Medieval Monuments in Kosovo

• Lack of legal status of the property;
• Lack of legislative protection of buffer zones;
• Lack of implementation of the Management Plan and of active management;
• Difficulties to monitor the property due to political instability, post-conflict situation (visits under the Kosovo Stabilisation Force / United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (KFOR / UNMIK) escort and lack of guards and security);
• Unsatisfactory state of conservation and maintenance of the property.

• Lack of legal status of the property;
• Lack of legislative protection of buffer zones;
• Lack of implementation of the Management Plan and of active management;
• Difficulties to monitor the property due to political instability, post-conflict situation (visits under the Kosovo Stabilisation Force / United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (KFOR / UNMIK) escort and lack of guards and security);
• Unsatisfactory state of conservation and maintenance of the property.

• Full and permanent protection of the property in a secure and stable political environment;
• Agreed medium-term plan for the restoration of wall paintings (including preventive conservation regime) and conservation and rehabilitation of the property;
• Implementation of the Management Plan, and full establishment of buffer zones and boundaries including their legal protection.

Urgent / short-term corrective measures:

1. Put in place appropriate guarding and security arrangements for the Church of the Virgin of Ljevisa;
2. Prepare a conservation status report including a condition survey for the wall paintings and the status of the conservation works and take temporary measures where there is an urgent need (for example the lead roof of the west bay of the nave of the Church of Virgin of Ljevisa, that was partly removed);
3. Prepare a risk preparedness study, in conformity with Paragraph 118 of the Operational Guidelines and with Decisions 28 COM 10B.4 and 30 COM 7.2;

Long-term corrective measures:

1. Ensure the adequate long-term administrative, regulatory protection and management of the property, in conformity with Paragraph 97 of the Operational Guidelines;
2. Put in place strong protective regimes for the buffer zones;
3. Adequately delineate the boundaries (e.g. extend the boundaries of the Patriarchate of Pec to include more of its riverside-valley settings);
4. Prepare detailed state of conservation reports as a basis for adapted monitoring, preventative conservation measures, and specific conservation projects to reverse decline;
5. Ensure appropriate and timely implementation of the Management Plan.

• Urgent / short-term corrective measures to be taken by the State Party, in cooperation with UNESCO programmes, UNMIK and Provisional Institutions of Self Government in Kosovo*;
• Regarding the long-term corrective measures to be taken by the State Party, in cooperation with UNESCO programmes, UNMIK and Provisional Institutions of Self Government in Kosovo, no specific timeframe can be given at this stage due to the uncertain political situation.

* References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).

Total amount granted: USD 2,798,348 in 2008-2014 following the Donors Conference for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Kosovo, May 2005; USD 693,330 in 2008-2013 by the Italian Government; USD 76,335 in 2008-2013 by the Czech Government; USD 132,833 in 2008-2013 by the Greek Government; USD 2,010,000 in 2011-2014 by the Government of the Russian Federation and USD 45,000 in 2012-2013 by the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria.

• issues

Note: The Secretariat was informed by UNESCO’s Legal Advisor in 2008 that the UNESCO Secretariat follows the practice of the United Nations, which considers that the Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) continues to be applicable to the territory of Kosovo until a final settlement is achieved.

At its 41st session (Krakow, 2017), the World Heritage Committee decided to adjourn until its next ordinary session the debate on the state of conservation of the property (Decision 41 COM 7A.21). The state of conservation report submitted to the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session is available on the World Heritage Centre’s website at the following page: http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2017/whc17-41com-7A-en.pdf.  

On 31 January 2018, the Permanent Delegation of Serbia to UNESCO submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/724/documents/. The report provides the following information:

• At the Dečani Monastery, continued monitoring of wall painting and buildings was performed and no negative impacts were observed. Monitoring shall continue in future. Concerns were raised about a possible blockage of the road leading to Dečani Monastery, however no blockage effectively happened;
• At the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery, continued monitoring of wall paintings and buildings conditions was performed. Following the monitoring and the occurrence of humidity, adequate measures of rehabilitation of the lead roofing will be taken in the future;
• At the Gračanica Monastery, conservation and restoration works were carried out on wall paintings during 2017, in continuation of the works started in 2015;
• At the Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša, no conservation and restoration works were carried out, but a study was undertaken to evaluate the condition of the building, wall painting and movable art objects. The study found that the building condition was not satisfactory, that it was subject to intensive capillary moisture in the walls which endangered frescoes, and that the drainage system was not functioning. Moreover, it found that some damage remained since the 2004 March pogrom, when the church was set on fire. A list of necessary measures was prepared, and project documentation was initiated for future conservation and other works. Moreover, as a site presentation measure, a scientific monograph for general public was issued about the Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša, in Serbian, Albanian and English languages.

The World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and its Antenna Office in Sarajevo continues to closely monitor the situation through regular exchange of information with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Concerning the security situation at the property, it should be noted that three components of the property are currently under the protection of Kosovo Police: the Gračanica Monastery, the Church of the Virgin of Ljeviša and the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery. The fourth component of the property, the Dečani Monastery, remains under protection of the NATO-led Kosovo Force, KFOR.