Past or present? The treatment of cultural heritage and tangible assets in central European capital cities

Clancy, Hannah Elizabeth (2021). Past or present? The treatment of cultural heritage and tangible assets in central European capital cities. University of Birmingham. M.A.

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Abstract

The cultural heritage landscape of any town or city will change over time; new monuments appear, old ones are taken down and others neglected. This is often in relation to political change or significant events in a country’s history when heritage is frequently used as a tool for countries to present a particular version of the past or political thought. This thesis presents an exploration of the cultural heritage and tangible assets of three selected Central European capital cities, in order understand how the treatment of such things informs us of the political and social climate of a place, in addition to providing a methodology for future research.

Six field trips across three Central European capital cities; Berlin, Budapest, and Zagreb were undertaken, with the heritage sites visited built into a dataset. The dataset forms the backbone of this study and allowed me to draw out and present a number of patterns in the treatment of heritage across these cities. This is complimented by a methodology that explores these sites further through a variety of lenses.

The results of the study show that, whilst each city is unique in their history and presentation of heritage, there are identifying themes that help us to understand the treatment of cultural heritage and tangible assets in other urban landscapes, as well as well as providing insight into the cities themselves. In addition, this study presents a methodology for how we can analyse cultural heritage and tangible assets across other locations/

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.A.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.A.

Supervisor(s):