Collective Memory between Tradition and Archive: Josip Mantuani, Heimatschutz and Monument Protection

Abstract

In 1911, Josip Mantuani attended a joint meeting for monument protection and Heimatschutz (homeland protection) in Salzburg, which he covered extensively in the Slovenec newspaper. Even though his practice as a member of the Monument Council and director of the Provincial Museum undoubtedly centred on the protection of historical monuments, he was also well acquainted with Heimatschutz. This is clearly shown in his text “Domovinsko varstvo” (Heimatschutz), which he published in the scientific journal Čas in 1914. The two aforementioned texts, along with his five-instalment feuilleton on the modern principles of monument protection, which he published in the Slovenec newspaper in late 1909, provide a good insight into Mantuani’s understanding of the mutual relationship between monument protection and Heimatschutz. In all three texts one can clearly discern that Mantuani distinguished between monuments that were still rooted in the existing tradition through their character, form and content, and those he viewed as “silent witnesses” to past cultures, or, in other words, as historical sources. He attributed “a living cultural” role to the former, while viewing the latter as “archival material”.