The European Commission granted 1 million Euros for the continuation of the reconstruction of the Banja Luka fortress Kastel. All necessary steps should be finished by the end of the year for inviting tenders for contractors, and work on the reconstruction should begin next year.
After the start of the reconstruction, works on the revitalization of this protected cultural monument should continue as of next year. The funds of 1 million Euros was approved as part of the project Ljubljana process, which is led by the Center for Regional Development (RCC) that deals with the protection of cultural heritage in Southeastern Europe, according to portal banjalukalive.com.
The Project Manager of the Working Group for Cultural Regional Council for Cooperation Milena Filipović said that the tender for contractors should be signed.
“It is imperative that by the end of 2013, sometime around 20 December, a financial agreement with the European Union Delegation to BIH should be signed, which is responsible for the implementation of the project, and thus before that the publishing of tenders for contractors and other things that are necessary cannot start’’, said Milena Filipović.
She added that these funds would be spent for the reconstruction of the part of Kastel where there is a summer stage and that is important for a number of manifestations that are held here.
“This will cover the entire rehabilitation of Kastel, which refers to the open stage, towers 3 and 4, bastions 2 and 3, as well as the cultural center that is expected to open.
The summer stage has been the center of a number of cultural and entertainment manifestations such as Demo Fest, Kratkofila and Dukatfest.
Advisor to the Mayor of Banja Luka for Urbanism and Construction Nevena Predojević said that the restoration of this, and other parts of the castle are necessary so that Banja Luka would be placed on a cultural and tourist map of Europe.
“The project of reconstruction and revitalization of fortress Kastel, in addition to the work and rehabilitation of the parts of the castle, would create the necessary conditions for a number of cultural, entertainment, and tourist events, and whose goal is to strengthen tourist offers of the city, create new jobs and define a new visual identity of the city’’, said Predojević.
Predojević said that the city until now, and with its funds participated in the revitalization of Kastel and that they would devote themselves in the future to help restore the old splendor of this protected cultural monument.
“This is supported by the fact that the city of Banja Luka has so far donated around 1,7 million KM, and in the next period they are investing 200.000 KM more for the restoration project’’.
Since the beginning, many citizens of Banja Luka complained that this restoration project would destroy the historical look of Kastel.
According to Miljana Okilj, Head of the Department for the Cultural-Historical Heritage of the RS, the importance of this fortress and its status as a protected monument of culture does not allow for such as outcome.
“Even during preparation of project documentation and the decision for the conceptual design, it looked to be one where the original appearance of the building should not be changed”, said Okilj.
