The
Wooden kulla “Çardaku i Ahmetajve” with the
mercy of time
Fejaz Drançolli-Institute for Protection of Monuments in
Kosovo
Çardak’s
really became a popular type of building during the 17th and the
18th century. Even before the war 1998-99 there where very few
buildings of this type still existing. Time, the weak building
material, the weather as well as the human factor have all contributed
to their decline. During the war, many of these types of buildings
were burned intentionally.
Çardak’s represent a distinctive type of building
used by Albanians for living, with the first floor larger than
the ground floor. The Çardak, with its carved and profiled
galleries and arcades, is the most beautiful example of this type
of building. In the region of Dukagjin, only the “Çardaku
i Ahmetajve” in the village of Lëbushë (municipality
of Deçan) has remained and fortunately this building has
all the qualities mentioned above.
As the Çardak is a close ancestor of the kulla with wooden
gallery it is of great importance that it is preserved as a historical
link.
It was fortunate that this building survived the war, but at the
moment it seems to have difficulties in surviving the time and
the human factor of today…
In
conflict situations and wars the cultural heritage is always in
danger. This has been evident particularly in the region of the
Balkans in the last decade. In Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo a lot
of buildings and complexes of great heritage value where deliberately
destroyed.
The cultural heritage in Kosovo is very rich, especially in the
Dukagjin region in the western part of Kosovo, including the town
of Peja/Pec, Gjakova, and Prizren. The small fortress like Albanian
“Kullas”, mills and bridges, the mosques, churches
and the Turkish baths, the castles and archaeological settlements
all show the rich history of the region. Unfortunately the latest
conflict, 1998-99 has destroyed a great deal of this treasury.
The
bazaars in Gjakova and Peja/Pec and the complexes of Kullas in
Nivokaz, Isniq, Decan and surrounding villages were destroyed
as a part of the ethnic cleansing in the latest conflict in Kosovo.
The
situation before and after the conflict for the cultural Heritage
in Kosovo
The
last decade of the former Yugoslavia included both political and
economic crisis, with a significant economic decrease, not only
in Kosovo. The lack of investments resulted in that almost nothing
was done to protect the cultural heritage.
After the armed conflict the UN Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)
and a large number of both governmental and non governmental organizations
came with aid for the reconstruction of the destroyed country.
The assistance has primarily been in the field of shelter and
providing of food for the people in need, while the cultural heritage
still is facing a lot of problems and difficulties, due to the
lack of a institutional care and stabilization of the kosovar
society in general. As almost all the ethnic Albanian cultural
heritage in Kosovo is private property, the buildings, partly
destroyed in the war, where in great risk of being totally demolished
by their owners. Therefore a change in attitude was of greatest
importance.
