e-mail: rzzsk@EUnet.yu
April 5, 1999
Dear Colleague, Sir or Madam,
As a great number of monuments of culture on the territory of the FR Yugoslavia have been put in a serious danger by NATO bombing, we are making an appeal to you to use your own authority and that of your institution in order that The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of an Armed Conflict be observed, so that those monuments could be saved and protected. According to the Convention, the contracting parties agreed that the preservation of cultural property and historical heritage is of utmost importance for all nations of the world and that this heritage must receive international protection.
We must inform you that during several NATO aerial attacks (the latest being during the night of April 4/5) the church of Gracanica monastery - one of the most important monuments of 14th century Byzantine art, has been damaged. According to the initial estimates, the facades have been damaged and cracks on the fresco paintings have appeared. As professional conservators, we emphasise that even the slightest damage to the roofing and the walls can endanger fresco paintings, while tremors caused by near-by detonations can be fatal.
We have reports that during bombing of the region of Kursumlija, the churches of the Virgin and St. Nicholas (12th/13th centuries) were damaged too.
The damage is reported on the monastery of Rakovica, 15th/18th centuries.
During the past two days the areas of Smederevo (Medieval fortress and church - 15th century), Pancevo (Vojlovica monastery - 15th /18th century), Prizren (Virgin Ljeviska church - 11th/14th century, Church of the Savior - 14th century, St. Nicholas church - 14th century, Sinan Pasha Mosque - 17th century), Pec (The Patriarchate of Pec - 13th/14th century) were bombed.
Please note that on the territory of FR Yugoslavia the following monuments figure on the List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage:
Stari Ras with Sopocani monastery (12th-13th century), Studenica monastery (12th-13th century), Medieval city of Kotor and Durmitor National Park.
Although the monastery of Decani (14th century) went through nomination procedure in 1994, it has not yet been enlisted.
Besides these, dozens of monuments, mostly churches with fresco paintings, have artistic values that recommend them for the List of the World Cultural Heritage. For instance: the prehistoric settlement Lepenski Vir; the Roman imperial palace Romuliana at Gamzigrad; the 13th century churches and monasteries Zica, Mileseva, Gradac, Arilje and the Holy Apostles at the Patriarchate of Pec; the 14th century churches and monasteries Virgin Ljeviska in Prizren, Gracanica, Banjska, St Demetrius and the church of the Virgin at the Patriarchate of Pec; the 14th-15th century monasteries Ravanica, Manasija (Resava) and Kalenic.
The artistic and historic value of these monuments and their place in the European civilisation as a whole have been duly recognised. They have been the subject of numerous scholarly publications at home and abroad. As far as fresco paintings are concerned, many of them represent the highest achievements of the art of the Byzantine world of the 12th-15th centuries and in many cases are indeed the only preserved examples of a particular period or style.
At the present moment we have no precise data on the damage which some of these monuments may have sustained. It is certain, however, that severe detonations in their vicinity will cause irreparable damage and destruction. Please do your utmost to inform those concerned that a heritage which is of immense value to our civilisation is at stake.
Sincerely Yours,
Olivera Kandic, M. Arch.
President of the Society of Conservators of Serbian Monuments