Resurgence
of Mostar’s Historic City Centre
New Agency for Conservation and
Development to Build on Completed Projects
World Bank Funding Launches Next Stage of Restoration
New
Brochure: Conservation
and Revitalisation of Historic Mostar, (Copyright:
Aga Khan Trust for Cutlure)
from the Historic
Cities Support Programme of the Aga
Khan Trust for Culture
 Mostar,
23 July 2004 -- In
tandem with the opening of Mostar’s reconstructed
Old Bridge, the Mayor of Mostar and representatives
of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the World
Monuments Fund announced today the establishment
of an agency to guide future conservation and development
projects in the city. The Stari grad agency
is an outgrowth of a five-year collaborative effort
between AKTC, WMF and the city of Mostar to plan
for the preservation of the city’s architecturally
important historic core. To date the AKTC and WMF
have invested nearly US$5 million in this effort.
The
AKTC/WMF program, established in 1999, responded
to the urgent need for a framework for the reconstruction
of the historic core of the city in order to put
a halt to the hasty and unregulated development
that took place in the aftermath of the 1993 war.
“Our work complements the reconstruction of
the Old Bridge and places the restored Bridge in
the social and environmental context of a living
historic city, said Bonnie Burnham, WMF’s
President and DR. Stefano Bianca, Director of the
AKTC’s Historic Cities Support Programme,
in a joint statement. “It has also helped
increase the economic potential of the city which,
to a large extent, will be driven by tourism in
the future.”
In
1999, AKTC/WMF published a priority list of 15 buildings
in the central historic district that would be pivotal
to the city’s economic and cultural recovery.
As of today, five of these buildings have been restored,
and another three will be completed and returned
to use with a $2.2 commitment of funds from the
World Bank. AKTC and WMF are seeking institutional
donors and commercial investors to adopt the remaining
seven sites.
To
coordinate future restoration and rehabilitation
efforts, AKTC and WMF have set up the “Stari
grad (Old Town) agency. The agency will play an
important role in overseeing future development
within the historic city, and implementing its “Conservation
and Development Plan for the Old Town.” The
plan, also developed with AKTC/WMF support, was
adopted by city authorities on May 15, 2001. It
is intended to ensure that the historic character
of Mostar will be preserved during rehabilitation
and development.
In
addition to planning for the city’s future,
training a new generation of conservation professionals,
and advocating the restoration of these key buildings,
AKTC/WMF have invested funds in the restoration
of typical Ottoman buildings and urban fabric, such
as paving and landscaping, around the historic Old
Bridge. Buildings put back into use through this
program will provide income for the Stari grad Agency
for the next 10 years, according to an agreement
with the Municipality.
Proposals
and design plans for the buildings on the AKTC/WMF
priority list are published in Reclaiming Historic
Mostar, Opportunities for Revitalization, published
in 1999 by the two organizations. A new brochure,
published today, is titled Conservation
and Revitalization of Historic Mostar. Both
publications may be obtained from the offices of
the Aga Khan Trust for Culture or the World Monuments
Fund.
“A
great deal has been accomplished in Mostar in the
last five years, but much still remains to be done.
The Old Bridge and the city are around it are central
to Bosnia’s recovery from the ethnic conflict
that has devastated the country. A new chapter in
that history begins today,” said Ms. Burnham
and Dr. Bianca.
For
more information, please contact:
Sam
Pickens
Information Officer
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
P.O. Box 2049
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel: (+41 22) 909 7277
Fax: (+41 22) 909 7292
Email: info@akdn.org
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