This paper is concerned with transformations of the central square in the city of Banská Bystrica, Central Slovakia, from 1918 to the present. This period can be divided into three important eras with respect to the historical development of the square. In the democratic period from 1918–48, the central square was a polyfunctional area where most of the city’s social and cultural events and activities took place. The polyfunctionality of the square in the interwar period was replaced by a dominating traffic function in the communist period, during the years 1948–89. The central square became the arterial road of the city where any social and cultural activities were impossible to organize because of noise and pollution. The situation has changed since the velvet revolution in 1989. Most of the houses on the square have been returned to former owners and transformed into luxurious private shops, restaurants, cafes and banks. In 1994 the complete reconstruction of the square took place. The inhabitants have welcomed the reconstruction with great interest. After long years, the square has become a place of rich social and cultural life, and is considered a symbol of modernization and westernization. The reconstruction of the square has contributed to a revitalization of urban life. It has reinforced the inhabitants’ identity with the city and their pride in the place where they live. mdash; Cet article concerne les transformations de la place centrale de la ville de Banská Bystrica en Slovakie Centrale, de 1918 à nos jours. Cette période peut être divisée en trois époques, importantes quant au développement historique de cette place. Durant la période démocratique de 1918 à 1948, la place centrale était un endroit polyfonctionnel où prenaient place la plupart des activités sociales et culturelles. La polyfonctionnalité de la place entre les deux guerres fut remplacée par la fonction dominante de la circulation durant la période communiste de 1948 à 1989. La place centrale devint l’artère principale de la ville où il était impossible d’organiser des activités culturelles ou sociales à cause du bruit et de la pollution. Cette situation a changé depuis la révolution feutrée de 1989. La plupart des maisons sur la place ont été rendues à leurs anciens propriétaires et transformées en boutiques de luxe, en restaurants, en cafés et en banques. La reconstruction complète de la place que les habitants ont accueilli chaudement et avec grand intérêt, eut lieu en 1994. Après de nombreuses années, la place est devenue un lieu riche de vie culturelle et sociale et est considérée un symbole de modernisation et occidentalisation. La reconstruction de la place a contribuéà la revigoration de la vie urbaine. Elle a renforcé l’identification des habitants à leur ville et leur fierté d’y habiter.
A large number of studies within the social sciences have been devoted to the relationship between cultural heritage and cultural/ heritage tourism development in recent years and even decades. This area of study has been an object of interest for numerous disciplines, from economics, geography, sociology and history, to ethnology, sociocultural anthropology, museology and cultural studies. The study aims to present selected theories on cultural heritage and heritage tourism based on recent theoretical concepts, and to reflect their implementation within a particular national and regional context based on a case study of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, Slovakia.
The paper focuses on monuments and memorials construction, reconstruction, removal or relocation in Slovakia in the context of post-socialist urban development. It focuses on monuments and memorials illustrated by a set of examples and narratives from the city of Banská Bystrica. Monuments are built structures erected to commemorate an event or a person of historical importance. As signifi cant landmarks they are an important part of city-making, but often also carry a political message. The post-socialist reinterpretation of the past, confrontation with the legacy of several political regimes, particularly communism, reveals its traces in the urban landscape of Banská Bystrica and refl ects the constant contestation over urban space and its representations.
The article deals with the questions of the (in)visibility of women in Slovak political life. The material presents statistical data on women's participation in Slovak national, regional and local politics with the support of qualitative data from interviews with women politicians and activists. The author looks at the reasons for the low political representation of women and the unsuccessful attempts to increase it by introducing positive mechanisms such as quotas. The primary focus is put on the representation of women in municipal politics. The author analyses the main reasons why women are more successful in local politics than in 'high' politics.
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