Emilia Moddelmog-Anweiler
Geographical Studies, Issue 137, 2014, pp. 137-158
https://doi.org/10.4467/20833113PG.14.013.2158Religious heritage is an important cultural resource for a city. First, cities are at the crossroads of conflicting trends in globalisation. Urban communities are looking for that which makes them universal and unique at the same time. Second, reflection on identity in relation to the heritage and history of a city reveals the multicultural past of Central and Eastern Europe, and shows an image of social change and transformation. Religious heritage plays, therefore, various roles. Places connected with religious identities have symbolic, sacred and artistic meanings. They construct a local universe of meaning; they are an important factor of the local narrative and customs, and they place it in the context of national, regional and ethnic traditions. Churches, temples, and cemeteries are also a sign of memory, this shows not only history but also the contemporary processes of remembering and forgetting. The city of Bielsko-Biała was a cultural and religious mosaic until 1945. Jewish, German and Polish cultures were meeting here everyday with diverse religious belonging and boundaries. Today, the heritage of its religious identity is recognized mainly via monuments, tourist attractions, and cultural events. Only occasionally is the religious heritage of the city analysed in the context of collective identities. Urban space still reflects the complexity of the relationships between religious, national, and regional identities. The purpose of the paper is to describe the variety of functions of religious heritage in a contemporary city on the example of Bielsko-Biała in Poland. The analysis will be based on demographic data from the national census of population, religious community documents, available sociological research outcomes, and historical and contemporary images of the city such as maps and plans, postcards and tourist brochures.