Mennyiben bécsi a Bécsi Memorandum?
How Viennese Is the Vienna Memorandum?

Historical Interpretation of the Changing Definitions of Urban Heritage

Summary/Abstract: The study aims to make the contemporary developments and research results of cultural heritage, specifically urban heritage, relevant and applicable for historical analysis, through the detailed examination of the controversy surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage status of Vienna’s Old Town and the 2005 Vienna Conference. Both these events were milestones in the history of international legislation regulating urban heritage protection. Analysing this controversy is informative not only regarding the local and international stakeholders’ views, but also because it contributed to the evolution of a new concept, that of the historical urban landscape, which in turn has become an integral part of the conceptual history of cultural heritage. The analysis concerns two major parallel themes. On one hand, it examines the contemporary self-representation of Vienna; on the other, it provides a historical overview of the 2001–2003 controversy and its resolutions. The study demonstrates the synergy of various levels of Vienna’s urban identity (local, regional, international) as well as the social practice and professional conflicts of interest behind the use of the historical urban landscape concept as the universal framework of urban heritage management.

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