The Secretariat for Urban Planning and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Budva has issued the urban planning conditions for the reconstruction of the dilapidated Villa Medin in the heart of the Old Town within the existing dimensions to the Chief City Architect's Office.
Previously, at the request of the municipal secretariat, the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage issued conservation conditions for reconstruction within the existing dimensions and provided precise guidelines.
Thus, the Municipality remains committed to the intention that the former first hotel in the oldest part of Budva be adapted and renovated.
Office of the Chief City Architect Jelena Lazic In February last year, it submitted a request for UT conditions with conservation conditions for the purposes of developing a rehabilitation project.
The departmental secretariat reminds that in June 2014, the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage adopted a Study on the Revaluation of Immovable Cultural Heritage - the ramparts with the bastion and the Old Town, as part of the project for the revaluation of cultural heritage, where the Villa Medin facility was also designated.
"Retaining the existing dimensions means that during the reconstruction, the existing shape of the house, the existing dimensions are retained, with particular emphasis on retaining facade heights, widths and other dimensions, the shape and slope of the roof," the decision, which "Vijesti" had access to, states.
The Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Property states that before creating a conservation reconstruction project, it is necessary to conduct all necessary research in order to determine the original appearance of the cultural property.
"Based on the results of the research and a precise architectural survey of the existing condition of the building, prepare project documentation in accordance with the applicable principles of protection of immovable cultural heritage. Maintain the existing appearance of the northern and central parts of the building, roof slopes, roof covering, position and proportions of openings, materialization of openings and facades in stone. Replace the dilapidated shutters with new ones modeled after the existing ones. Retain the stone plastic on the openings..." it was stated.
It is suggested that when implementing conservation measures, priority should be given to traditional techniques, crafts and materials.
"The project developed in accordance with these conditions must be submitted for prior approval to the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage," the Administration stated.
The Administration reminds that Vila Medin is a large house entered into the register of cultural monuments in 1961. It is located on the southwestern ramparts of the Old Town, with a number of floors that varies from ground floor and one floor to ground floor, two floors and an attic.
"Villa Medin was built in 1939 as one of the first hotels in the early days of tourism development in Budva. It was built like all the larger and newer buildings in Budva on the foundations of medieval buildings. An analysis of photographs from the early 20th century, before the construction of the hotel in 1939, shows the modest volume of the building, which was organically connected to neighboring buildings. With the new intervention, the building was replaced by a hotel building, whose architectural design radically deviates from the ambiance of the Old Town. The urban plan from 1985 deviated from conservation principles in several cases (Villa Balkan and Villa Beograd), which also includes the treatment of Villa Medin. Most of the buildings were reinforced with reinforced concrete jackets with reinforced concrete ceilings and seismic sheets after the earthquake," the decision of the Administration states.
The story of Villa Medin, one of the first hotels in Budva, the originator of elite tourism in this part of the Adriatic, is a story about the state's attitude towards its citizens, an injustice suffered by the heirs of the famous Staromestjan family, who were deprived of their valuable property in the heart of the Old Town eight decades ago, and who to this day cannot legally return it.
In the midst of the election events before the May elections last year, the current city government decided to clean up Villa Medin, removing the waste and garbage that had been deposited there for years. However, the Municipality also decided to replace the windows and doors, which have now been installed, announcing what it plans to do with the dilapidated house on Poets' Square.
The heirs gave the green light for it to be cleaned, but not for any renovation work to be carried out, because the villa is under restitution.
The heirs have been fighting a legal battle for years.
The grandson of Ivo and Olga Medin, who built the Villa, Ivan Vuković, clearly stated the heir's position that the property must be returned.
“The Medin family has been present in Budva since 1705, when our ancestor Kristoforo Medin moved from Kastel Lastva (Petrovac) to the Old Town. Generations of Medin lived in the family building at Njegoševa 2. There was a shop on the ground floor, and the family lived on the upper floors. In the late 20s, tourism began to develop, and in the mid-30s, the construction of a hotel began. After the death of grandmother Olga in 1938, their six children, or our parents, became co-owners of the hotel together with their father Ivo. The construction and furnishing of the hotel was completed in the first half of 1939, when the hotel was opened and the first guests arrived. The hotel operated until the attack on Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. By decree of the Presidium of the National Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro in Cetinje, dated April 28, 1948, "the landowner of the Budva Land Registry Office is ordered to erase the ownership rights of the previous owners (Ivo Medin and his children are named), and to register the right of management in the name and for the benefit of the COMMON PROPERTY with the right of management of the Municipality". The same decree included the hotel "Avala", the hotel "Medin" and the hotel "Balkan". After that, the entire family was forced to return to the old house", is part of Vuković's confession.
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