Church of the Holy Trinity in Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina - structural repairs, conservation and restoration works

The Church of the Holy Trinity is located in the center of the historical area of Blagaj, near the Buna River. Its construction dates back to 1908. The church represents one of the rare monuments from the Austro-Hungarian period in the town. It was proclaimed the national monument in 2008.

It belongs to a group of single-nave churches with a bell tower. The internal dimensions of the nave are 8.38x15.87m and is vaulted with a coved ceiling. The apse is almost square in plan, with windows on the north and south walls. The window on the eastern fa?ade of the apse is walled-up. The sacristy, which is an integral part of the southern fa?ade of the building, is accessed from the apse. A timber wooden ceiling structure is laid over the sacristy (internal dimensions 3,16x3,16m). The floor of the nave is paved with a terrazzo. The floor lining in the altar area is made of stone slabs. Walls are made of stone (77cm thick), plastered with lime-cement mortar. The gabled roof is of double quenn truss structure, and was covered with galvanized sheet. The altar space (apse) is dominated by an altar made by stone-master Krtali? (tenelia stone), having a painting (oil on canvas) with the composition of the Holy Trinity in its niche.

Chronologically,?and in?architectural style terms,?it carries the neo-Romanesque Manner, with series of blind arcades under a shallow roof chaplet made of mortar.

The bellfry on the west (entrance) fa?ade of the church is especially prominent: namely, the bellfry with its massive walls (112cm thick) has a flat roof under which is a timber structure bearing a bell. The unusual form of the "roof" is defined by four concrete gireders that carry a cross at the spot of their intersection. It's completely transparent.

State of the preservation before the works

Due to the wartime effects and subsequent damage, this monument was exposed to the continuous negative influence of atmospheric water (primarily due to the damaged roof structure), which results – in the first place - in the building leak. The roof made of galvanized sheet was completely corroded, and with numerous (eye invisible) holes caused leakeing water into the building.

Timber beams of large sections were cut off on most of the flat surface of the coved ceiling, and the elements of the roof structure were rotted and eroded by a wormhole. The wooden staircase leading to the choir and the bellfry were destroyed.

The mortar on the outer walls detached from the wall on some surfaces, which was especially noticeable on the walls of the apse. Also, it was necessary to solve the problem of the absence of humidity insulation.

Structural repairs, conservation and restoration works

The Parish Office of the Holy Trinity, in co-operaation with the Bishop's Ordinariate in Mostar, and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the FBiH from Sarajevo, approached the development of project documentation that included structural repair of roofing, conservation and restoration works?with the aim of preventing further deterioration of the monument (with particular attention to destabilized elements of the roof structure and mortar on the facades, as well as the continuous leakage process). The realization of this project was also a contribution to the protection not only of the individual monument, but also to the overall image of the essemble of the church with the building of the parish house and the natural ambience that surrounds them. The author of the project was the company "Bemer" d.o.o. from Mostar.

In order to control the foundations and foundation soil of the building, and to collect input data for the designing the project, the system research of the church's foundation system from the aspect of geomechanics was carried out. For that purpose, three investigative probe pits were opened - one from the north and two on the south side of the church. The probes were dug up until the foundation level was fully reached. The works were carried out by the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Mostar under the guiding of Prof. PhD. Mladen Glibi?, B.Sc.?

In the fall of 2010, the building works of phase I began – the repair of the roof structure with the replacement of the complete roofing. This phase was completed at the beginning of December 2010. The roof structure was restored (while keeping two almost complete roof trusses), and new wooden beams were mounted (four original ones were kept). The new roofing was made of oxidized copper sheet.

In the continuation of the works, facades and an interior were refurbished, and altar have been restored (including new painting of the Holy Trinity). New lighting conducter installation and dreinage system were made, too. The Church is operational today, keeping its original function.

Company& design: "Bemer" doo, Mostar; Design supervision: "Bemer" doo, Mostar (Marinko ?unji?): Conservation supervision: Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the FBiH (Azra Had?i?); Contractor: "Gra?evinar Faji?" doo, Mostar; Investors: Government of the Federation of BiH through the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Federal Ministry of Physical Planning; Fund of H.E. U.S.A. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina; Parish Office of the Holy Trinity Buna-Blagaj, and private donors; Photos: Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the FBiH; Status: National monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2008.