New functions of old cities: The case of East Germany's small sized cities

Abstract

Cultural tourism associates itself with complex issues of dealing with urban memory. As a connotative communication channel, tourism sites and monuments are a perspective through which a city speaks for itself. A number of tourist destinations in the former GDR state faced drastic changes in their tourism management after the national unification of Germany. Which voice does the cultural heritage contain in these cities along its dissonant history and how the local perceptions on the heritage have been altered in the last 25 years are the main subjects of this research. Based on the former studies on the topic of 'heritage and urban identity', this paper explores the relation between architectural heritage management and the dwellers' perceptions on the heritage since the removal of visa controls between GDR and BDR in 1989. Compared to the economic and political studies after the German reunification, socio-cultural issues on local identity and cultural re-adaption process have not been much discussed. Taking three exemplary cities in Thuringia (Eisenach, Gotha and Weimar), the document analysis of the conceptual changes in cultural tourism management and qualitative interviews on both authorities and residents will be done. By providing empirical data on the ongoing German governance, the author attempts to explore the role of cultural heritage in Germany's urban resilience. Furthermore, this research aims to contribute to the contemporary agenda on cultural tourism management in multi-identity societies over international borders.

Keywords

• Cultural tourism
• Heritage
• Urban identity
• GDR (German Democratic Republic)