Vilniusz: multikulturális reneszánsz?
Vilnius: multicultural Renaissance?

Summary/Abstract: The 20th century has not been generous to multicultural centers in Europe. Such cities acquired multiple layers of identity over centuries. The more intricate their history, the more complex their identity structure. That was especially true in urban centers which straddled civilizational, racial, ethnic, political or religious boundaries. During the preceding century, these places became objects of contention among competing ethnic nationalisms, which, by their very nature, are generally exclusive. Extreme cases gave rise to various forms of ethnic cleansing. A perfunctory comparison of Constantinople, Salonika, Sarajevo and Trieste about 100 years ago, with their appearance today, presents graphic evidence of a diminution in variety and volume of cultural interaction and an increase in imposed uniformity. Vilnius presents another example. A relative newcomer to the global community of cities, it developed as one of the most diverse in Europe. The center of an ethnically and religiously mixed state provided a milieu for mingling. There was a Lithuanian and East Slav population with significant admixtures of Poles, Germans, and other Europeans, along with Jews, as well as Tatars from the Eurasian steppes.[…]

• Details
• Contents