Forging Architectural Tradition : National Narratives, Monument Preservation and Architectural Work in the Nineteenth-century

During the nineteenth century, a change developed in the way architectural objects from the distant past were viewed by contemporaries. Such edifices, be they churches, castles, chapels or various other buildings, were not only admired for their aesthetic values, but also for the role they played in ancient times, and their role as reminders of important events from the national past. Architectural heritage often was (and still is) an important element of nation building. Authors address the process of building national myths around certain architectural objects. National narratives are questioned, as is the position architectural heritage played in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.

Dragan Damjanović works as a full professor at the Art History Department, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia, teaching and researching history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Croatian and European art and architecture.

Aleksander Łupienko is assistant professor at the Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. His research interests include cultural history of urban space in Central and East-Central Europe; private and public space; conservation movement and the history of Warsaw and Lviv in the nineteenth century.