After almost two decades, the Clock Tower in Ulcinj is back in operation, the Secretary for Investments in the Municipality of Ulcinj confirmed to "Vijesta" Minir Karamanaga.
The exact time on the Clock Tower is shown by the built-in clock of the renowned French company 'Bodet', one of the largest watch manufacturers in France. The client of the works was the Municipality, that is, the Secretariat for Investments, and the contractor was "Digital Pro Doo" from Novi Pazar.
"The total value of the works with maintenance for 12 months will cost around 16.000 euros. The clock is set not to ring from midnight to 5 am. All works were carried out in accordance with conservation conditions, that is, in compliance with the Law on the Protection of Cultural Properties of Montenegro", said Karamanaga.
Previously, the works were postponed because the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property (UZKD) told the Ulcinj authorities that it was necessary to first examine the possibility of reconstructing the old clock mechanism, and then hire a conservator to supervise the work.
In a letter to Karamanagi from the Administration, they reminded that it is the legal obligation of the owner-holder of the cultural property to inform the Administration of all changes to it.
"We emphasize this all the more, as the planned activities on the clock mechanism should be recorded and become an integral part of the file on the cultural property of the Clock Tower, which is managed by this Administration," the letter said.
Earlier, Karamanaga wrote to UZKD after the municipal police stopped work on the installation of the digital mechanism in mid-May. Karamanaga informed the Administration that the Municipality has undertaken activities to repair the internal clock mechanism, installing a digital one, and that there will be no intervention on the exterior of the Clock Tower and the clock on it. He also emphasized that there is no old clock mechanism in the Clock Tower, created at the time of its construction, but that the internal mechanism was acquired in the Czech Republic after the 1979 earthquake.
"The management is aware of this information and in our documentation "Renovation Project of the Clock Tower in Ulcinj" from 1982, in the estimate and estimate of the works, there is an item about the procurement of a new clock... We believe that first of all it is necessary to examine the possibility of reconstructing the old clock mechanism, that is, perform a chronological analysis of the clocks - their mechanisms in the long history of the cultural property, by an expert, who will assess which solution is the most adequate", the UZKD letter said.
They pointed out that only after that will the conditions for interventions on the mechanism be created.
"Whereas it is necessary to take care to preserve the authenticity and integrity of the cultural property. Therefore, it is necessary to hire an expert - a conservator, who will supervise the interventions and submit a detailed report with photo-documentation to this Administration", says the letter from the Karamanagi Administration.
The clock tower in the municipality of Ulcinj has the status of a cultural property according to the decision of 14 March 3.1954. year, so all interventions on it are subject to the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property. For all interventions on the Sahat Kula cultural property, it is necessary to contact the UZKD, in order to prescribe conditions and guidelines in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property.
The tender in January of this year, worth 16 thousand euros, was won by the company "Digitalpro" from Novi Pazar. That company operates in all countries of the former Yugoslavia, and recently reconstructed and installed the clock on the Clock Tower in Podgorica.
As part of the reconstruction, it was planned to repair all dilapidated investments and install four reflectors, which will illuminate the Clock Tower at night.
The clock on the Clock Tower in Ulcinj has been out of service for a long time, and the reconstruction included the installation of a central master clock that would be synchronized via a GPS antenna, so that it would always show the correct time. It was also planned to install new self-adjusting motor mechanisms with electronic monitoring of the positions of the hands, which would be of the same design as the old ones. An automated electronic sound system would also be installed, which will sound for full and half hours and which can be set to not work at night so as not to disturb the peace of the night.
The clock tower was built back in 1754 with donations from citizens. As written on the website of the Ulcinj Tourist Organization, the position was carefully chosen because it can be seen from almost all parts of the inner city, where you can also hear the ticking of the clock. Its base is square and it is built of beautiful carved stone. For a long time there was also a "muvekit" person in the city, who took care of the accuracy of the clock every day.
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