Past Bordering Practices Modelling Present Representations: Transylvanian Saxons’ Administrative Units and the Chair of Rupea /Repser Stuhl /Kőhalom Szék
2021; Springer Nature (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês
10.1007/978-3-030-66766-5_12
ISSN2215-0072
Autores Tópico(s)Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
ResumoThis chapter, following the dominant discourse about the reduction of borders in a globalized world, shows how a Saxon Chair (a historic administrative unit) from Transylvania, Romania, dissolved in 1876, was reinvented through several local tourism related projects. The situation is even more interesting, as the former administrative unit, created by the Saxon population in the 13th century, after more than a century of oblivion and in the absence of the Saxon population, started to be mentioned again and used in cultural representations. The former unit, the Chair of Rupea /Repser Stuhl /Kőhalom Szék, with no official status and borders at present, was analysed in detail, researching all the past bordering practices, in search for a continuity between more than half a dozen of major administrative changes. Research results show how the material heritage (especially the Fortress of Rupea) influenced the perception of the former Chair of Rupea, reflected by many representations and tourism advertising (through brochures, flyers, calendars, information panels, etc.). This chapter offers answers to many questions, regarding the local history and identity, sense of belonging, cultural particularities and offers the “big picture” to its readers.
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