On Retroversion and Quality of Life. Heritage of the Rebuilt City in New Contexts, on the Example of Elbląg

Abstract

Elbląg is an example of a city in the Western and Northern Territories of Poland that was a German city before World War II, and in 1945, as a result of changes in state borders, became part of Poland. The aim of the article is to present the heritage of Elbląg in contemporary contexts. Treating heritage as a discursive area of social reality, the author shows the main topics of contemporary urban narratives (disputes, demands, discussions) in which heritage is revealed, thus pointing to its dissonances. She also answer questions about social and cultural functions, and about the meaning of the referenced elements of local heritage. One of the main themes and focal points of this heritage is the Old Town, still undergoing reconstruction from wartime destruction using the method of retroversion. This is provoking frequent discussion, and at the same time revealing tensions around the heritage on the axes of essentialism — constructivism, stability — change, and continuity — process. Increasingly, deliberations concerning the Old Town refer to demands related to the quality of life and environmental issues. Thus, green areas are becoming an element of urban heritage. The past and its material traces are an important starting point for discussion, often of a grassroots nature, on the development of the city. This is understood both broadly, in relation to the general vision of the city, and to specific tangible changes in space. Calling Elbląg a “consistently unfinished city,” or “a mock-up city,” touches on the issues of heritage and its social significance in various dimensions and scales of social reality. “Unfinished” therefore concerns not only the constant rebuilding of the city, but also the discussion on the heritage, and more broadly, on the idea of the city.