2020 | Building Peace through Heritage
Wiślica and its heritage power for contemporary cultural cooperation
Andrzej Kadłuczka 1
1
Institute of History of Architecture and Monument Preservation , Faculty of Architecture , Cracow University of Technology , A-1 @ pk . edu . pl
Abstract : Wiślica today is a small locality in south-eastern Poland , situated situated in the upper Vistula River basin . In the Early Medieval age it grew to be important centre in the Małopolska region ( Lesser Poland ), belonging to the old Land of the Vistulans . In the 9 th century is evidenced by independent European sources : the Bavarian Geographer , Geography of King Alfred and Life of St . Methodius known also as the Pannonian Legend . Historians point out to the exceptional phenomenon of representational character of Wiślica in the Middle Ages , then preceded only by Krakow and Sandomierz . Many a residential , municipal and sacred building was located there , testifying to the rank of that centre already at the early stage of existence of the Polish state . Wiślica is clarifying historical example of peoples cooperation through the exchange of cultural values . Following the initiative of the Association of Conservators of Monuments , in the year 2016 the team of experts was summoned , elaborating the Heritage Project for Wiślica . It foresaw the schedule of realisation of key points aiming at implementing an innovative vision of socio-economic and spatial development of Wiślica . It would be based on the most recent understanding heritage as a set of tangible values and intangible meanings created in the fields of culture and nature during the civilisation process , which add up to the existential space . Heritage Project has a chance to enhance the contemporary shape of Wiślica as a monument of culture and history , and as a model concept of the sustainable development . It is based on the idea of an ecomuseum according to the philosophy of the new museology . It may be defined as a controlled process of transformations in a given environment , taking into consideration man and his culture . Thus , it is a new form of a regional „ musealised space ”, largely saved from oblivion and locally integrated – supported by the actions of the local communities interested in using heritage as a fundamental value in the modern life .
Keywords : preservation , heritage site management plans , promotion , intercultural dialogue .
Introduction
Wiślica , which had its municipal rights ( bestowed in the Middle Ages ) restored in 2018 , is located in the southern part of the Świętokrzyskie Province , approx . 57 km south of Kielce , 60 km north-east of Cracow and 85 km south-west of Sandomierz and belongs to the oldest settlement complexes in Poland . In the unanimous opinion of historians , Wiślica , next to Cracow and Sandomierz , performed the role of a major political and administrative centre at the time of the Piast monarchy .
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