Atlas Niematerialnego Dziedzictwa Krakowa

Program naukowy Muzeum Krakowa – zakresy, realizacja i plany

Abstract

AN ATLAS OF KRAKÓW'S INTANGIBLE HERITAGE. A RESEARCH PROGRAMME LAUNCHED AT THE MUSEUM OF KRAKÓW – SCOPE, IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANS

The objective of the paper is to present the new research programme launched at the Museum of Kraków titled An Atlas of Kraków’s Intangible Heritage. The principles of the programme include the creation of an inventory of intangible cultural heritage phenomena which exist in the Kraków area, as well as their documentation, interpretation, presentation and popularisation among the public. The programme encompasses the identification and study of those cultural phenomena which match the definition formulated in the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2003. In the first part of his paper the author presents the historical achievements in the field of collecting and interpretation of Kraków legends, folk tales, rites, customs, and musical folklore which, from our contemporary perspective, can be described as intangible cultural heritage. After all, such ethnographic material can be found even in the works of mediaeval chroniclers. He then proceeds to discuss further stages of ethnographic research development using the example of the documentation and research on Kraków folklore and traditions. A separate section is dedicated to the ethnogeographical research method which was introduced in Poland by Kazimierz Moszyński. The second part of the paper focuses on the presentation of the idea, objectives and guidelines of the research programme An Atlas of Kraków’s Intangible Heritage, elaborating on the first stage of its implementation which covers the former villages and jurydyki located to the west of Kraków’s Old Town which were incorporated into Kraków in the 19th and the 20th centuries. The author then introduces members of the interdisciplinary team of scholars engaged in the programme, mostly historians, ethnologists and cultural anthropologists. Also included in this section is a description of the research method and methodology used in the project which involves a comprehensive research apparatus, including such tools as preliminary research, field observation, individual in-depth interview (IDI), focus group interview (FGI), survey, etc. The paper ends with a presentation of the predicted effects the project should generate.