Place Loss and Re-Negotiating Local Water Heritage

Abstract

The history of the Sztoła River in Poland provides important insight into how the industrial use of a river can ultimately lead to the disappearance of the water source, the river itself, affecting culture and everyday practices in local communities. It is an example of negative heritage, where the preservation of surface water is neglected as it does not match official narratives of the local mining traditions and social values. Because the river is not considered an important component of local culture, decision makers expected that the local community would accept the ‘‘liquidation of a river.’’ However, the anthropogenic drying up of the Sztoła received much attention on social media as people lost the opportunity for nature-based leisure activities. The local community’s vivid responses on social media and activist interventions are examples of engagement with heritage “in the making” – standing up for the values that have not so far been recognized.