Lesson 2 in Traditional Serbian Rural Architecture:Style by Regions

The method of construction in Serbian rural architecture were based on the experience of Serbian farmers, self-taught builders, who choose the best solutions and adjusted their houses to their life and work. This was not only expressed by the disposition of basic layout, format and organization of residential homes and commercial buildings, but also in the construction and the details. It was not based on fashionable developments in architecture and urbanism.

According of needs and lifestyle of the farmer, there were various types of houses:
• the unicellular houses in which the farmer shared the space with its cattle and the fireplace was located in the middle of the room with no chimney
• the two-room houses (this was the most popular type) were the living space was divided from a backroom and the animals were located in stalls
• more-room houses, where more rooms and a porch were added to the two room form (typical for the Vojvodina region)

When you travel cross the Balkans you notice various type of regional rural architecture:


• The Log Cabin of Western Serbia

 Typical Homestead of Western Serbian Cottages

The Log Cabin (Brvnara) with straw- or shingles-roof is found mostly in forestous and mountainous areas like Zlatibor and Tara region in Western Serbia (and in general in the dinaric alps - Western part of Serbian Kraijna, Bosnia, Eastern Montenegro). 

The luscious pine forests supply with good building material. Usually it has an elongated form, stands on a stone cellar and is placed orthogonally to the steep terrain and shows the cellar (izba) on the downhill side. Also typical is the huge pyramidal high-hipped roof placed on a relative low cubus of the cottage. Usually different cottages are placed together and build a harmonious looking homestead.

The harmonious composition of roofs in Kusturica's "Drvengrad" in Mokra Gora
 

Dinaric cottage interior (from Etnografic Museum Belgrade)

Homestaed of Cottages in Tara National Park, I like in particular how all the color graduation are only made by choosing different colored stones and different kind of Woods

Derivates of the Dinaric Cottage in Kusturica's "Drvengrad": he maintained the traditional language in shapes and materials and adapted it modern requirements.

Timber Cottages in Trsic (Vuk Karadzic's village): where the terrain is steep, the house has to adapt with its soccle 

Every cottage had its purpose. A typical homestead consisted of a chicken coop, a corn crib, a baking cottage, a place for drying plums, a guest cottage, a granary and a milk house for instance.

Sheperd's cottages in Tara National Park (link to the picture)

• The Moravian House 

 Typical old Bondruka (link to the picture)

In the area of the West Morava (Central and Eastern Serbia) it's more the Bondruka-type of house, usually two-room (living-space and sleeping-space) with tented roof covered with ceramic tiles. The walls are plastered and mostly white. Some have a stone socle or even a stone basement underneath. The Moravian House is widespread all over Serbia.

Moravian homestead in the Raska region 

A Bondruka style house of Eastern Serbia (link to the picture)

On the weather exposed side, the painted mud dries out and start to crumble down after a while. Here the wooden construction can be seen (link to the picture)

A 2-storeys version of Moravian House (link to the picture)

The interior of a Bondruka (picture from arvin studio)

• The Pannonian House (Vojvodinian House)

In the flat Vojvodina region, the layout of villages is orthogonally structured and houses are laid perpendicular to the street. So they were organized with a front room (living-space) a backroom (sleeping place) and a kitchen (with fireplace) just after the front porch. Between the houses lays the garden and the yard.

Influenced by Austro-Hungarian Empire these houses were often decorated in Art-Nouveau and Baroque-Style.

For more information about the Houses of Vojvodina there is a good link in Serbian here.

• The Oriental Style House in Southern Serbia  

 (link to the picture)

The Konak (word from turkish - palace) was represented for most of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, that is to say the end of the Ottoman presence and autonomy of the Principality of Serbia. Vranje is a city with lots of this style of houses.

In general, buildings of this period include a basement and two floors. The walls are pierced by many windows arranged symmetrically. The façade is decorated with one or two bay windows, a cantilevered glass Advanced overlooking the street and expanded interior space, while the courtyard façade is decorated with a balcony. The court, located at the rear of the manor, is fenced by high walls.

• Coastal Stone Houses

 (from www.montenegro.com)

Stone houses are situated in Eastern Hercegovina, on the Montenegrin Coast and in some part of Dalmatia. Usually not only the walls were build in stone but stone was used for the roof decking as well.

Look also to this very interesting file to download here: http://www.gov.me/files/1247231219.pdf
and part two here: www.gov.me/files/1247231246.pdf 

 N.B.

When talking Balkans, a simple definition like "region" can easily provoke discussions about proper names, geographical definition and whether the buildings I'm talking about are just Serbian or generally just south-slavic houses. I try to give accurate informations keeping in mind that the purpose of my research work on rural Serbian houses, was to remodel an old Serbian family house and I was studying it traveling through Serbian regions (of today and the past). I'm of course aware that also in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and all over the South-Slavic region same (or similar) buildings are found. Also in specific regions that are Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia per definition today, were settled by Serbians earlier who left so prints in rural architecture. So it's not about who made what and where and who influenced who. These buildings were born out of specific necessities regardless of ethnic ideology….!

Lesson 1 in Traditional Serbian Rural Architecture

The reason I researched information about traditional rural houses (seoske kuce) in Serbia, was a personal one: my husband and I wanted to remodel his old family house in a village in the south of Serbia.
But for me, only if I understand the principle of the past I can apply them in a contemporary way. And also only if I understand the regional peculiarities I can transform an old house into a modern one that blends perfectly with the surroundings.

Basically the rural type houses have two typical images: there is the log-cabin (mostly in Western Serbia) called "брвнара" (brvnara, from brvno = log) and the cottage with mud-filled walls (all over Serbia) called "бондрука" (bondruka). Then there are mixed forms of these two basic types.

The way of construction and how the buildings and rooms were disposed, based on the experience of the farmers and how the farmers household was organized. The architecture was deducted from the form of living, and this was very close and dependable from nature, weather and the characteristics of the area.
So the building were strictly functional and the used material was what the pheasant could find in his surrounding:
wattle of reef, wood or straw for fillings of wooden framework and wood-shingles or tiles to cover the roof. Then according to climatic conditions, the materials may vary.

 

The ”брвнара” (brvnara)

This is the oldest type and also the rarest form: the log-cabin. It's a one-room rectangle building, built directly on the ground or on a flat base of rubble stones (mostly when the terrain is steep). The tented or hip roof (four sides) is steep and covered with wooden shingles. The eaves come down very low and cover most part of the windows and protects them from weather.

The typical of the log-cabin is that the walls are massive and full. The logs can be round or squared off.

Vuk Karadzic's house in Trsic (here my post about Trsic)

 
An open fireplace is located in the center. Usually there are two doors on oposite sides. Тhe floors are of stomped earth and the ceiling is open to the roof. Windows are just small vents in the logs, that will be closed with wood or transparent leather in winter.

These log-cabins were used for living or overnight-stay in the woods, today it's still used for weekend-houses in the mountains.

Бондручна конструкција испуњена чатмом
(The Bondruka Wall is a wooden skeleton filled with mud)

The "бондрука" (bondruka)
Tis is the most popular rural house in the Balkan region and is a further progress of the log-cabin. The construction is of wooden skeleton walls filled with mud and reef and plastered with mud on the outside and with plaster on the interior walls.
Also here, on steep terrains the cellar is made of stones to level out the differences in height. 

There is always a hiproof (4-sided roof) and it's covered with slightly curved roof tiles.

A typical Bondruka with Stone basment 

and plaster-covered skeletton-walls of wood and mud


Lesson 2 in Traditional Serbian Rural Architecture will be about the most typical regional styles of village type houses.

Banjska Monastery in Kosovo and Metohija

Another meaningful monastery in Kosovo and Metohija is the Banjska Monastery near Zvečan a little town not far away from Kosovska Mitrovica and near the river Banjska.

Most of the monasteries of Northern Kosovo ( I wrote already about another North Kosovo Monastery: Socanica) are save and do not need military protection, because the main population in the area is represented by Serbs.
However it's very important to preserve the monasteries and to keep the Serb population in the Holy Christian land of Kosovo and Metohija, because, as emphasize Bishop Artemije:

"As long as we are physically present in Kosovo, it will remain ours. If, God forbid, we should disappear from this region, Kosovo would not be Serb even if it remains within the borders of Serbia. We don't need Kosovo without Serbs. Therefore, we must persist and persevere in hope and salvation and remain in our land. And those of us who were forced to leave from Kosovo and Metohija must return as soon as possible so that God can administer to our entire people"

This monastery with the St. Stephen's Church was built between 1313 and 1317 and was founded by the Serb King Stefan Uroš II Milutin, one of the most powerful Balkan rulers of the period and one of the most powerful rulers of the entire Nemanjić dynasty.
King Milutin built the church as his burial place and it is there that he was first laid to rest. However, following the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 his body was moved to Trepča (also near Kosvoska Mitrovica) and then in 1460 to Sofia, where it lies today in the Alexander Nevski Church.

 

The monumental building with its church, the library, the monks' quarters and the "imperial palace" began to fall into disrepair very early. At the beginning of the 15th century, a fire destroyed the library and in the second half of the same century the monastery was probably abandoned. 

So its formerly style similar to Studenica (Raska School) is not anymore recognizable.

Kuprešić, an author writing about his travels, mentions that the monastery was razed to the ground in the 16th century on the orders of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, because it served as a shelter for Christians who had fled Turkish slavery. There the Turks used it as a mosque.

 

The facade decoration was made in chess-board style with different colored marble stones. The Romanesque tradition is enforced in combination of rich architectural encrusted fragments of the portal termination, doors and windows consoles. 

Churche facades in marble where held only for Kings, and Milutin wanted to emphasize this. 

 

In the 19th century the almost totally demolished Church of Banjska Monastery was used as a mosque where Islamic prayers were performed until the First World War. Architect Dj. Boskovic took some preservation and reconstruction works in 1938.

In the 1990's some renovation works were started and in 2004 when a Liturgy was held by Patriarch Pavle and Clergy accompanied with many faithful people. Since then it's a working monastery again and a monastic brotherhood moved in  and was consecrated by Bishop Artemije (Radosavljevic) of Raska and Prizren with the clergy and monks of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren.

 

The church is an one nave basilica covered by a blind vault. 

The eastern semicircular apse was monumental and the western entrance (narthex) to the church was built in accordance to the Raska ecclesiastical style of monuments with two large towers.

The katholikon served as exemple for later built monasteries in the surrounding like Visok Decani and Sveti Arhangel and also for later churches of the moravian school.

The choice for a Raska School Style architecture in Banjska shows how the Nemanjic Family was closed to tradition (King Milutin experimented with several styles for other monasteries, but for his burrial site he wanted a clean traditional Raska School exemple).

Here the icon of King Milutin as a saint

Banjska Monastery was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1990, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.

A good way to visit this monastery (and some of the most beautiful monastery of Kosovo and Metohija) is the 7-days tour through Kosovo and Metohija with "Spiritualserbia" , Nemanja's guided tours with focus on religion, history and architecture.

 This Photo by Peter Vanderbiesen

Belgrade Sweet Souvenir by Coba Associates

It's not the first time I mention  Coba & Associates a Belgrade based Design. I wrote about their very inspiring publication LIVING BELGRADE not long time ago here.

Now I stumbled upon a cool page called "lovely package" just to find again some great work of Coba!

http://lovelypackage.com/adore-fine-chocolate/

They created outstanding packages for quality Serbian chocolate ADORÈ. (I didn't even know it until now!)

http://www.adorechocolat.net

In a collection of 6 flavors created by ADORÈ and packages created by Coba they put together little pieces of beautiful art!

BG ČO-KO (a black chcolate with dried cherries) got an award for sweet Belgrade souvenir: it's packaged in a city map with a stylish Belgrade-numberplate (read: tcho-kho as chocolate)

 That's my favorite!!!

And here the presentation from lovely packages:

http://lovelypackage.com/adore-fine-chocolate/

Designed by Coba & Associates | Country: Serbia

“Adoré are hand-made chocolates and as such fall under the category of higher quality status both in terms of product quality and packaging design, as well as consumer communication. Bearing in mind the active period in the development of the brand, we needed to create packaging for a new product – the chocolate tablet. The idea was to come up with packaging for 10 different flavors.

Each flavor got its own look and name! Whether it is Crunchy Mint or Orangella, each flavor received a specific packaging which are (from a production standpoint) very specific in this region. Using thermal block foil, laser-cut paper and special printing techniques have resulted in designs that communicate that Adoré Chocolate provides more than just taste – it is a brand that takes you on a journey.”

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