IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

Several armed conflicts, forming new nation states and many more or less successful post-war reconstruction attempts greatly influenced both urban landscape and cultural heritage on the territory that once was known as Yugoslavia. Various monuments have been damaged, a large number of them disappeared without a trace and new places of contested memories have been created. A fresh recollection of the struggle has contributed failing to establish local unity in diversity. However, one of the leading tendencies on Serbia’s “European road” considers dealing with that turbulent past and establishing the regional dialogue on reconciliation. Among other things, it means that we have to figure out how to memorialize that dissonant heritage created during the armed conflicts. Inheritance of any kind becomes heritage (or living patrimony) only through identification, (re)valorization, (re)interpretation and (re)using. But the problem is – how. From the equestrian statues, over the soldier figures and statues of unknown heroes, through memorial complexes and contemporary anti – monumentalism practices, every period in history has its dominant tendency in preserving remembrance. Through examination of the recent ones, as well as their impact on memory work, this paper attempts to reveal what are the main features that a site of memory needs to have in order to be considered as a proper medium for representing unwanted heritage; as an educational tool; as an encouragement for bringing together former enemies and as a constructive creator of shared identities.