The paper rests on the idea that the meanings and values of a place are flexible and changing, depending on the cultural and social values. The inhabitants of a certain place share the associations ...concerning it and its built elements. These shared associations or experiences create the perception of unity and shape a community. Various meanings were ascribed to the Old Town of Užice from the second half of the 14th century until 1863, when it was devastated. During the last four centuries of its existence, it presented a threat for the Christian inhabitants, so after its Turkish crew left, “the Serbs hastily destroyed the fort”. The survey conducted in 2013 showed that neither its position at the outskirts of the modern city, nor its special status gained by the administrative protection (granted in 1949) were sufficient to generate the positive attitude by the local population. By the beginning of the 21st century the Old Town was neglected and did not take part in the life of the modern settlement. With the dissolution of the former state and the abandonment of the traditions associated to the anti-Fascist struggle, Užice lost its esteem. The local authorities, dissatisfied by their position in the changed economic and political circumstances, decided to prioritize the rehabilitation of the Old Town in their strategy of the city regeneration. This meant the reconstruction of the Medieval fortress of Nikola Altomanović (14th cent.), and the Turkish period in the development of the Old Town was totally silenced. The official portals emphasize the Medieval past of the Old Town, in accordance with the modern Serbian identity, that was built and is still confirmed by the research and promotion of the Medieval history and its material traces. The narrative of the organic links between the modern nation and the Medieval heritage is fundamentally naturalized, indicating the Authorized Heritage Discourse in action, and the influence of the state and the experts on the relations a community creates towards the past. The processes that led to the reconstruction of the Old Town confirm that the relationship to spaces is not pre-defined by their physical characteristics, nor stable. The example of Užice vividly illustrates that a society always chooses which values should be emphasized, and which are the ones to be silenced or forgotten.
Priča o Rimskim termama u Čačku predstavlјa studiju slučaja marginalizacije nasleđa zapadne Srbije. Iako smeštene u modernom jezgru grada Čačka, Terme su od otkrivanja 1970, ostale sakrivene za ...javnost, sagledavane kao smetnja stanovnicima, lokalnim preduzetnicima i gradskoj upravi. U teorijskim razmatranjima položaja Termi, rizici za njihovu uspešnu revitalizaciju trebalo bi da budu minimalni u odnosu prema okolnim sadržajima, ali realnost ukazuje na potpune neuspešne pokušaje njihovog materijalnog očuvanja. Spoznaja da u ovom trenutku ne postoji izgrađen odnos Terme – pojedinac – zajednica i klime koju oni uzajamno grade u određenom prostoru ili osobenostima prostora predstavlјa nedostajuću kariku za uspešnu revitalizaciju lokaliteta. Edukacija stanovništva i saradnja sa lokalnom samoupravom u promeni urbanističke politike grada sa kulturnim nasleđem kao pokretačem lokalnog razvoja i identiteta predstavlјaće klјuč za očuvanje kulturnog nasleđa Srbije, u čemu bi primer Termi mogao da ukazuje na put prevazilaženja problema.
The case of the Roman baths in Čačak presents the study of the marginalization of the heritage of Western Serbia. Although situated in the modern centre of the city Čačak, from the time of their ...discovery in 1970, the baths have remained hidden from the public view, considered as an obstacle by the inhabitants, local small business and the city administration. The theoretical consideration of the location of the baths indicates minimal risks for their successful revitalisation in relation to their environment, but in reality the attempts at their material preservation have been utterly unsuccessful. The missing link in effective revitalization of this site is the lack of the constructive relationship baths – individual – community, of the climate they mutually create in the space, or the particular characteristics of the space itself. The key for the protection of cultural heritage in Serbia lies in the education of the local public, cooperation with the local authorities in the changes in the urbanistic policies of the city, and taking the cultural heritage as the incentive for local development and identity, and the example of the Roman baths in Čačak may indicate the path for overcoming the obstacles.
The case of the Roman baths in Čačak presents the study of the marginalization of the heritage of Western Serbia. Although situated in the modern centre of the city Čačak, from the time of their ...discovery in 1970, the baths have remained hidden from the public view, considered as an obstacle by the inhabitants, local small business and the city administration. The theoretical consideration of the location of the baths indicates minimal risks for their successful revitalisation in relation to their environment, but in reality the attempts at their material preservation have been utterly unsuccessful. The missing link in effective revitalization of this site is the lack of the constructive relationship baths – individual – community, of the climate they mutually create in the space, or the particular characteristics of the space itself. The key for the protection of cultural heritage in Serbia lies in the education of the local public, cooperation with the local authorities in the changes in the urbanistic policies of the city, and taking the cultural heritage as the incentive for local development and identity, and the example of the Roman baths in Čačak may indicate the path for overcoming the obstacles.
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