Heritage, Ideology, and Identity in Central and Eastern Europe

The heritage industry is popularly considered to be driven largely by the demands of leisure and the commodification of culture. This book seeks to present a different picture, considering how heritage practices continue to play a vital role in bolstering on-going political projects, and constructing national, regional and supranational identities. The notion of "heritage" is examined especially closely in the light of the numerous dilemmas presented by the complex histories of varying European states, with particular reference to Central and Eastern Europe; chapters analyse the ways in which urban sites have been created, destroyed, transformed and appropriated in order to make visible a national heritage.They also consider the successes and failures of more recent attempts to construct an international "European" heritage. More generally, the book looks at how heritage practices have responded to the challenges thrown up by the enormous social, political and cultural upheavals which have marked the twentieth century; there is a particular emphasis on the problem of sites that become "contested", due to the displacement of populations and the subsequent redrawing of political boundaries. Matthew Rampley is Director of the Institute of Design, Culture and the Arts at the University of Teesside. Contributors: Matthew Rampley, Juliet Kinchin, Paul Stirton, Susanne Jaeger, Arnold Bartetzky, Jacek Friedrich, Tania Vladova, George Karatzas, Riitta Oittinen