The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development
All over the world and for thousands of years, megaliths have been significant cultural elements, as well as sacred sites and places of power. Nowadays megaliths act as a strong magnet for tourists, who appreciate their history, esoterica and magic. Some megaliths were used for astronomical observat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2018-09-01
|
| Series: | Open Geosciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2018-0040 |
| _version_ | 1818730338412658688 |
|---|---|
| author | Krzemińska Alicja Edyta Dzikowska Anna Zaręba Anna Danuta Jarosz Katarzyna Rozalia Widawski Krzysztof Łach Janusz Stanisław |
| author_facet | Krzemińska Alicja Edyta Dzikowska Anna Zaręba Anna Danuta Jarosz Katarzyna Rozalia Widawski Krzysztof Łach Janusz Stanisław |
| author_sort | Krzemińska Alicja Edyta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | All over the world and for thousands of years, megaliths have been significant cultural elements, as well as sacred sites and places of power. Nowadays megaliths act as a strong magnet for tourists, who appreciate their history, esoterica and magic. Some megaliths were used for astronomical observations, so vital to maintain the continuity of harvest and crop. Other megalithic constructions were erected for funerary purposes, and served as individual or collective burial chambers. Megalithic structures are usually referred to as belonging to the European Neolithic but it has to be stressed that some megalithic constructions date back to the Bronze Age, and some were also built on other continents. Megaliths are a vital element of landscape and for historical reasons they are a sui generis monument, commemorating prehistorical cultures. At the same time, along with the remaining elements of the natural and cultural environment, they create a unique image of place identity, attracting large numbers of tourists. Interestingly, despite the strong attraction exercised by megaliths, there are still many places where tourism does not develop as rapidly as might be assumed. For the above-mentioned reasons, a comparative analysis of several megalithic sites has been conducted in Poland, Sweden, Portugal and Denmark. The following elements have been analysed: the megaliths immediate surroundings, the existing and planned or under-construction tourist and communication infrastructure, as well as architectural and spatial technical solutions and development. Also the key negative and positive elements have been defined which influence the tourist potential of the places in question, and constitute the tourism attractiveness factors of a region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:00:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-97c041aaf4c34414a9afd7962456528b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2391-5447 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T23:00:12Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-97c041aaf4c34414a9afd7962456528b2022-12-21T21:29:26ZengDe GruyterOpen Geosciences2391-54472018-09-0110150451610.1515/geo-2018-0040geo-2018-0040The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism DevelopmentKrzemińska Alicja Edyta0Dzikowska Anna1Zaręba Anna Danuta2Jarosz Katarzyna Rozalia3Widawski Krzysztof4Łach Janusz Stanisław5Faculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wroclaw, Wrocław, 50-137, PolandFaculty of Security and Safety Research, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military University of Land Forces Wroclaw, MULFWrocław, 51-147, PolandFaculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wroclaw, Wrocław, 50-137, PolandFaculty of Logistics and Transport, International University of Logistics and Transport in Wrocław, Wrocław, 51-168, PolandFaculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wroclaw, Wrocław, 50-137, PolandFaculty of Earth Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Wroclaw, Wrocław, 50-137, PolandAll over the world and for thousands of years, megaliths have been significant cultural elements, as well as sacred sites and places of power. Nowadays megaliths act as a strong magnet for tourists, who appreciate their history, esoterica and magic. Some megaliths were used for astronomical observations, so vital to maintain the continuity of harvest and crop. Other megalithic constructions were erected for funerary purposes, and served as individual or collective burial chambers. Megalithic structures are usually referred to as belonging to the European Neolithic but it has to be stressed that some megalithic constructions date back to the Bronze Age, and some were also built on other continents. Megaliths are a vital element of landscape and for historical reasons they are a sui generis monument, commemorating prehistorical cultures. At the same time, along with the remaining elements of the natural and cultural environment, they create a unique image of place identity, attracting large numbers of tourists. Interestingly, despite the strong attraction exercised by megaliths, there are still many places where tourism does not develop as rapidly as might be assumed. For the above-mentioned reasons, a comparative analysis of several megalithic sites has been conducted in Poland, Sweden, Portugal and Denmark. The following elements have been analysed: the megaliths immediate surroundings, the existing and planned or under-construction tourist and communication infrastructure, as well as architectural and spatial technical solutions and development. Also the key negative and positive elements have been defined which influence the tourist potential of the places in question, and constitute the tourism attractiveness factors of a region.https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2018-0040megalithsmegalithic constructionmegalithic tombarchaeological tourismtourist potentialales stenarlejrewietrzychowice |
| spellingShingle | Krzemińska Alicja Edyta Dzikowska Anna Zaręba Anna Danuta Jarosz Katarzyna Rozalia Widawski Krzysztof Łach Janusz Stanisław The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development Open Geosciences megaliths megalithic construction megalithic tomb archaeological tourism tourist potential ales stenar lejre wietrzychowice |
| title | The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development |
| title_full | The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development |
| title_fullStr | The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development |
| title_short | The Significance of Megalithic Monuments in the Process of Place Identity Creation and in Tourism Development |
| title_sort | significance of megalithic monuments in the process of place identity creation and in tourism development |
| topic | megaliths megalithic construction megalithic tomb archaeological tourism tourist potential ales stenar lejre wietrzychowice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2018-0040 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT krzeminskaalicjaedyta thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT dzikowskaanna thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT zarebaannadanuta thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT jaroszkatarzynarozalia thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT widawskikrzysztof thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT łachjanuszstanisław thesignificanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT krzeminskaalicjaedyta significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT dzikowskaanna significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT zarebaannadanuta significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT jaroszkatarzynarozalia significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT widawskikrzysztof significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment AT łachjanuszstanisław significanceofmegalithicmonumentsintheprocessofplaceidentitycreationandintourismdevelopment |