FRANCISCAN MONASTERY

The monastery in the centre of Bac, integrated with its mediaeval urban layout. The complex consists of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church and the square shaped monasterial build ings with an inner court. It was started in the late 12th century, when the members of the Equestri ans of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem built a small one-nave Romanesque church. In the 14th century, the Franciscans restored it in Gothic style, building the monastery and a tall, massive bell tower at its the side. After the fall of Bač under the Turkish rule, the church was turned into mosque (a mihrab niche in the southern wall) until the year of its liberation in 1686. In 1688, the Franciscans from Bosnia took over the monastery. Baroque renewal included the church and the monastery, when the characteristic square inner court was created between 1724 and 1770. The church and the monastery house a substantial remains of fresco-paintings, collection of pictures and artistic artefacts. The earliest dated painting is an icon of the Virgin and Christ, from 1684, by an icon painter, Dima. Besides fourteen paintings of the Christ's Road to Golgotha cycle, from the first half of the 18th century, there are four large altar canvases: St Rocco, St Antun, St Leonard and St Francis The library keeps very rare and valuable books and protocols; the rooms fumished with old furniture and there are special gowns and handwork objects. In part of the ground floor level of the Monastery tourist offer is improved involving museum-educational activities in 2018. 

FRANCISCAN MONASTERY IN BAČ

The Franciscan Monastery is located in the center of Bač and is organically integrated into the medieval urban matrix. It is an ancient place of worship with a long continuity of use, as indicated by the found material from late antiquity. It is the most complex cultural property on the territory of AP Vojvodina with the longest continuity of use in the original, sacred purpose. The present complex consists of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the monastery complex in the form of a square with an inner courtyard, cloister. Construction began at the end of the 12th century when members of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre built a small single-nave Romanesque church. With the Gothic renovation done by Franciscans in the second half of the 14th century, the monastic buildings and a high and massive tower were built next to the sanctuary. After Bač fell under Turkish rule, the church was converted into a mosque until its liberation in 1686 (the mihrab niche in the south wall was preserved). In 1688 the Franciscan Province of Bosnia took over the monastery. The Baroque restoration included both the church and the monastery, whose characteristic square was formed from 1724 to 1770.

Among the numerous easel paintings the most prominent ones are the italo-crete icon of the Mother of God (Joyful Lady of Bačka), the work of master Dimas from 1684, and the painting The Last Supper, oil on canvas of 580 x 190 cm, on the east wall of the refectory, the work of Paul Antonius Senser from 1737. The life of this place of worship is witnessed by a rich treasury, a library with old and rare books, liturgical vestments, handicrafts, and preserved objects that were previously in daily use (for preparing and serving food, for making fabrics, for forging tools).
Since the 1960s, activities regarding the research, protection, and presentation of the Franciscan monastery in Bač have been carried out with longer interruptions. Since 2006, they have taken place within the framework of the development project for integrative protection "Centuries of Bač". The research was intensified in 2011 in the light of the discovery of a medieval fresco of the Crucifixion of Christ with Our Lady, painted on the southern buttress of the church which was integrated into the wall of the belfry tower in the 14th century. Based on the results of the non-destructive analysis, special scans, physical and chemical analysis of the substrate and painted layer, archaeological research and architectural analysis, as well as stylistic analogies, it was concluded that the fresco was created in the 13th century. The position of the findings and the artistic expression of the fresco, as well as the results of extensive research, led to the implementation of works in which the fresco was preserved and restored as part of the Italian-Serbian project. With funds from the Ministry of Culture, a chapel for the miraculous icon of Our Lady with Christ (Joyful Lady) was founded and the stratification of the temple life from the 12th to the 18th century was presented.

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE PAINTING "THE LAST SUPPER" FROM THE FRANCISCAN MONASTERY IN BAČ

At the end of summer 2011, the painting The Last Supper on the wall of the refectory of the Franciscan monastery in Bač was transferred to the conservation workshop of the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, to be restored.
The Last Supper is an early Baroque work from 1737, made according to one of the graphic templates from the 17th century. During the research and cleaning works it was found that the author of this work was A. P. Senser, a baroque painter from Osijek, and the client was P. Štromer. The action is located in a closed space and the dynamics are based on strong light contrasts and dramatic movements of the body and clothes of the saint. It is interesting that besides the figure of Christ and the twelve apostles, four figures were added to the painting on the right and two on the left. The painter used the empty space in the composition to place columns and curtains. In 1767 the local monk Didakus Kronić already restored the painting for the first time. The second overpaiting was done in 1805 by the Czech painter Matija Haniš. The last repair of the painting was made in 1940 by a painter from Subotica, Antun Kujundžić. All information about the author and restorations are recorded in the lower-left corner in Latin.

Conservative-restorative treatment
In 2011. investigative work was done: physical-chemical cross-sectional analyses, X-ray imaging, UV and IR scanning. In the second phase of conservation and restoration work, the following was carried out:
A). Placement of the image on the working frame,
B). Correction of deformations in the image made by layering the canvas using wetting and vacuum pump,
C). Removal of recent varnish, old overpaint and retouching,
D). Sealing of damaged areas,
E) Retouching

What was not known at the beginning of the conservation and restoration work on the painting The Last Supper was that the original painting was severely damaged by several overpaintings, which raises questions about determining the procedure for further reconstruction of the damage to the painting layer. The painting was returned to the original frame, which was repaired and reinforced, and is currently waiting for the return to the monastery rooms or the continuation of reconstruction work, which depends on the attitude of art historians who study the work of this author from the Baroque period.
The work was supervised by the painter and conservator Mario Vuknić.

EUROPEAN UNION PRIZE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE
/ EUROPE NOSTRA AWARD 2018 FOR BAC FORTRESS.

The Provincial Institute is proud to inform the public that the Bač Fortress Conservation Project has received the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europe Nostra Award 2018. The prize was awarded in the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 among fierce competition, therefore, this achievement has even greater significance. The jury assessed that "This project is an exceptional example of heritage conservation based on interdisciplinarity and collaboration. To achieve this, the project leaders used European research resources and carried out the necessary preliminary tests that led to the implementation of an appropriate management strategy. Ongoing efforts are being made to preserve aspects of the fort's remains through careful conservation. Also, there is a strong educational component that is important to the entire region. "

In this way, not only did they acknowledged the Provincial Institute as the initiator and owner of the project (author Dr. Slavica Vujović), but also the Municipality of Bač, the founder of the Fund "Centuries of Bač" (which is now the Museum Unit "Centuries of Bač" within the NB "Vuk Karadzic"), Technological Faculty of the University of Novi Sad for materials research and education, and Museum of Vojvodina, which made an exhibition of archaeological material (author Nebojsa Stanojev). Taking into account these, but also other partners, supporting institutions, and friends, the motto of the "United to a New Value" award was developed. 

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ТУРИСТИЧКА ОРГАНИЗАЦИЈА ОПШТИНЕ БАЧ

Адреса: Трг Др Зорана Ђинђића 4, 21420 Бач
Тел: +381 (0) 64 85 11 926
Емаил: turizambac@gmail.com

BAČ
TOURISM ORGANISATION

Address: Trg Dr Zorana Đinđića 4, Bač 21420
Phone: +381 64 85 11 926
Email: turizambac@gmail.com

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