Kulturarv utan Gränser
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The gate tower in Banja Luka
The gate tower in the fortress of Banja Luka lies in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on a hill between the river Vrbas and the town centre. The gate tower had suffered extensive damage to its brickwork and roof due to an earthquake in 1969.
The monument was included on the Grade 1-list in the former Yugoslavian conservation programme. Its masonry contained remnants from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian periods and is an integral part of the town's large fortress.
The Institute for Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka carried out the projecting in the summer of 1999. The work was duly contracted out after an open procurement process in October 1999, supervised by the Heritage Institute, to the Libela builders with a vast experience of working with wood.
The gate tower fully restored, December 1999. Photo CHwB.
The restoration project was funded with grants from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and finished in December 1999. It incurred extensive re-roofing and a new shingle-roof, restoration of the outer walls and floors on the already existing floor structure as well as drainage work. At a seminar arranged in Banja Luka in September 1999 by the Heritage Institute and Cultural Heritage without Borders, the project was discussed in detail, for example modern versus traditional safety norms in case of earthquakes.
Building Gate tower in fortress
Built 1600-1900
Geographical area Banja Luka, Republik of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Joint partners The Institute for Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka, building contractor Libela in Banja Luka.
Local architect in charge Milijana Okilj, Institute for Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka
Project manager Pål Anders Stensson, Cultural Heritage without Borders
Funding Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)
