Intangible Heritage of the City
The phenomenon of intangible cultural heritage in the structure of the constantly transforming city-palimpsest is like a book being read all over again.
Imprinted on the space of the city, the evidence of historical existence of a specific local identity have their intangible supplements, which are transformed and passed on by successive generations of urban tradition bearers. Buildings and monuments, but also cultivated customs associated with specific social groups or professions, create a network of meanings and places, which are no longer anonymous and abstract. In this multifaceted understanding of the space through experiencing it in a spiritual and mental manner, the ties of humans with the urban space are built. Tensions are created between the community and its cultural environment – a conglomerate of diverse traditions and folklore. The issue became the subject of an interdisciplinary conference on “Intangible Heritage of the City. Musealisation, Preservation, Education”, organised by the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków. The conference became a forum for debate for museum employees, museologists and interpreters of heritage from various cities in Poland, as well as from abroad (Belarus, Croatia, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine). An important place in these considerations belongs to the sense of identity that is one of the main parameters of describing urban space. It is intangible heritage that creates the unique aura of the cities, saturated with the emotionality of its heirs. Intangible heritage is the vehicle for identity, shaped by traditions and individual and collective memory.
The papers were divided into seven thematic blocks: musealisation, preservation of intangible cultural heritage, its identification and documentation, education, as well as the identity of the city, the urban audiosphere, promotion and development of the city. The starting point for the discussion was the declaration, read by the organisers and participants, of the need to reflect on those elements of the work of museums that relate intangible cultural heritage. I believe that city museums can play a significant role in this debate. The city as a space constantly overwritten with new elements of aesthetics, customs and beliefs is a rich composition of the accumulated layers of history and tradition. The city is a complex and multi-faceted creation, growing at a time in which the tangible and intangible exist in a synergistic manner.
The papers were divided into seven thematic blocks: musealisation, preservation of intangible cultural heritage, its identification and documentation, education, as well as the identity of the city, the urban audiosphere, promotion and development of the city. The starting point for the discussion was the declaration, read by the organisers and participants, of the need to reflect on those elements of the work of museums that relate intangible cultural heritage. I believe that city museums can play a significant role in this debate. The city as a space constantly overwritten with new elements of aesthetics, customs and beliefs is a rich composition of the accumulated layers of history and tradition. The city is a complex and multi-faceted creation, growing at a time in which the tangible and intangible exist in a synergistic manner.
