YUGOSLAVIAANNEX YUGOSLAVIA Situation ‘The wish and effort to preserve sites and “monuments” of historic interest in Yugoslavia involve many of the same problems encountered everywhere in Europe. Atthe same time, however, some of these problems stem speciically from the peculiar circumstances of this region's present or past epochs. To begin with, the process of listing and evaluating our cultural assets in general and our architectural heritage in partioular has not yet been completed. This situation results no‘ only from the growth ofa system a values o assess the legacy of the past more accurately then hitherto, but also from the delays suffered in the development ofthe protec tion services. The organizing of a modem service for safeguarding historic monuments with ts activites based on statutory provisions was not created unt the New Yugoslavia emerged alter Worid War Il, Neadless to say, this observation isnot intended to pass over in silence or fo minimize the endeavours undertaken by numerous special- ists in the past to protect our cultural property. We merely wish to attract attention to the impact of this delay on the course of events with the result thal tne protection services, not yel abe to resolve the problems of growing complexily with which it is confronted - despite the number of sspocialized toams at work in this field and the institutional structure of the organization The first law on the safeguarding of “cultural monument was promulgated before the end of the War. It authorized notenly the establishment of @ specialized service, but also the provision of administrative powers to prohibit thecemol- ition and impairment of cultural assets. This law under- scored the primacy of general and social interests over individual interes. Irrespective ofthe wishes ofthe owner, certain buildings or other monuments were declared to be of general interest by virue of their historic, commemorative ‘and artistic merit. This fundamental law (which was renewed and amended on several occasions in the legisla~ tion enacted during each Republic) clearly did a lt for the ‘conservation of cultural assets in Yugosiavia. Nevertheless, its limits became more and more evident with the passage oftime. As the name ofthe law implies, its zimwas o protect “monuments” and this term traditionally conveys an associ- ation of ideas surrounding something special and excep- tional. in practice, numerous difficulties emerged when the provisions of the salute had tobe applied to entire towns or to streets or groups of buildings. This was particularly the case when the value of the surrounding setting or framework came to be appreciated and it was realized that the latter might well comprise structures devoid of any resemblance to ‘monuments of historic merit Be that as it may, the weak point in the law was the disproportion between the full powers which it gave the protection service and the funds available for imple- ‘menting its specific functions. Because ofthis discrepancy. @ large number of cultural assets - and particularly those comprising our architectural heritage — were covered by what can justifably be described as “passive” protection. It was precisely in conjunction with this architectural legacy of ours that numerous problems ernerged in tegard to property = problems which supplementary articles in the law endeavoured to resolve by encouraging the owners or tenants of the buildings in question to carry cut the neces- sary conservation measures (by granting tax relief, giving loans etc.). However, the passage of time brought to light the divergenoe between "abstract" values of interest to the ‘whole community and the real values inherent in these buildings o sites and of interest to certain individuals only, Allin all, the whole legal sphere of safeguarding cultural assets and the fundamental questions involved in their ‘conservation and restoration falls within the competence of the educational and cultural authorities, Clearly, itis cultural motivation which is opposed to the ruthless destruction of historic treasures which took place in the 18th and which has taken place in our century, too. The safeguarding of our historic legacy in towns furnishes a cultural conscience rising to counter the domination of economic motivation. But when cultural forces oppose economic growih in regard to the historic assets ofa large number of iowns and cities, this trend has fostered the progressive isolation of the cham- pions of culture. In many instances, the demands voiced by the conservationists seem to lack any economie basis and they militate against the initiative displayed by private persons and various organizations concsmed with these matters. Although the demands for protection are not without their professional supporters, they rarely offer any altemative and even less encouragement for the official support which they recommand and which would accord with the principles of protection, During recent decades, the new dimensions of economic and social life have emerged with great clarity throughout ‘Yugoslavia and more especially along the Adriaticcoast. AS the maintenance of buildings becomes more and more expensive, this naturally clashes with historic structures so that the problem of relations between “ancient” and "mo- dern” becomes aggravated to an unusual degree. This attitude towards places of historic interest and indi- Vidual buildings and indeed towards the “past” in general has basically determined oursystem of social values with its emphasis on reconstruction, development, progress and modernization, During the decades after Wor'd War Il when a spate of new methods of production enabied mankind to abandon outmoded and largely inferior forms of social and economic life, it has proved fairy dificult to defend the protection of old monuments, which rested on estimates incapable of either precise quantification or economic expression. This is an epoch in which the growth of com- munications from the modern super highway to radio and television has transcended the narrow confines of local, ‘miero-regionel or regional fein which the standard of ving has steadily increased and given people an ever greater choice of consumer goods; in which the orientation towards the various types of "modem life” has created by itself a hostile disposition towards the “antiquated”. The introduc- tion of new standards of housing inevitably led to the abandonment of old historic buildings. The crisis exper'- enced by the owners of old houses and their changed standing in the community began to forma vicious circle: the investments in housing by-passed the old quarters more and more with the result that the conditions there deterior- ated. Furthermore, the steady growth in car ownership was naturally inimical to the system of narrow streets and small squares. The trond towards a fresh set of values went hand in hand with an indifference towards old buildings. Indeed, 983this change in attude induced the handing down of heart: less sentences on old buildings in some cases. Only ‘gradually did technical considerations begin to offset the concepts of growth and development. The opposition be- tweenprivateinterostsandgeneraliniorestsbecameevident, first of alin the continuous menace to the environment and then in the continuous loss of communal assets formeriy deemed sacrosanct (fresh air, clear water, an unimpaired landscape). At the same time, people became more and more aware that the bulk of the new buildings, having been erected in the wide spaces surrounding the old town- centres without adding any new dimension tothe quality of Utban life or to historic sites in general, now provide fresh opportunites for official intervention based on the wish to maintain and reconstruct the legacy of the past instead of destroying it Today, ithras become clear that the safeguarding of historic sites 1s not only @ matter for the special environmental authorities I also forms an essential element in the overall town planning schemes. Clearly, there stil exist numerous discrepancies between the given agreemenisand everyday Practice. It is no rare occurrence to witness litigation be- {ween cifferent specialists, whoin tum have been motivated by other quarrels frequently based on economic interests Nevertheless, the situation in @ large number of towns and along a major stretch of the Adriatic coast has clearly reached the point winere the concept of saving the environ- ‘ment and historic places has become the prime ecological issue. Maintenance, renovation and revitalization Central to the complex problems of maintaining and renew- ing historic sites is the concept of “cultural animation”. It was thanks to this “cultural animation” that the most signii- cant official support has been accorded to Yugosiavia's historic buildings and streets. The first major initiative related to two large groups of medieval structures located within the walls of Diocletian's palace, an edifice builtin the later period of the Roman Empire at Split, which first started {o thrive in the 7th and th centuries A. D. The first group, a umber of Roman and Gathic houses, is similar in design to the peristyle type ol architecture. Prior to the granting of official support, it consisted of a number of dilapidated buildings — virtually ruins, infact. After a long study intended, inter alia, to rediscover the original forms, the requisite pre- conditions for support and a new function for the buildings were cteated. Today, the buildings house the "Workers University” with its classrooms, library and lecture halls. ‘The same type of cultural function, though on a somewhat Wider scale, also inspired the second set ol official mea- sures to restore the medieval structures located near the access to the imperial palace from the North, the famous golden gates. Those two cases involved dilapidated struc: tures belonging to the old urban fabric and finally evacuated by the poorest members of the community who had sought reluge there. Hence, this official intervention was not only practical in character, but also theoretical and predeter- mined in regard to methodology. It provided the answers to a number of questions beginning with the methods ‘employed in research on historic structures and the techni ‘ques of documentation up to and including the technology of reconstruction and restoration. To a certainextent, the most significant response was the actual execution ofthe project, because it revealed that those historic edifices which 384 seemed definitely lost may, by dint of assiduous efforts, regain their former qualities and become a useful part of modem lie. ‘The accommodating of various cultural institutions in his- toric houses and buildings has enabled the authorities 10 provide official support for numerous sites and thus ensure ‘longer life for them. Admittedly, this is not the only way of ‘assuring the conservation of these localities. & large and lively city such as Spiitcan setup large cultural facilities ints okdest quarter in a manner which many smaller historic towns cannot hope to emulate. ‘The fundamental question which arises inthis contoxtis to determine the vial relationship between the population and its individual way of lite, This question is sometimes neg- lected in the major intervention schemas, financed from outside sources. Attra, apart from those persons who are actualy forced to give up their accommodation tomake way for cultura institutions, the decisions and official suppor in respect of such changes always result in the exodus of sections of the population to the suburbs. Housing is replaced by public organizations. The oldness of historic places obviously constitutes one of the factors which invariably result in their evacuation, An pinion pol carried out in many othe old towns revealed @ large percentage of inhabitants in favour of leaving their homes and moving elsewhere. In certain laces, it can be demonstrated in precise terms that the money spent by People to build new houses outside the historic town- centres amounts to much more than would have been necessary to restore the old quarters and render them fit for human habitation. There are many factors in the scale of values which determine the behaviour of a large part of the population in the historic quarters and which militate against their lving there. Only the implementation of appropriate Policies which stimulates individual efortso reconstruct old places and a wide measure of support to improve com- munal standards may help to achieve the concitions needed to revitalize many of our towns and cities. The problem of safeguarding historic structures also arises, to particular degree, and on a wide scale, for Zagreb. The historie centre of this large conurbation with its 600,000 inhabitants has remained more or less intact - 2 centre Which developed in three stages during the period from the ‘th to the 18th centuries. The case of Zagreb has, quite rightly, presented forthe first time the problem of conserving a large part of the central area of a city, which was ‘constructed during the last century and at the beginning of this century. The preservation of this new part” of the town provoked a certain degree of polential resistance in protes- sional circles as well as among many other involved groups ~ ranging from the interests of those wno wishedio increase the value of landed property by erecting high-rise buildings to the wishes of those champions of freely moving trafic \who were, andl are, inhibited by the rectilinear network of unduly narrow streets. In hat sphere, too, the conservation ists can but make the first step by ensuring the “passive" safeguarding of these large areas unila later time when the huge sums needed for preservation may become available. Although certain parts of the town such as Gornji grad and Kaptol possess neither the functions nor the establishments to sustain the economic basis for their rehabiliation, a large area in the centre of the town consists of buildings which ‘mostly house commercial enterprises, public organizations, banks and cultural institutions from all over the local area, Despite this, itis impossible to obtain the funds needed to