Reanimation of abandoned places
Three case studies from Czechia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5700932 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sandra Kreisslová (0000-0001-5383-4883, Charles University, corresponding author), Hana Vavrouchová (0000-0002-9440-5820, Mendel University in Brno), Karel Jílek (0000-0001-5336-8907, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague), David Kovařík (0000-0002-9170-549X, Institute of Contemporary History) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 1357-1373 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Heritage Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1352-7258 • E-ISSN: 1470-3610 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13527258.2025.2484685 |
| OpenAlex | W4409206818 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
This study examines various approaches to the renewal, revitalisation, and reuse of selected sites in border regions and inland enclaves within Czechia that were predominantly inhabited by the German population before WWII. Following the war, these areas underwent profound socio-cultural transformations due to the forced displacement of the local population, leaving many of them largely abandoned. Official restoration efforts have been relatively scarce, with local heritage renewal – driven by grassroots initiatives – being more common. Through three case studies, the research highlights distinct approaches to the reanimation of these abandoned cultural spaces, initiated from below by local actors, and explores the motivations and reanimation strategies of the various stakeholders involved. The primary research method consisted of interviews with individuals directly engaged in the reanimation efforts, those impacted by the loss of the original structures (where possible), and local authorities. Each of the strategies presented demonstrates a positive effect on the sites in terms of heritage renewal or new cultural creation, offering models that could be replicated elsewhere. The absence of original structures does not necessarily impede reanimation efforts, nor does it matter whether those involved in the reanimation have ancestral ties to the location
Archaeology · Economic geography · Geography · Regional science · History · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Urban Development and Cultural Heritage · Urbanization and City Planning
Geography of transportation
Uses of Heritage
Space and place
Studying abandoned settlements’ renaissance in the context of rural geography
Assessment of the traditional landscapes’ state in mountain areas as the basis for their restoration (the Western Beskids, Poland)
Place attachment, place identity, and place memory
Performative Holocaust commemoration in the 21st century
Remembrance in the Living Room [ Zikaron b’Salon ]
Morality, Wisdom and Revision
Heritage policy meets community praxis
Social landscape
What matters to people? Exploring contents of landscape identity at the local scale
Regional Planning and the Mobilization of ‘Regional Identity’
Natives” of a “Home” (Un)known
Community, Connection and Conservation
Landscape biographies of commemoration
Changing landscape identity-practice, plurality, and power
Forgetting to remember, remembering to forget
Landscape, Identity, and War
Ethnic Cleansing, Communism, and Environmental Devastation in Czechoslovakia's Borderlands, 1945-1989
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |