FRANCISCAN MONASTERY Bač Serbia
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FRANCISCAN MONASTERY Bač Serbia INTEGRATED REHABILITATION PROJECT PLAN / SURVEY OF THE ARCHITECTURAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE (IRPP/SAAH) Regional Programme for Cultural and Natural Heritage in South East Europe 2003 - 2006 PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCHITECTURAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE Document adopted by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia on 29 January 2007 FRANCISCAN MONASTERY Bač Serbia FOREWORD In the framework of the European Commission/Council of Europe Joint Programme on the Integrated Rehabilitation Project Plan /Survey of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage (IRPP/SAAH), the present Preliminary Technical Assessment (PTA) was prepared by the following local expert: Slavica Vujovic headed by Borislav Surdic, IRPP/SAAH Project Coordinator, in cooperation with the PTA expert group: Leader Dr. John Bold (United Kingdom); Experts: Ms. Emma Carmichael (United Kingdom), Mr. Giorgio Gianighian (Italy), Mr. Andreas Heymowski (Sweden), Mr. David Johnson (United Kingdom), Mr. Pedro Ponce de Leon (Spain), Mr. Alkis Prepis (Greece). The Preliminary Technical Assessment (PTA) was adopted by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, on 29 January 2007. Preliminary Technical Assessment of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage in South East Europe 1 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________ 1. Introductory page Site map Franciscan Monastery, Bač 1.1 Country or Territory: Republic ofSerbia 1.2 Name of organisation Provincial Institute for the Protection of compiling the information: Cultural Monuments of Vojvodina, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade 1.3 Contact name: Vujović Slavica 1.4 E-mail address: [email protected] , [email protected] 1.5 Name and address of building(s) or site: Franciscan Monastery, 10 PhDZoran inić Street, 21420 Bač 1.6 Inventory reference number(s): R.No.670, from 30/05/1951 1.7 Building/Monument/Site type: Monastery complex 1.8 Main dates: Templar Knights Order, Canons of the Holy Sepulchre built the monastery and the church at the end of the 12th century 1241 – The Mongols devastated Bač, the church was ruined 1300 –Friars from different provinces and different offshoots of the Franciscan order took over the monastery 1529 – The Turks desecrated the church and converted it into a mosque 1688 – The arrival of the Franciscans from Gradovrh near Tuzla, Bosnia 1703 –Ruination during Rakoszy’s rebellion, the friars left and returned 1734 – Building of the south and east wings of the monastery in the baroque style started 1756-59 The building of the complex was brought to a finish 1.9 Current use(s): Religious, The Franciscan Monastery _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Franciscan Monestry – Bač –Serbia29 January 2007 Preliminary Technical Assessment of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage in South East Europe 2 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________ 2. Executive Summary: the site and its management The Franciscan Monastery with its church is a rare and outstanding heritage site in Serbia. It is located in the centre of Bač, in the southwest of Bačka which was named after this ancient town. Bač is the centre of the municipality and is comprised of six settlements, 62km from Novi Sad and 140 km from Belgrade. The municipality of Bač is a border town– the left bank of the Danube, 43km long, is its western border with the Republic of Croatia. The monastery complex sits well within the landscape and the medieval matrix, with a 45-metre- tall bell tower. The recognisable monasterycomplex in the shape of a square with an inner yard is made up of the church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary with a bell tower added along its west side and three one-floor wings built on its south side. The present-day Franciscan monastery complex evolved during a long period of six centuries. Its complex structure is made up of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Islamic and Baroque architecture. The rich treasury, old books, paintings, sculptures, liturgical robes and inventories testifyto the life of this cult place. During the long period of its existence, the monastery has been threatened by humidity. The threat is not only the high level of underground water, but also the problem of the rainwater drainage system that has not been solved yet. There are no pavements around the objects. Water breaks through the basements and the crypt, it then rises and damages the building materials, especially the bricks and the works of art. The monastic community consists of only one friar! The number of people who sustain the monastery is constantly decreasing. Unless there is more help, it will not be possible to sanitise the damp walls or to open the gates of the monastery for visitors. Having taken into account the condition of the monastery and its value, as well as the value of other heritage sites in the municipality area of Bač, we made a development project for the integrative protection of the cultural heritage of the municipality of Bač – “Bač through history”. The project points to cultural and natural heritage as a factorfor development of the whole region. It has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Province of Vojvodina and the Municipality of Bač. Its realisation will be supported by the foundation “Bač through history”. It is planned to carry out additional research, sanitise the damp walls and organise the free spaces, as well as to adapt numerous empty rooms for the purposes of museum exhibitions and accommodation and for the work of the expert teams in the future research centre. Funding of this project would create the possibility of holding both educational and spiritual music programmes. This could contribute to the promotion of mutual respect of the identities of the peoples who live together, as well as to their prosperity and a better quality of life. 3. Administrative information 3.1 Responsible Authorities Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia Department of Education and Culture of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Petrovaradin The Municipality of Bač 3.2 Building/Site, Name and Address Franciscan Monastery 10PhD Zoran inić St, 21420 Bač Tel. +381 21 77 07 33, prior, friar Josip Špehar _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Franciscan Monestry – Bač –Serbia29 January 2007 Preliminary Technical Assessment of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage in South East Europe 3 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________ 3.3. Geographical reference Latitude: 19 0 52' 57'' Longitude: 45 0 23' 31'' Altitude: 80 m 3.4 Type of monument Architectural, the monasteryand the church dedicated to the Assumption of Virgin Mary with archaeological remains, located in the urban area in the centre of Bač. 3.5 Ownership Private, since 1923 it belongs to the Croatian province of St Cyril and Methodius with the seat in Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia. 3.6 Statutory Protection/Constraints A cultural monument of outstanding significance for the Republic of Serbia. The plan documentation provides adequate treatment of the complex as a cultural asset. The conditions for the preservation of the complex and the protected surroundings have been incorporated in the spatial plan of the Municipality of Bač (theplan is being drawn up) and the general plan for the regulation of Bač. 4. Summary of condition 4.1. Summary of Physical Condition Medium to high 4.2. Condition Risk Assessment C The overall condition of the monastery complex is not so disturbing that intervention work should be taken up urgently. It is necessary, though, to undertake certain works as soon as possible. 4.3. Priority for intervention Medium to high 5. Existing information 5.1. Documentary (written) sources Taking into the account that both the monastery and the church in Bač have been written about several times, mostly on the basis of archive documentation in the context of a cult place and history of the ancient Bač, it is necessary to continue the research and establish the exact cultural stratigraphy of the site and the chronology of building of the complex. In the previous research, we used old engravings dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, registries and the monastic and other archive documentation. The Provincial Institute documentation incorporates the following documentation: the project of the present condition of the complex, the complete _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________ Franciscan Monestry – Bač –Serbia29 January 2007 Preliminary Technical Assessment of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage in South East Europe 4 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________ documentation of archaeological