Sacred Structures in the Landscape: The Case of Rural Czechia

Abstract

This paper examines the development of sacred structures in rural Czechia (former Czechoslovakia). Sacred structures could be associated with the creation of important symbols and distinctive rural regional identities in Czechia. Rural Czechia is not uniform: it represents several different rural landscapes. This paper considers whether sacred structures support the idea of multiple and fundamentally different rural areas existing in Czechia. In rural areas and small municipalities, sacred structures often present the only significant culture feature for a tourist. This research found that most residents of Czechia's rural areas identify with sacred structures, in spite of the fact that representatives of local government often perceive such items as cultural-historical symbols in the landscape rather than religious structures. Five types of rural, religious landscapes were identified, supporting the idea that multiple types of rural areas exist in Czechia.

Memorial crosses in Poland: a commonplace and contested element of public roads

“…In the author's opinion, numerous roadside memorials undoubtedly sprang up as a result of regained freedom of public expression in different spheres of life (economic, political, religious, educational) after the Great Transformation in 1989. This observation is in agreement with the discussion concerning the sharp increase in the number of roadside memorials in Czechia and Romania since 1990 (Nešporová, Stahl 2014;Havlíček, Hupková 2013). To conclude, in the case of Poland however, numerous roadside memorials seem to have rather more in common with increased informalization and individualization of social practices than with the rise of new types of burial customs.…”

“…Owen 2011) theoretical part. Yet another type of research is formed by papers in which roadside memorials are only one of many elements comprising issues subjected to a more thorough discussion, such as: religious landscape (Zelinsky 2010;Havlíček, Hupková 2013), deathscape (Maddrell 2013;Hupková 2013;Santino, ed. 2011;Maddrell, Sidaway, eds.…”

Children’s perceptions of local religious sites in rural central Europe: case studies in the Czech-Polish and Polish-Slovak borderland

“…This resurgence has been accompanied increased heterogeneity (Bilska-Wodecka 2005;Havlíček, Hupková 2008;Havlíček, Hupková, Smržová 2009;Havlíček, Klingorová 2018;Zachar Podolinska, Tížik, Majo 2019). Along with the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, these three countries experienced a revival of religious life (Henkel 2014), which has found expressions in the religious landscape (not only) through the emergence of new sacral structures (Havlíček, Hupková 2013;Havlíček, Klingorová 2018).…”

Religious situation in contemporary Czech society

“…50 Sociological analyses of the DIN and ISSP surveys -Religion were published by Hamplová and Nešpor 51 and by Vido, Václavík and Paleček. 52 Some results of surveys concerning dying and death 53 or socio-geographical surveys of traditional and emerging holy places in the landscape 54 are also available.…”