Historical Reconstruction Practices in the Urban Environment

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2024-4(1)-51-63

 

Arseniy Torchilenko
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Veliky Novgorod, Russia
[email protected]

ORCID: 0009-0006-7725-9039

 

ABSTRACT

This article studies the potential of historical reenactment festivals as an increasingly popular hobby and way of life that revives the history and identity of medieval cities through crafts, costumes, and customs. Participation in these festivals educates people about the historical significance of their city and promotes community participation. Even though Veliky Novgorod can provide favorable conditions for large-scale events, there are no targeted projects for the development of historical reconstruction there yet. The resurgence of historical festivals after the decline caused by COVID-19 highlights the need for suitable venues to integrate re-enactments into Novgorod's event calendar. These events provide educational benefits through practical, live historical presentations and aim to balance historical accuracy and entertainment value. Historical reconstruction festivals can bring different benefits to the cities being cultural holidays and tools for urban regeneration, improving the global image of the city. Successful integration of historical reenactment festivals into the city's event agenda requires balancing the needs of redevelopers, the host city, and the local population.

 

KEYWORDS: urban practices, historical re-enactment, heritage tourism, living history, educational effectiveness, Veliky Novgorod.

 

References

Bozhok, N. S. (2013 a). Sociological content of “historical reconstruction” concept. Vestnik of Saratov State Technical University, 3(1), 197–201. (In Russian).

 

Bozhok, N. S. (2013 b). The movement of historical reconstruction as a phenomenon of youth culture. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of sociological sciences. Saratov State Technical University named after Yu. A. Gagarin. (In Russian).

 

Dracheva, E. L. (2014). Historical reconstruction as a basis for the formation of a new touristic product. Service & Tourism: Current Challenges, 8(4), 55–67. (In Russian).

 

García, B. (2004). Urban regeneration, arts programming, and major events: Glasgow 1990, Sydney 2000 and Barcelona 2004. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 10(1), 103–118.

 

Liu, Y. D. (2014). Cultural events and cultural tourism development: Lessons from the European capitals of culture. European Planning Studies, 22(3), 498–514.

 

Logvina, E. V. (2020). Historic reconstruction of events is a from of event tourism. Geopolitics and Ecogeodynamics of Regions, 6(2), 206–217. (In Russian).

 

Petrukhin, I. N. (2023). Fundamental differences of the historical reconstruction movement (HR) from the movement of “historical medieval battle” (HMB) in our country. In Actual Problems of Civil-Patriotic Education of Youth. Materials of the All-Russian Scientific and Methodological Forum. Is. 5. (pp. 107–123). BF UUNiT. (In Russian).

 

Olechnicki, K., & Szlendak, T. (2020). Historical re-enactment in Poland: Between faithfulness to history and the imperative of spectacularity. Polish Sociological Review, 209(1), 3–22.

 

Information about the author
Arseniy A. Torchilenko
Master’s Student
Research and Educational Centre
for Humanitarian Urbanistics
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University
41, Bolshaya Sankt-Peterburgskaya St.,
Veliky Novgorod, 173003, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0009-0006-7725-9039
e-mail: [email protected]

 

For citation:
Torchilenko, A. A. (2024). Historical reconstruction practices in the urban environment. Urbis et Orbis. Microhistory and Semiotics of the City, 4(1), 51–63. https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2024-4(1)-51-63