Transforming Places of Memory – the “Monuments” Locality near the Town of Svishtov. Cover Image

Трансформация на места на памет – местността „Паметниците“ при Свищов
Transforming Places of Memory – the “Monuments” Locality near the Town of Svishtov.

Author(s): Iskren Velikov
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural history, Psychology, Customs / Folklore, Ethnohistory, Local History / Microhistory, Military history, Oral history, Political history, Social history, Modern Age, Recent History (1900 till today), Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН
Keywords: heroic anthropology;historical location;Svishtov;monuments héraldiques;Russian-Ottoman war;Bulgarian volunteer troops;Filip Totyu;

Summary/Abstract: The preservation of the memory for the past is part of the system that forms identity.“The sites of memory“ (after Pierre Nora), which surpass the frames of the physical space of the event and also include the characters-participants and the event itself as a phenomenon, are building a symbolic construct, which is often comprehended bylocal communities as heritage. The present research examines the development and transformation of places of national memory in Bulgaria. Case-study of the report is the “Monuments“ Park of the town of Svishtov in Northern Bulgaria – the original site of the landing of Russian troops in 1877, the beginning of the Liberation War. Duringits 140 years of history, the “Tekir-dere / the Monuments“ area witnesses three stages of development. In the initial years following the Liberation the area is affirmed as a site for commemoration and homage to the bravery of the Russian soldiers. OnБългарска етнология, бр. 1 (2018) / 91occasion of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the war, the narrative was expanded with the presentation of the Bulgarian volunteer troops in the process of achieving Freedom. In the beginning of the 21st c. the process of “acquiring“ the historical territory continues by introducing the revolutionary Filip Totyu and his detachment in 1867. With the expansion of the urban territory, the space also acquires the functions of a town park. Thus, despite the physical distance from the settlement,the area has turned nowadays into a place for relaxation and walk for the citizens of Svishtov, which is assisted by the activities for the socialization of the park.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 77-91
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Bulgarian