Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians
Although German settlement in the Carpathians and their forelands declined to a minimum after World War II and again with the fall of Communism, its traces in the cultural landscape are still visible. This article investigates this fact, regarding the built cultural landscape, the linguistic landsca...
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2025-05-01
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| Series: | Miscellanea Geographica: Regional Studies on Development |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2025-0013 |
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| author | Jordan Peter |
| author_facet | Jordan Peter |
| author_sort | Jordan Peter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although German settlement in the Carpathians and their forelands declined to a minimum after World War II and again with the fall of Communism, its traces in the cultural landscape are still visible. This article investigates this fact, regarding the built cultural landscape, the linguistic landscape, and the aspect of landscape or regional identity rooted in a German past. Considering the modern Carpathian countries (Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania), it starts by casting a light on the historical background of German settlement, followed by a glance at the current situation of Germans in the entire country, before focusing on German traces in the cultural landscape. It reveals that such traces are significant in areas that were populated by a German majority, or a larger share of Germans, up to World War II or even later, while, elsewhere, only scattered areas with German traces can be found. They are mostly well maintained, and frequently presented proudly – not least due to their function as tourist attractions, and because German emigrants and their descendants like to remain in contact with their former homes and visit them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e63921276f0f42ce98bf1821c3c7ab3a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2084-6118 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Miscellanea Geographica: Regional Studies on Development |
| spelling | doaj-art-e63921276f0f42ce98bf1821c3c7ab3a2025-08-20T03:30:24ZengSciendoMiscellanea Geographica: Regional Studies on Development2084-61182025-05-0129312713910.2478/mgrsd-2025-0013Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the CarpathiansJordan Peter0Institute of Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hermagor, Austria; Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, South AfricaAlthough German settlement in the Carpathians and their forelands declined to a minimum after World War II and again with the fall of Communism, its traces in the cultural landscape are still visible. This article investigates this fact, regarding the built cultural landscape, the linguistic landscape, and the aspect of landscape or regional identity rooted in a German past. Considering the modern Carpathian countries (Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania), it starts by casting a light on the historical background of German settlement, followed by a glance at the current situation of Germans in the entire country, before focusing on German traces in the cultural landscape. It reveals that such traces are significant in areas that were populated by a German majority, or a larger share of Germans, up to World War II or even later, while, elsewhere, only scattered areas with German traces can be found. They are mostly well maintained, and frequently presented proudly – not least due to their function as tourist attractions, and because German emigrants and their descendants like to remain in contact with their former homes and visit them.https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2025-0013cultural landscapelinguistic landscapegermanscarpathians |
| spellingShingle | Jordan Peter Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians Miscellanea Geographica: Regional Studies on Development cultural landscape linguistic landscape germans carpathians |
| title | Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians |
| title_full | Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians |
| title_fullStr | Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians |
| title_short | Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians |
| title_sort | traces of german settlement in the modern day cultural landscape of the carpathians |
| topic | cultural landscape linguistic landscape germans carpathians |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2025-0013 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jordanpeter tracesofgermansettlementinthemoderndayculturallandscapeofthecarpathians |