Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31953/sz.50.1.7
CONSULTATION ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENT AND NEW PURPOSE OF THE NEHAJ FORTRESS IN SENJ, 1963
Helena Knifić Schaps
orcid.org/0000-0001-6283-0681
Abstract
The situation in one of the most destroyed Croatian towns in the Second World War conditioned the need for the gathering of professions and politics in Senj. In the bombings of 1943 and 1944-1945, between 70% and 80% of the building stock was destroyed. Disunity in opinions between the citizenry, politics and conservation services hindered any progress. One of the first activities of the Senj Town Museum, after its formal establishment in 1962, was the Consultation about the arrangement and contemporary use of the Nehaj fortress debate. It took place in the premises of the Fortress on 22nd July in 1963. It brought together the most eminent experts in the field of monument heritage protection, planning and design, as well as representatives of the political structures of the then State, Republic, District, Town and the army. The significance of the Consultation lay in the decisions made, which were given formal and executive powers. This one-day assembly showed how exceptional efficiency and unity can be achieved with good preparation, especially regarding the position regarding the sources and methods of financing the renovation and stipulating the purpose (for example, exclusively tourist or hospitality). Nehaj was intended to be arranged as a museum to house the Uskok Collection, in accordance with all modern conservation knowledge and methods. The Consultation was one of the cornerstones of the subsequent activities of the Senj Town Museum, of the first director Ante Glavičić and his collaborators and successors, in the systematic reconnaissance and restoration of the architectural heritage of Senj. It was placed in the context of the post-war period and the reconstruction and revitalisation of the architectural heritage that had already been started and/ or carried out. It also looks at the role of some of the main stakeholders in decision-making (the People’s Committee of the Municipality of Senj, the Senj Museum Society, the Senj Town Museum, the Council of Citizens for the Reconstruction of the Nehaj Fortress), consideration and design (JAZU Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts, conservation institutes in Rijeka and Zagreb), as well as the organisational processes and circumstances of the carrying out of the works (Stonemason’s group, engineers M. Hudec and K. Prpić). Amongst the results prompted by the guidelines and conclusions of the Consultation, the systematic work on the collection of archival materials (M. Viličić, A. Glavičić) necessary for the preparation of projects (J. Denzler, M. Viličić, conservation institutes) and the planning of the Uskok and other museum collections, architectural surveying of the old town centre and the Nehaj fortress (M. Viličić), the established good cooperation with scientific and professional institutions, conservators and architects, preparation of studies and scientific papers on the subject of architectural monuments of Senj and more all stand out. It is especially worth looking at those beginnings in the light of Senj’s architectural heritage (without the archaeological) today registered in the Register of Cultural Property of the Republic of Croatia as permanently (10 lots) or preventively protected (1 lot).
Keywords
Consultation; Council of Citizens for further care of Nehaj Fortress; Senj Town Museum; Ante Glavičić; Nehaj Fortress
Hrčak ID:
312103
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2023.
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