Mining Memory in Most : Mapping shifting urban identity and currents of erasure of cultural and historical continuity in Most, Czech Republic.

Sammanfattning

This thesis intends to map grassroots reactions to the erasure of cultural and historical continuity of the 1970s demolition of old Most, a Medieval city situated in the North Bohemian Ore mountains. Old Most’s demolition expanded brown-coal mining in the Mostecko region. Mostecko’s extensive mining past has led to both physical and societal disruptions since the 1930s, with a loss of over one hundred municipalities. The primary aim of this study is to conduct a landscape analysis of shifting city identity and image, following Katherine Burlingame’s Triangle of Landscape Engagement model via various forms of visual and written media analysis. A secondary aim is to study the relationship between loss of historical continuity, mining heritage and connection to place to better understand current initiatives today. Primary resources used will be archival material analysis and interviews with professionals and visitors. The latter will serve to explore previously mentioned themes of meaning and place making; displacement; urban identity.