning and cadastral records in order that the measures set forth in the decisions may be implemented, and to the relevant municipal court for entry in the Land Register.
The Institute for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage, a public institution headquartered in Bihać, conducts heritage protection affairs in Una Sana Canton. The Institute conducts specialist and scientific studies and investigations, maintenance and takes steps of an administrative and financial nature required to identify, protect, maintain, popularize and publish (pertaining to the cultural heritage of importance for the canton).
The Municipality of Bužim, acting through its own departments and through the building and planning inspection service of the Federal Inspection Authority, is responsible for overseeing and checking activities in the field.
The Municipality is required to append to the decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments all its plans and official documents pertaining to the protected site of a national monument. The Municipality is required to refrain from all activities detrimental to the monument, and to cooperate 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 authorized to perform activities of international cooperation 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
The Bužim fort appears in historical documents under two names, Čava and Bužim. Although Bužim is one of the largest mediaeval forts in the Krajina (military frontier region) and was of major importance, nothing is known of when it was first built. The system of building suggests that it dates from the fourteenth century, from which time on there is rather more information.
The Bužim Old Fort is an interesting example of the older type of fortifications, erected before the age of firearms, with a new set of ramparts and towers built later in the early days of defensive fortifications against artillery fire. The remains of the fort of Bužim consist of inner and outer fortifications, with the entire complex covering an area of approximately 7.270m2.
The Bužim Old Fort is one of the most typical examples of mediaeval fortifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina, initially built under the strong influence of central Europe, and later enlarged and developed as an Ottoman fortified town. The major interest of the fortification is the ease with which its chronological development can be observed, its position and its historical importance.
The monument is in poor condition and at risk of further deterioration. As well as preserving the Monument, the main idea of this project is to initiate sustainable development of the region through development of cultural tourism. The Old Fort will be open to the public and used for educational and cultural purposes.
Also it will support the preservation and restoration of all other cultural and historical monuments in the area, and become a part of viable development programs and strategies of the whole region.
The priority level of intervention is HIGH.
NOTE:
Condition
1. Very bad
Condition risk
E. Immediate risk of further rapid detorioration or loss of fabric, solution agreed but not begun.
Sign. and date
Silvana Ćobanov, archaeologist
Mirela Mulalić Handan, architect
2010
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