This session is in memory of and dedicated to Prof. dr. Hans Renes (1954-2023)
Session organizers: Henk Baas1, Berthe Jongejan1, Michiel Purmer2, Edwin Raap1
(1) Cultural Heritage Agency, The Netherlands
(2) Natuurmonumenten (Natural Monuments Society), The Netherlands
Session description
This session is in memory of and dedicated to Prof. dr. Hans Renes (1954-2023). Renes, board member of PECSRL, intensely studied the European landscape and one of his last books was dedicated to landscape, heritage and national identity in Europe. In this session, European cross-border landscape heritage, is studied. Often, this heritage is contested. Not only by different heritage groups, but also by other stakeholders as tourism, new developments, nature.
As examples of the landscapes this session is aiming to study, we will present some Dutch examples. These mostly military landscapes are strongly connected to the European landscape, but also contested with lots of different interest groups and spatial changes in the foreseeable future. As these landscapes are part of cross-border structures, they have an international dimension and could be interesting examples on a European scale. We invite researchers to present their work on this field in this session in order to look at similarities as well as dissimilarities of these heritage landscapes throughout Europe. We especially welcome presentations that elaborate on the relation between heritage and future spatial planning: tension or challenge?
Some Dutch case studies might illustrate the theme of this session:
– The Atlantikwall is a German line of defense, build along the Dutch coast during the Second World War as part of a European structure, stretching from Norway to France. In the Netherlands, a government program by the Cultural Heritage Agency is currently looking at the heritage values of the Atlantikwall. The defense line is contested however, not only as military heritage of the former occupying German forces, but also because of different functions and rapid spatial changes in these landscapes.
– The former frontier of the Roman Empire, the Limes, stretches throughout Europe and even beyond in Africa. Large parts of the Limes is protected as world heritage. In the Netherlands, the Roman frontier is hardly recognizable in the landscape. Here, the former border landscape is foremost of archaeological importance: much of the military heritage is hidden in the ground, only visible through modern visualizations and heritage centers. In the rapidly changing Dutch landscape with high pressure on ground, tensions however rise here as well, making this Roman heritage contested.
– Border crossings in the Netherlands were largely abolished with the signing of the Schengen Treaty in 1995. Elements that still remain in the landscape, such as old buildings, parking spaces, traffic signs, border posts, are reminiscent of past border controls, All these elements are randomly cleared away without study or vision about their importance for future generations.
– Castle ruins are quite scarce in the Netherlands. These in origin medieval structures are however present in large parts of Europe. Often landmarks on strategic locations elsewhere in Europe, they are quite hidden in the Dutch landscape. The current heritage debate involves the rebuilding of some Dutch castle ruins, mostly to give them a new function. The history of sometimes centuries of decay and a delicate balance between natural and cultural heritage values however is threatened.
We invite colleagues to present examples from their own research practices or working experiences that touch upon similar challenges between cross-border contested heritage and spatial developments. We hope to gain more insight into how different countries are involved in these types of issues and to contribute to more interdisciplinary research on this topic. This could lead to collaboration between archaeology, landscape history, heritage studies and landscape design.
