Famous Budva architect Slobodan Mitrović sent a letter to the Minister of Culture Tamara Vujović, to the President of the Municipality of Budva Nikola Jovanovic and the Kotor Diocese, informing them about the cultural and historical values of the Adriatic Guard building that the Municipality intends to purchase, but also warning that the crypt located in the basement was destroyed, and the building was reconstructed without permission.
Mitrović, who was the director of the then Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from 2003 to 2007, along with the letter that "Vijesti" had access to, also submitted an article published by "Vijesti" on the eve of the New Year, which described in detail how the resale of a valuable cultural and historical monument was carried out, which was accompanied by numerous tragedies and murders.
On December 31, the Budva Municipal Assembly authorized the mayor to purchase the Adriatic Guard from the current owners for 3,5 million euros on behalf of the city.
"The Jadranska straža building is being purchased by direct negotiation based on the right of pre-emption prescribed by the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property. The purchase price of the property is 3.500.000 euros (2.000.000 euros in favor of Miloš Burić and 1.400.000 euros to the legal entity OLD TOWN GROUP doo from Budva), according to the Report on the valuation of real estate, which was prepared on September 23, 2024 by the authorized appraiser prof. dr. Slavko Rakočević", states the decision approved by the councilors of the government.
As explained, "by purchasing this property, the Municipality of Budva prevents the possibility of its inadequate private exploitation, damage or changes that would endanger its cultural and historical character."
"In this way, the Municipality is taking an active role in managing a space of special cultural importance by planning the establishment of cultural center institutions in the Old Town," it was said at the assembly session.
Mitrović states in a letter to the Ministry of Culture that the building was a monastery of the church of Santa Marija in Punta during the time of the Benedictines, who built it, and then the Franciscans, and that since the 9th century it has changed owners and users several times, and since 1945 it has been owned by the Municipality.
"The church was damaged in a major storm in 1807, services ceased in it, and the French, who ruled Budva at the time, used it as a stable. Since then, the church has not been used as a cult, and the icon of the Budva Madonna (the oldest icon in Montenegro) was moved to the Church of St. John, where it is still located today. From Santa Maria, one could descend by stairs into a crypt with 4-5 graves. The stairs still exist today. On the wall of Santa Maria, there is a plaque built into the wall of Santa Maria by Antun Bečić (1698-1761), Bishop of Budva, then Bishop of Nikopol, then Bishop of Hvar, who left a will to be buried there "in his beloved homeland". He died suddenly in Rome and was buried there," Mitrović points out.
As he emphasizes, such a crypt within a church is a rare case on the Montenegrin coast.
"It has a mausoleum function of the church, which is the case when important figures are buried in crypts. Santa Marija in Punta is a protected cultural property right from the first objects of protection in 1956 with the monastery (Adriatic Guard) which is a unique architectural ensemble. President of the Municipality of Budva Rade Gregovic In 1998, without a decision of the Municipal Assembly or a decision of the collegium, he arbitrarily sold the Jadranska straža building to "Unipres" from Zrenjanin. The contract states that the ground floor and first floor are being sold. Since the basement contained the crypt of the Santa Marija church, with tombs, the contract can be interpreted as meaning that the crypt in the basement was not sold, because it did not spatially and physically belong to the Jadranska straža, but to the Santa Marija in Punta church," Mitrović states.
As he adds, when the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments did not allow it to raise a floor and build a marina, it sold "Unipres" to a private person, the deceased To Bajo Sekulić.
"He adapted the Adriatic Guard, dismantled the crypt, and the bones were thrown in cardboard boxes into the church of Santa Maria. All without anyone's consent or question. This act greatly offended the Catholic Church. Don Branko Sbutega protested and no longer allowed the City Theatre to use the church for its festival needs. For five years, the City Theatre was without a concert and gallery space, until, when the director was Velibor Zolak, (for the second time) at our requests and insistence, Don Branko Sbutega relented and, in the interest of culture and artists, allowed the use of the space of Santa Maria in Punta. All subsequent authorities in Budva, and neither the Ministry of Culture nor the Government, felt the need to apologize to the Catholic Church and to regulate the issue of this disgrace and return the crypt to the church. The desecration of the graves in the crypt is unnecessary to comment on,” Mitrović points out.
As he emphasizes, sales and resales of the Adriatic Guard follow.
"Several deaths and murders occurred in the area of the Adriatic Guard. The urban planning project of the Old Town intended the Adriatic Guard facility for the City Music and Folklore 'Kanjoš'. During the reconstruction after the 1979 earthquake, the facility was only built in the rough phase. Due to the sale of the Citadel and the Adriatic Guard, the program for the development of cultural institutions from 1985 was never implemented because there was no place to sell the spaces intended for culture. Out of 6.000 square meters, about 1.500 square meters were realized for culture," Mitrović said.
According to him, everything that happened later at Jadranska Straža was illegal, done at the behest of individual investors, which is always the case with builders who realize the wishes of investors.
"They even demolished concrete slabs to add another floor. In the period 2003-2007. I was the director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Cetinje and I refused all requests that were not in accordance with the Urban Design Project of the Old Town, but the third owners, the Russians, did as they wanted and no one prevented them from doing so, neither the municipal nor the republican authorities, and the Institute in Cetinje was powerless. Correspondence with investors, inspections, the municipality was intensive on the part of the Institute and should be in the archive - the file of the Adriatic Guard in today's Administration in Cetinje. According to all protection laws (they have been changed several times) when a cultural asset is in circulation, and the owner is a private person, the priority for purchase is the Municipality or the state. The big mistake made would be corrected if they bought the Adriatic Guard and returned the crypt to the Church of Santa Maria in Punta. That part of the Budva cape is the oldest authentic part of the Old Town Budva with Santa Maria in Punta from 840. With your institutional position, your competencies, you can correct all these illegalities and return the Adriatic Guard building to Budva culture, of course in coordination with the Municipality,” concluded Mitrović.
Bonus video:
