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Commission to preserve National Monuments
Visits to Municipalities: Šipovo and Mrkonjić Grad, July 09, 2004
The Commission
visited Šipovo and Mrkonjić Grad municipalities during the 15th session.
The meeting was attended by the Commission members and associates and by Zdravko Trivunčić, Deputy Mayor; Jadranko Ivić, Head of cadastre department, Mirjana Radmilo, officer for regional planning; Gojko Vidović, police officer for municipality services; and Ilija Miličić, President of citizens' association «Vitorog». |
The Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina include 777 properties and it was composed by the previous complement of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments. This Commission had been in charge from 1996 to 2001, with the UNESCO support. Those present were also informed about the activities of the Commission concerning national monuments at risk from illegal construction, inexpert reconstruction, lack of maintenance or other forms of destruction or dilapidation, and that pursuant to the Criminal Code, such actions or omissions may be the subject of criminal charges. They were also informed about the principle of transparency, which guided the work of the Commission, and the publishing rules for the decisions and other acts of the Commission.
The method and forms of cooperation were set out in detail. Municipal representatives confirmed that they would cooperate with the Commission members and Secretariat as required by the law. It was confirmed that the Commission Secretariat qualified staff members would be provided with all the necessary information from the municipal cadastral records, land registry, archives, and regional planning documentation, when preparing the documentation required for adopting a decision to designate properties as national monuments. The municipal authorities will also provide the Commission staff members and associates with assistance when inspecting the sites of monuments, and when identifying possible additional sources of information on the properties in question.
All decisions adopted by the Commission will be forwarded to the municipal courts, which will check the land registry for charges against the plots relating to the Commission's decisions, after which the municipal courts will forward the necessary data to the municipal cadastral office so that information on the protection regime may be entered on the cadastral plan for each individual cadastral plot. Regulation plans and other regional planning documentation are inapplicable to the extent that they contravene the provisions of the Commission's decisions, which are final and binding.
It was made clear that the Commission adopts its decisions to designate properties pursuant to its jurisdiction, and that it has no funds available for the reconstruction of national monuments, but that it may approach the relevant state and entity institutions with a recommendation that funds be allocated for the protection of the monuments at greatest risk, and may also approach foreign donors. The Commission has established the list of the most endangered monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and initiated the international campaign in order to collect the funds for protection of three national monuments: Mehmed-paša Sokolović bridge in Višegrad, fortress in Stolac and fortress in Jajce.
The Commission is also responsible for international cooperation in the field of cultural heritage protection, ranging from cooperation with Interpol for properties illicitly exported from the country to proposing monuments for inclusion on the World Heritage List or the WMF World Monuments Watch List of the 100 most endangered properties and drafting and implementing international conventions and treaties.
Dubravko Lovrenović stated that archeological find (church), church Čifluk in Grahovci and Soko town in Pliva were included on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, however the petitions to designate a property as a national monument had never been submitted from the area of this municipality.
Ljiljana Ševo mentioned that there was more significant historical and cultural monument on the area of Šipovo municipality besides the above-mentioned, and that the Commission expected the petitions to designate those properties as national monuments to be submitted by the representatives of Šipovo Municipality.
Ilija Miličić informed those present about activities of the citizens' association «Vitorog» concerning ethnology and mountain climbing and about its workshop for production of objects using traditional handicraft. He pointed out that 264 localities had been recorded, but no activities had been taken for their protection. From the left side of the road Jajce – Šipovo, at the very entrance of the town, there are ruins of an city from the Roman period. These ruins were found while investigating a sonde. During the 80's, the local population used to find gold rings and jewellery at this site. In addition to that, Soko grad is a very significant, namely the course of the Sokočnica River, which has been practically untouched for the last 200 years. The Hrid, more exactly Sveto brdo (Holy Mountain), located near the Janja River spring, with incised inscription from the Roman period, is very interesting too. There is also a „salt path“ leading from Split, Livno, over Šipovo – where a large rest home for caravans was situated. Recently, during the construction of the main sewer, a crypt was discovered. So far, there is no information on the period from which this crypt originates, but it is assumed that it is a Greek crypt. The bones from the crypt are stored in the workshop. There is also the Glogovac Monastery, which dates from the 18th century. At the entry into Glogovac, there is the fortress from Illyric period, with large number of broken peaces of ceramics, and approx. 250 ethnic and cultural and historical exhibits is stored in the workshop, as well. A new premise for storing of the exibits is a necessity, until financial resources are provided for opening of the Homeland museum or establishing an institution, which will be responsible for the said exhibits.
Ljiljana Ševo drew attention to significance of Šipovo during the classical period, and to the hypothesis that the wide area of Šipovo was potential archaeological find. When it comes to discovering of some findings, it is always necessary to include experts – the findings are exceptionally valuable, but their value is reduced if a place of finding, depth and the archaeological layer are not accurately established. In order to have a scientific character, a collection of exhibits needs, for each exhibit, to have specified a precise location, depth of finding, as well as other information necessary for forming a wide archaeological picture. Disregarding financial problems, the local staff has at their disposal the experts from the
Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage and the
Museum of the Republic of Srpska of the Republic of Srpska, and it is necessary to establish cooperation with them.
Ilija Miličić drew attention to the established cooperation with the Museum of the Republic of Srpska and that they had been told to save the findings discovered during the works at the main sewage site or similar. Establishing of an institution for protection of cultural and historical heritage or providing of funds for the work of some non-governmental organization is an urgent issue at this moment.
Zdravko Trivunčić mentioned that the Municipality budget was 1,500,000 KM, having no foreseen funds for heritage protection, even though municipalities had supported heritage protection in different ways.
After the meeting, a visit was made to Soko grad in Pliva and Mužić site.
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