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Council of Europe PublishingEditions du Conseil de lEurope

Dividing lines,

connecting lines Europes

cross-border heri tage

Re

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violence

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ever

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life

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Dividing lines,connecting lines

Europes cross-border herita

Co-ordinatedby Gabi Dolff-Bonekmper


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French edition:Patrimoine europen des frontires Points de rupture, espaces parta

ISBN 92-871-5545-3

The opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors and

ily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduany form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, eincluding photocopying, recording or any information storagewithout the prior permission in writing from the PuCommunication and Research Directorate.


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THE AUTHORS

Gabi Dolff-Bonekmper is visiting professor at the Techni

where she holds the Chair in Conservation. She has previothe Berlin Office for the Conservation of Historic Building

the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles. A spec

recent history, contested sites of heritage, contemporary

twentieth century architecture and conservation theory, h

tions include: Lieux de mmoire et lieux de discorde: la

monuments in Roland Recht et al. (eds); Victor Hugo e

Paris, Somogy 2003; Sites of hurtful memory in C

Conservation Institute Newsletter 17.2002, No. 2 (Summe

Wall an archaeological site in progress inMaterial cultu

20th century conflict, John Schofield, William Gray Johns

(eds) London, Routledge, 2002.

Marieke Kuipers is professor of cultural heritage at the U

and a senior researcher with the Netherlands Department fo

An architectural historian specialised in the built heritag

twentieth century, she is currently involved in various resea

most recent heritage (after 1940). Her most recent publica

Cultural heritage and the future of the historic inner city

Amsterdam 2004.

Carmen Popescu is a research assistant at the Sorbonne (

and lectures at the Franois Rabelais University (Tours) in

porary architecture. She is specialised in nationalistic arch

assertion of identity in architecture. Among her several

national roumain: construire une nation travers larchitec


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Heritage where he co-ordinates work on recent military sites turer at Southampton University. His recent projects include

peace camps in Nevada and at Greenham Common and among

and streets of Valletta and Berlin. He recently co-authoredMod

a research framework for twentieth-century military heritage.

Bernard Toulier, a historian of architecture and a former intern

the Acadmie de France in Rome, is a Unesco expert (World Halso heads a programme run by the French National Centre fo

on holiday-related architecture in France. His numerous pub

Cte dEmeraude about the northwest coast of Brittany (co-ed

Paris, Editions du Patrimoine, Cahiers du Patrimoine serie

d'eaux. Architecture publique des stations thermales et

Imprimerie nationale, 2002, a treatise on public architecture in

seaside resorts.

Dividing lines, connecting lines


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTO CREDIT

Chapter I

Santiago bridge at the Franco-Spanish border, p. 25: photo

Carved monolith on the Franco-Belgian border, p. 26: photo

View of Pheasant Island, p. 27: photo Dominique Dela

Chapter II

Western Front landscape, p. 45: photo John Schofield

Trench systems at Vimy Ridge, p. 46: photo John Schofi

Landscapes of remembrance on the Western Front, p. 46: p

Coastal battery and anti-tank wall on Guernsey, p. 47: pho

Direction-finding towers on the Atlantic Wall, p. 47: phot

Chapter III

Prussian boundary pole, p. 65: photo Marieke Kuipers

Bi-national Newstreet in 1992, p. 65: photo Peter Muller, fr

M. van Rooijen, Shell Journaal, Rotterdam 1992

Caf on the Border, p. 66: photo Marieke KuipersEurode Business Centre, p. 66: photo Marieke Kuipers

Concrete stele beside the motorway, p. 67: photo Gabi Do

Watchtower at the Drewitz motorway, p. 67: photo Gabi D


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Cologne Cathedral, plan for west front and towers on pDombauarchiv Kln

Cathedral of the Coronation in Alba Iulia, p. 107: vintage

Carmen Popescu

Cathedral of Cluj, p. 107: vintage postcard collection, Carme

Sighisoara Cathedral, p. 108: photo fromArchitectura, 1939,

New church in Bogdan Voda, p. 108: photo Carmen Popescu

Chapter VI

Berlin propaganda poster, p. 113: Deutsches Historisches Mus

Stalinalle in East Berlin, p. 114: Institute fr Region

Strukturplanung in Erkner

Architectural model for the Interbau housing project, p. 1

catalogue, 1957 (Berlin Senate and Verlag Das Beispiel, Darm

House of the People, p. 115: photo Carmen Popescu

Chapter VII

The Huovila villa, p: 133: photo Olivier Monge

Nice, the two faces of Orientalism, p. 134: photo Olivier M

The Palais de la Mditerrane, p. 135: photo Olivier Mong

The White House, Rotterdam, p. 136: photo Marieke Kuipers

Norwegian Seamans Church, p. 137: photo Marieke Kuipers

Holland-America Line office, p.137: photo Marieke Kuipers

Bonded warehouses, p.138: photo Marieke Kuipers

The Bijenkorf, p. 138: photo Marieke Kuipers

Mevlana mosque, p.139: photo Marieke Kuipers

Ch VIII



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CONTENTS

Foreword .............................................................IntroductionGabi Dolff-Bonekmper ............................................

I. Breaches in borders: ritual crossing pointsconcept

Lon Pressouyre ............................................

II. Lines of tensionMarieke Kuipers and John Schofield ..................

III. Boundaries in the landscape and in the cityGabi Dolff-Bonekmper and Marieke Kuipers . .. .. .

IV. New urban frontiers and the will to belong

John Schofield ..............................................V. Asserted identities, conquered territories

Gabi Dolff-Bonekmper and Carmen Popescu . .. .. .

VI. Borders of fact, borders of the mindCarmen Popescu ............................................

VII. Commerce and cosmopolis Europes marMarieke Kuipers and Bernard Toulier .................

VIII. Mental territory the Celtic connectionBernard Toulier ..............................................

Postscript: the way ahead


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FOREWORD

In 2003-04, the Council of Europe ran a number of initiati

conflict and violence in our societies. In this context, andintercultural dialogue, it seemed a good idea to take a fresh

is both meaningful in itself and a good starting-point for f

cultural heritage.

Heritage reflects the periods of openness, peace and prosp

past but it also reflects the periods of tension. If we wan

ture of the history of European society and of the origins which have divided it, then we need to consider the variou

heritage has been interpreted and the disagreements which

This collection suggests linking the heritage theme with th

frontiers or frontiers of the mind. Frontiers are critical. On

or that side. Frontiers are disturbing. They are places of c

or negation. They mark off identities and groups. But they

cination, as dividing lines which invite us to strike out i

new contacts, and transcend the old and familiar.

Europes frontiers are undoubtedly the place where Europes

verge and meet. Indeed, European identity may emerge mo

cal dividing lines where everything initially seems hard

becomes possible.

This publication points the way to deeper research into Eu

history of relations between the cultural communities whi

asset. It should generate various new initiatives. In this w

itage, we shall rediscover the guiding threads we need to pu


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INTRODUCTION

Gabi Dolff-Bonekmper

This publication sets out to pinpoint and highlight som

shared cultural heritage. However, instead of focusing on w

in famous cities, we are following a different path a pa

ders. We are looking, in other words, at outer boundaries, t

one territory or identity from another, and these are the th

understand and relate to one another. Borders may well be tcial, the distinctive is most powerfully affirmed, but th

where people meet, where adventures and experiences

become possible:

[B]orders are not just dividing lines, places where

selves; they can also be places of exchange and enrichm

identities are formed. They furnish a setting for encounteplace in any other place, since, snugly at home in ones

stands every chance of meeting only carbon copies of on

words in the mouths of others, and running into

(Warschawksi, 2000, editorial translation.)

Why treat borders as heritage? Because Europes nation stat

and national units which preceded them, have left us a legold or recent (sometimes very recent), accepted or conte

threatening or all but invisible. These borders are lines, b

reality, they stand for something bigger border regions

zones places where cultures have met and mingled or li


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necessary, encourage debate and demand critical exploration. Thof memory and a focus for consensus, just as sights of memor

fied by their heritage status can at any moment spa

Alternatively, they can remain ambivalent and double-edged. T

one coin. Once we realise that discord can be part of memory,

discord, this particular heritage offers us an even richer field

reflection.

Our aim in focusing on the heritage of borders is to highlig

ity of cultural heritage, and particularly of buildings, sites an

still carry the signs and traces of the intentions which shape

nal uses, and the changes, destruction and conversions they

in the meantime. Far more than written sources, they reflec

relapses, the agreements and conflicts which have made our

are today. Their material complexity is matched by a se

which often ensures that more than one interpretation is pos

But we need to be able to read them, decipher their message, i

and sometimes dig through to a meaning which contradicts w

first to be saying. And yet we know that the last word on he

spoken, that new ways of interpreting it and the values it em

be possible. Indeed, our vision of heritage is fundamentally ferent ways in which successive generations have interpr

adjusting their vision to match changing social needs, which

the material substance of buildings and artifacts. Discuss

itself become heritage, sometimes clouding our vision of

point where we need to pull back and re-focus. Thus, social in

our perception and treatment of physical substance, which r

preserved an intractable irritant to those who want to beco

tory.

The authors who have worked together closely on this pu

Dutch, Romanian, French and German all agree that Europe



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the peace protesters. What is left of all these once deadly dtraces tell us, what do they evoke? Finally, what is their

for Europe?

Marieke Kuipers and myself approach the same questio

using two very different examples to study borders in the lan

scapes: the remains of the Berlin Wall, marking a border

real and deadly, and signs and traces of the old frontieKerkrade/Herzogenrath, half-German and half-Dutch, on

Schengen Agreement. The barbed wire fence between t

Germans in 1939 and 2.5 metres high, was progressively

totally demolished in 1991, although there are still some tr

show where the border used to be. We actually think it

Kerkrade/Herzogenrath and other places too to preserve th

ders once fortified at times of conflict and tension, so tha

remember them. They should remain a visible part of the ru

as an archaeological reminder of frontiers once fortified and

Borders between states and power blocs left their mark on

John Schofield takes us to the other extreme in his article

in one of Europes great metropolises, London. These new

specific communities, and he finds them in outlying dis

London. When people who share a nationality, an ethn

sexual preference congregate in a given area, the result

homogeneity, which is reflected in signs, decor and recogni

iour. Recognisable, above all, to those who share the co

where their territory starts and ends. Sometimes obviou

these frontiers are social realities in Europes major citietheir cultural topography, particularly in underprivileged

tural groups cluster in ethnoscapes sometimes coexist

flict. Once social archaeologists start exploring them, the

may become sites of memory for tomorrows urban societ


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the modern world, which they would not otherwise have hadcountless medieval monuments in the nineteenth century ob

growing interest and respect commanded by these cultural and a

but can also be seen as cultural propaganda a means of stre

sion and unity of the young nations. The use, on new building

style redolent of a countrys past and national character served

This revisiting of the nations past to affirm its present was ders and in border territories, particularly when those border

drawn (redrawn), and those territories recently acquired, by tr

force of arms.

In her essay on Borders of fact, borders of the mind, Carme

to think about the huge East/West divide created in Europe by

physical border, with its watchtowers, mines and barbed wirepeople from passing, but its mental correlative the border

went as high as the clouds and stopped ideas from getting throu

was a bipolar world, where even building styles reflected the

in east and west Berlin.

Marieke Kuipers and Bernard Toulier write on Commerce

Europes maritime borders. Their contribution brings us back tiers are places for exchange. For centuries, seaside resorts an

tional maritime and river ports have been places where peopl

can happen. The well-heeled visitors, who used to converge fr

of northern and eastern Europe to winter on the Mediterranean

cosmopolitan almost extra-territorial enclave, where the r

ease in comfort. Their second example is Rotterdam, a great t

the presence of seamen and merchants from all parts of the w

turned into a free zone. For years, Rotterdam has been a plac

new arrivals from all classes of society work side by side. It

munity has brought it a multitude of languages, cooking style

lt Lik Ni thi h d it t t it i l lth



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within the UK. So what function does this imagined those who are anxious to affirm their Celtic identity an

to construct an identity for Europe?

Cosmopolitanism: is it something which really exists, or

dream of a world in which people of various origins live

agree on certain basic cultural values, and accept one anotattempt to impose their own values and customs? Is it ne

privileged few, who pass effortlessly from one European c

money smoothing the way? Can cosmopolitan discourse, w

attitudes and purely local loyalties, and sees nationality its

ible, become European discourse? Can cosmopolitanism b

value in constructing a community of the mind to embracEurope?

And that other much-touted concept, multiculturalism: d

all the ingredients in the mixture are equal and compatible

anything in the real world, or is it just a social theory, w

cities of the West and aimed at integrating immigrants wattain the same economic, social and political status as nat

able to win acceptance through their culture? We need to

this concept to work in our research on Europes heritage.

Finally, what about our constructed identities? Put togeth

twentieth centuries, when the nation states were emerginging point of all our thinking on unity and diversity in Eu

have themselves become heritage, transmitted as part of th

and there is no denying their reality. As a result, the bound

tities often but not always coinciding with territorial a


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ReferencesDolff-Bonekmper, Gabi, Sites of memory, sites of discord: H

as a medium for discussing conflict in Europe in Forward pla

of cultural heritage in a changing Europe, Council of Europe

Dolff-Bonekmper, Gabi, Lieux de mmoire, lieux de disc

flictuelle des monuments in Recht, Roland, et al. (eds), Vic

patrimonial, Ed. Somogy, Paris, 2003, pp. 121-144.

Warschawski, Michel, Sur la frontire, Stock, Paris, 2000.



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Belgrade and Constantinople established neutral zones onOttoman Empire. These included the barren area no mans la

created between the towns of Azov and Perekop in 1700, wh

symbolic contradictions inherent in these ambiguous concept

For a long time, borders were simply lines or zones. Then cam

in a sense, did away with them, creating a third and wholly nnew because it no longer lies on the outer edge of the coun

modern airport Marc Aug (1992) calls it a non-place

border, totally, unforeseeably innovative in its morphol

International airports, which exhibit all the contradictions of

bly doors to the world. They offer tax-free or duty-free goo

seems written into their design (Berlins Tempelhof opens its awhile Roissy 1 in Paris pushes out its satellites to meet the

are also firmly locked. Border controls are more systematic a

ports than anywhere else: security checks, identity checks, c

sometimes health checks are concentrated there, as they are in

firm reminder that airports far from opening wide to the sk

strictly limit and regulate access to both.

This brings us to a crucial question: is a breach really a barrie

place names indeed might suggest that. The Brche de Roland

in the wall of the Pyrenees between France and Spain, sounds l

out by a giant sword, and not like a safe and easy passage. The

Danube also sound firmly closed. General Weygand may have 1933, when he spoke of Vaubans wish to encircle France w

under Louis XIV. Twelve years later, condemning the sealing

in a letter to President Harry S. Truman on 12 May 1945,

coined the term Iron Curtain This again harks back to the



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two borders in the space of six kilometres. Since 1995, tSplit in the north and Dubrovnik in the south have had to

find this annoying, Croatians are unlikely to find it any les

Prime Minister Ivo Sanader actually announced plans for

Klek Bridge from the Peljesac peninsula, bypassing the N

Calais, the Channel Tunnel and Eurostar provide a new

Kingdom. But this breach, too, has its bolt. Until recentlymany of them from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and ev

at the Sangatte centre. Now, they simply hang around in

close to the tunnel, waiting for a chance to slip past the p

Channel. And so the crossing point becomes a checkpoint

This paradoxical combination of easy passage and tight sec

ilance, is typical as if one automatically summoned up

bridge at Pont-Saint-Esprit, long the main crossing point o

between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Emp

Empi (Empire) and Riau (Kingdom), instead of por

controlled by a tower on the French side. The message is st

stream, where the castles of Beaucaire and Tarascon guard tmajor bridge above the delta. Nowadays, these fortresses fr

either side of a dead border. With the military rationale gone

metry is the only thing left as if the aim had been to glori

Symbols of a frontier, images of a breach

Fortified frontiers are an extreme case, and they highlight th

by the physical markers or symbols of places where fronti

where their divisive character is clearest.

Europe has never had anything like the Great Wall of Chin

Breaches in borders: ritual crossing po


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on. Vaubanspr carrscheme, which used just a few fortress tofrontier, is another example. Finally, there are the fortified lin

century the Siegfried and Maginot lines, which were, like t

neither continuous nor impassable. In military terms, a breac

uum, a point of least resistance, where the right strategy can f

Walls, forts, blockhouses (and the gaps between them) are notthis open/shut dichotomy on frontiers. Boundary stones carry

message. These have a long tradition, going all the way back

the Greek city states, when associated effigies of Zeus or Her

them sacred status. Europe has many old boundary markers, s

ing the evanescence of yesterdays dividing lines, others the

traces. An example is the monolith on the Franco-Belgian bordbearing on one side thefleur-de-lys of France, on the other the

the Habsburgs (Culot, 2001: 112-113). Frontiers seen as eter

to be made visible. Between 1886 and 1950, 602 stones som

were set up on the Franco-Spanish frontier. Others followed

For example, the stone carved by Jorge Oteiza and erected on

between Hendaye and Irun was toppled by Basque separatists i44). For them, the border dividing Euzkadi into two was a

imposed by the colonising nation states, Spain and Franc

stone, they were getting rid of a spurious division and procla

demands.

Frontier markers delimit territories, but the barriers they cr

imaginary than real. For a long time, seasonal migration of l

the commonest transgressions on marked frontiers. Under p

referred to in all the traits de lie et de passeries (treaties betwe



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Like walls, forts and boundary markers, customs regulatmark on border zones. Initially, when customs barriers coin

land frontiers, they affected national peripheries, but heartla

once the bulk of international trade began to pass through

Londons enormous Customs House, designed by Laing

mental facade 150 metres long by Robert Smirke, is the cl

der displacement pre-dating the age of air travel. The constructed on the Canal Saint-Martin in 1844, is another

dents of nineteenth-century architecture for Jules Lisch

which help to underline the anomalous nature of its presenc

Nicolas Ledouxs customs posts at the old city gates mak

Customs House strikes an incongruous note in a setting w

canal was decommissioned is left to suggest a frontier.

So where are customs barriers breached? For a long time, t

in out-of-the-way and inaccessible places. Smugglers Wa

Smugglers Creek are some of the place names that still

gression regular, but limited. Road, rail and air trave

offences for the old ones. Coastal smuggling is the only tra

survived, with tobacco and narcotics as key items. Anothe

bazaars and other markets followed the line taken by V

Ferney was constructed on the border with Switzerland, m

was just a room away, if needed. Today, sales points astrid

been replaced by border zone supermarkets, outside the n

Border heritage an aid to understanding oth

There are two ways of approaching Europes border heritag

with typology, the second with education.



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But this cataloguing exercise, though essential, is not enough.ever detailed, will ever generate that sense of belonging which

ing for heritage and ensures its transmission to future g

particularly true of border heritage, which, more than any othe

foster a sense of shared identity. Its natural associations are

repression and control with others seen as alien and hostile.

This fact may justify a selective approach to border heritage. M

for example, is highly sensitive, and can serve as common gro

ficient time has passed and memories of war have been sublim

is the fortress at Maastricht on the border between Belgium a

which is now a landscape feature with no polemical significan

the fortress of Smederevo on the Danube, constantly fought

Turks from 1429 to 1887, and heavily damaged in 1941 and 1

biggest tourist attractions in the former Yugoslavia, just as it

This is even truer of castles built to guard frontiers between

longer exist as separate entities. The Guelphic and Ghibelline f

now simply part of the medieval heritage, and the bitter strugg

and Papacy are forgotten. In France, Chteau-Gaillard, fortifiand its French counterpart, Gisors contending products of

Clair-sur-Epte (911), through which the King of France ceded t

to the Scandinavian chieftain, Rollon, are just holiday centre

Spaniards, the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada no longer

threat extinguished in 1492. Once appropriated and hispanic

they later recovered their status as the jewels of the Arab-MuAl-Andalus.

So, must we resign ourselves, take the easy way out, and kee

ment for monuments which have no conflict-related connota



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themselves to study of the process whereby layers of heritawhose identity has been shaped by successive inputs throu

However, focusing on the exceptional, which might a

enclave towns, like Trieste in the past and Kaliningrad to

a broader approach. All cities today are multicultural by de

new frontiers, whether overt or invisible. Such frontiers e

of Tower Hamlets in London and in the Goutte dOr

Sometimes, when ghettos are recreated, or areas occupied b

organised around places of worship, they are explicitly rel

they are language-based, as in the Chinatowns, where

Asian communities are welcome, but shop signs mean no

residents who hang on stubbornly, as if in a foreign land.

Studying these new areas could help us to devise a heritage

of potentially conflictual frontier situations. Paradoxicall

alone to manage border heritage would entail a twofold r

starry-eyed tendency to focus complacently on sites regar

cord, such as Pheasant Island, a tiny Franco-Spanish

Bidassoa, or the resundsbroen, the huge bridge that haSweden since 1999. Conversely, it might spark a rabidly

that frontiers actual or claimed are sacred and non-nego

connection with the war memorial at Cavour in Italy (Gu

1974: 1; Foucher. 1991: 59-60), and is happening today in

emerged from the break-up of the Soviet Union since 1990

Involving border regions like Alsace (France), Thrac

(Romania), the Serbian Vojvodina and the Carpathian fo

looking at the problems they have faced, the kinds of cultu

fostered and the daily migration some of them are increasi



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Aug, Marc, Non-lieux, introduction une anthropologie Editions du Seuil, Paris, 1992.

Culot, Maurice, (ed.)Hendaye, Irun, Fontarabie, villes de la f

tions, Paris, 1998.

Culot, Maurice, (ed.) Charleroi, Mons, Valenciennes, villes de

ditions, Paris, 2001.

Foucher, Michel, Fronts et frontires, un tour du monde gopo

and expanded edition, Fayard, Paris, 1991.

Guichonnet, Paul, and Raffestin, Claude, Gographie des fro

1974.

Haushofer, Karl, Grenzen in ihrer geographischen und polK. Vowinckel, Berlin, 1927.



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CHAPTERII

LINES OF TENSION

Marieke Kuipers and John Schofield

Throughout history, nations and ethnically or politically

occupied territories and sought to claim or defend these pl

necessarily through aggression. As a consequence, historic

stantly being negotiated, contested and renegotiated and

Since the Treaty of Vienna (1815), the concept of the nationational borders has formed a significant part of the Europe

ence of place. This chapter will explore that European bor

history, character, meaning and significance of these lines

examples from the two world wars and the Cold War.

The lines of tension that are created or recreated during perio

a feature of Europes cultural landscape for hundreds of yereflect deep-rooted ethnic disputes that have led to the crea

national borders that further impose division on landscape a

extreme are more transient borders reflecting impermane

they occur on the field of battle, as on the Western Front

imposed by strategists predicting some last line of defence

in south-west England and the Salpa line in south-east F

this. All lines of tension will however have particular soc

cance in understanding the impact of conflict on society an

especially true for the two world wars, the Cold War, and t

ethnically-motivated disputes of Eastern Europe.


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directors (for example, the bloody incidents on the stairs of Seto the revolt on the battleship Potemkin of 1905, in Serg

Potemkin). A re-enactment between striking coal miners and

South Yorkshire in 1984-85 demonstrated how popular cultu

combine, in this case to achieve catharsis among former com

also illustrated the fluidity of boundaries, as the running battles

landscape, with groups of combatants splitting and conve

unfolded (Deller, 2002), contrasting the still photographs tmedia, of a line of police facing a line of miners. One needs fi

careful reading of the media accounts and interpretation of ora

to understand the true nature of the conflict and the meaning an

lines of tension it created. Other better-known examples of thi

from Northern Ireland. Here the fluidity of street conflict can

porary news footage of Bloody Sunday for example, while th

tension are the substantial but less well documented peacCatholic and Protestant communities (Jarman, 2002: 285; see

Posehn, this volume).

Legacies of the First and Second World Wars, an

More conspicuous are the physical traces of military conflictEurope. Some military works were built as national defence

time, as a means of conflict-preparedness (for example the fo

Lige and Verviers, the Maginot line, the Salpa line and the M

case of the young Republic of Czechoslovakia, French engin

sulted, so that its long defence line was influenced by the Fren

Gross et al., 1997). Other works were constructed by occupying

of attack or defence during wartime, such as the Atlantic Wall

Lines of tension existing in the First World War were both flu

by definition the Western Front was meant to move, yet it did

extent that for much of the time and especially to partici



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former battlefields speak to our imagination as places of b

ship; the historic front lines have now become places of

and cultural resource management. On another level is

which the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance create a

and others that work this countryside.

Long lines of tension, crossing what are now national bord

ing the Second World War are represented by the wel

Westwall and the Atlantic Wall. These examples are syno

struction efforts to reinforce boundaries and create barriers

Westwall in the Rhineland, also known as the Siegfriedl

Dutch to the Swiss border and was conceived as a decentra

defence line with 14 000 concrete constructions based on

building types. Behind the wall the so-called Air-Defence Z

anti-aircraft batteries and shelters (Gross et al., 1997). DWorld War most of these defence works were blown up b

near the French and Belgian borders; only short stretche

around Aachen remain as well as ruined gun

Panzerabwehrkanone (PAK) Garage.

In all, just 1% of the Westwall structures built in the

Westphalia survive (ibid.: 114). Exactly on the German-Dmer testing area of the Dutch air force, the Venlo airbas

night fighters that helped to defend the industrial Ruhr area

the airbase parts of the airstrip and an airship hanger are use

club, while on the Dutch side the control tower and comm

serving nowadays for alpinist training. Although not stric

defensive Westwall per se, these structures are among the m

this region.

The Salpa line in the north is less well known, though

1 200 kilometres of the border between Finland and Russia

manent fortifications, with less substantial fieldworks t


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economised Dutch works, the English defences were carefully

and well managed. Although comparatively little survives toda

England remain in more or less their original form and configu

scape setting relatively unchanged since 1940. These so-called

been studied by English Heritage1 with a view to ensuring sym

agement (Foot, 2003).

The Iron Curtain is a well-known example of the legacy of poliflict, in this case dividing East from West in the Cold War. M

tion, this is remarkable both for its size and effectiveness as a

for the speed with which it was first constructed and then rem

have an impact on the landscape of the former borderlands, b

(see, for example, Szpanowski, 2002) and in Berlin. Not only a

also in its respective hinterlands enormous military works hpreparation for or countering long-distance attack. The Cold W

esting material legacy as it represents a combination of natio

struction effort through the influence of alliances. Nato fo

American units to the United Kingdom, and British units to W

construction being very different to that undertaken by the UK

settled also in the Dutch province of Limburg, immediately in

Belgium and Germany while the headquarters of the Allied F(previously Afcent) have settled since 1967 on the abandoned

mines (providing new employment but at the expense of the r

itage).

In the East, Russian units were stationed in vast numbers in E

ing that now, within the national borders of Germany, the leghas particular pertinence, with the line of the frontier and the

opposing forces available for scrutiny and study. The Cold War

nowhere; a placeless war (Uzzell, 1998: 18), and it is that wh

rial remains of such interest to those engaged with conserving



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Spatial contextIn almost every European town physical reminders of con

commemorative plaques, war memorials or war damage a

tion. This was the case at Ypres, almost entirely reconstru

World War, and numerous rebuilt cities after the Second Wo

to Dresden, Warsaw to Le Havre). Traces of conflict will

side the towns in the form of military works, battlefields instance around Ypres and Verdun). Whether urban or rur

are best appreciated at landscape scale as examples are of

structions that cover large areas or related smaller works w

their close association within a landscape context (see, for

Local manifestations of lines of tension exist as well, refl

comparable ideological and political disparities, enacteGreenham Common, West Berkshire, England, for exampl

separated the presence of ground-launched cruise missiles

their deployment. These fences, with their cuts and repairs,

example of the archaeology of opposition, while there is a

torical evidence, from peace women to security guards, me

munity to students who marched on Greenham under the ban

Peace (see http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/greenham/inde

oral historical accounts and pictures). Material remains of

exist therefore on various scales, in different forms and with

permanence. They all, however, have significance in unde

conflict, its impact on society, and its effect on landscape ch

pretation of history. At the same time it is important to

remains provide a moral lesson about repetition and learninthus creating a real challenge for those involved in conserv

This paper is partly written with these curators and custo

lowing examples will give a short introduction to this lega


35/162

Among these various layers some things remain constant, no

which the lines of tension define the nature of the war, and giv

points to the otherwise unimaginable scale of loss and destr

here less than a century ago.

The material culture of the Western Front (predominantly the

wire) remain, but to varying degrees. Some areas contain battle

have seen little post-war alteration, except to create sacred coscapes and limited areas of reconstruction for the benefit of vi

Hamel for example, where the Canadian Newfoundland Regim

1916, the trenches survive as denuded earthworks, still deep a

in plan to be an accurate reflection of the battlefield terrain. A

ever, the situation is different. Here some trenches have been r

walks and timber shuttering, and re-excavated to their forme

here it is easy to appreciate the full impact of battle, with the mible in the adjacent woods, signs warning of unexploded ordn

tunnels deep underground.

Barbed wire is a significant component of all lines of tension

in the late nineteenth century. In Olivier Razacs Barbed wire

(2002), its role in the First World War is assessed including in

referencing by Second World War poets and artists. Barbed wiraesthetic of the battlefield (Razac, 2002: 48), and an example

ture can become critical to interpretation and meaning. Be

German and French trench systems, Razac noted similariti

opponents used wire, which contemporary accounts describe a

and terrifying. It represented the risk the soldier must run, in d

It was:

a salient attribute of the memory of the Great War. It neve

for the war, because it does not symbolize the entire conflict

in the trenches. Nevertheless barbed wire could be said to h

f ki th t bli it f th f f d



36/162

Finally, these landscapes of memory that have emerged ar

value as commemorative and sacred landscapes, and this va

lined by such organisations as the British War Graves C

when plans are being made for new infrastructure that imp

fields. Here the tensions between commemorating a tragic

improved access to an open Europe are deeply felt. These

now bring cultural benefits in terms of tourism and educat

Western Front are tourist attractions, with signs and carveindicate points of attack and places of loss. It is interestin

als and markers, as well as in cemeteries, the commemor

remains problematic.

In order to retain the historic military character of former b

interest in them, the correct balance must be struck betw

respect for the sacred, and provision of an informative, revisitor attraction. Leaving some sites as found and develop

answer, as do on-site museums and interpretative centres,

But another option is to consider meeting all needs on sing

tive sites. This has recently been the subject of study s

Affairs Canada for the sites at Vimy Ridge and Beaumon

With experts from various conservation bodies and agencieand worked through on site and under workshop conditio

conservation, and interpretative principles. The need for ba

and the sites zoned according to their sensitivity and sacre

sites and landscapes, and their suitability for public access

ation and signage. Balance was achieved and management p

basis of these discussions. Although neither of these Frenc

tory protection, an agreed management plan provides an meeting future management needs.

The Atlantic Wall


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The German defences constructed on the Normandy Peninsula

Islands formed one section of the wider Atlantic Wall. This sec

survived well and represents one of the most significant battlefi

Normandy coast north of Bayeux (where William the Conque

was chosen for Operation Overlord, the invasion of occupied F

forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The five landing beaches or s

mouths of the rivers Orne and St Marcouf had codenames, on

Omaha Beach and Utah Beach are today best known, partly dfilm The Longest Day, and Spielbergs more recent Saving

Arromanches-les-Bains the so-called Mulberry harbour is par

meant for temporary use but consisted of pontoons, caisson

forming piers 12 kilometres long. Despite their significance,

harbour nor the beaches are protected as cultural sites. Many Ge

remain in the region, several being in use as war museums.

Near Cherbourg several half-built defence works can be found w

pleted due to the invasion. Also an originally French battery

survived, albeit under the German name Seeadler. Although no

Atlantic Wall, this area and in particular between Cherbou

Valognes had been used by the German army for the prod

transportation and launch of the V1 and V2 missiles. Parts

plexes and their related infrastructure also remain. Some were war; other intended sites were never completed. All these relic

ous stages of completion or ruination to the quick changes in

counteraction. As such they are really historical landmarks, m

the final and decisive war phase.

The British Channel Islands were the only part of Great Britain t

the Second World War (Cruickshank, 1975), the remains sumostly on Jersey, Alderney and Guernsey. Apart from anti-tank

other military structures, the islands were provided with impre

tion-finding towers which are unique among all works of the

symbolic status like clenched fists creating a defensive peri



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Memory plays a key role in understanding and conser

Atlantic Wall. These are different to fortifications in Eng

were built by an occupying force that was eventually defe

started just before 1960 to document the bunkers of the Atl

reactions he had among those that witnessed his work: th

form of graffiti, the concrete flanks covered with insults

showing in measuring and taking pictures of them someti

hostile brunt (Virilio, 1994: 13). Feelings of vengeance of bunkers destroyed to the joy of local inhabitants, as

Many told me that these concrete landmarks frightened t

many bad memories (ibid.). And finally hatred, passers-b

fears of the occupants of these places. These are affective l

lines of tension their most potent force.

Interpretation will gradually change as memories fade and new and perhaps unimagined ways. The influence of nature

defence works seem much more vulnerable than under

attacks and some, like Virilio, became attracted by the aes

ing ones and the complexity of their meaning:

These concrete blocks were in fact the final throw-offs o

from the Romanlimes

to the Great Wall of China; the btary surface architecture, had shipwrecked at lands limit

of the skys arrival in war; they marked off the horizonta

limit. History had changed course one final time before

sity of aerial space (Virilio, 1994: 12).

Due to the differing experiences of the German occupation a

post-war conservation and rural policy, the countries involv

Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the Channeldiverse strategies to deal with the remains of the Atlanti

detailed documentation and publications are available, whi

works serve nowadays as defence museums. Some signific

Di idi li ti li


39/162

the peace community opposed to this deployment. The line of

is the boundary that divided these two constituencies (Scho

2000).

Greenham Common is synonymous with the escalation of t

Cold War (Cocroft and Thomas, 2003: 76-8). It was one of the

that were home to ground-launched cruise missiles, and it

became the focal point for opposition to nuclear arms and ar

women were frequently in the news, causing obstructions to

disrupting movement around the base perimeter. This was

opposition within the society that hosted American service

the wider context of Nato. In effect, the United States Air Fo

for maintaining this weapons system, and did so at the specia

sioned GLCM alert and maintenance area (Gama). Beyond the

this site was one of the several peace camps at Greenham occwho opposed cruise deployment. Like the Cold War, that g

global political context, this too was effectively a stand-off

scale. The peace community and service personnel lived a more

existence, the war in their terms being more a war of words th

Now, ten years after cruise missiles were removed under intern

remains, as do the physical remnants of the peace camps and

boundary that kept these communities apart. This tattered fenlogical struggle that in part defined this later period of the Col

der issues central to the discussions of conflict and its role

modern world, and provides a physical legacy of the actions and

itary personnel and the peace community. No longer visible b

photograph and oral histories are various symbolic forms

brightly coloured wools, childrens clothes, photographs, p

attached to the fences (Blackwood. 1984; Junor, 1995). Their

vert the fences; to make them less male, less military, less fun

ridiculous (Schofield and Anderton, 2000: 244). For all of the

has been included in the sites statutory protection.



40/162

InterpretationsWhat all of these examples demonstrate is the multi-vocali

of tension, specifically in terms of cultural heritage. For e

politicians, activists, archaeologists, historians, preserva

material remains represent different values and priorities. A

torians we recognise their potency as places of historic

places that convey the meaning of past events. We need tlandscapes to provide that first hand experience; that sense o

We try to interpret these places objectively, and now increa

enquiring as to the accuracy and comprehensiveness of wr

and official historic overviews), oral histories and physi

reports of some trench systems on the Western Front that

clearly show having seen conflict, yet which do not appea

Here archaeology will play a significant part in interpretat

Over time perceptions have changed, and will continue to d

of new developments and new priorities in society, both at l

national level. Remarkably, the continuity of specific pub

such as the daily Last Post ceremony at the M

Remembrance Day, the national ceremonies on 4 May in th

varying association with the physical remains of the formememorated; their location is sometimes far away from the

often their appearance or surroundings have changed

However, the reinterpretation of historical events by mean

an even greater impact on the remnants. The divergence bet

rial authenticity of the place and the reinterpreted sense of

Detlef Hoffmann has noted for other examples, the authent

increasingly defined by the longing for authenticity and extivity of the recalled and the objectivity of the place; and t

is difficult to draw (Hoffmann, 2000: 43).

Military archaeology is comparatively new as an objectiv

Dividing lines connecting lines


41/162

In the case of (formerly) occupied territory the feelings had for l

by hatred and vengeance, while in countries that successfully d

attitudes are likely to be very different. This is inevitable, tho

will gradually reduce with time, as can be noticed in the case

which became placed in the range of historic fortifications. Ac

the Atlantic Wall is, in fact, a military conservation are

shore the last bastion is a theatre where wars past and presentspot Fortress Europe is a masterpiece of retrenchment; e

is used to defend it (Virilio , 1975, editorial translation).

Since the end of the Second World War many defence works ha

erase the symbols of painful memories, but equally some have

permanent houses or holiday accommodation; others are now

museums. From works of defence they have become monumeprotected (Ambachtsheer, 1995).

Meaning

All books on European history contain references to historic

stituent element for understanding the past; often the narrativseries of military conflicts and a redivision of powers and l

interwar period makes evident how deep the impact is of

especially on European culture, but only rarely are the exact pl

borders, the battlefields, the numbers of lost lives and casual

those who nowadays cross the borders and seek to explore form

will find the traces of wartime heritage in all its ambivalence a

rounding landscape, and mostly in peace; in that respect nowadays more positive than it was during the period of con

the lines of tension the military works as well as the memo

teries can be read in various ways: as products of fortificatio

itary architecture of military technology of commemora



42/162

have survived in a different representation, but gradually th

in the perspective of cultural heritage rather than as alien o

The main point here concerns the significance of these ba

conflict and memory for providing a context and a tangible

toric events, and the key role of the actual lines of tension

opposing forces met (in reality or symbolically), in the

sometimes painful pasts on a European scale. It is for thesecan read significance into the fence that divided the peace an

at Greenham, shouting at each other from either side of a

the gaze of East German border guards as one looks across

East Berlin; and the strategists view of the Western Front,

opposition, or the Atlantic Wall, a robust defence of fists

unseen enemy. In all cases it is the line itself that provide

the event from both sides, as well as all the other material rlocality.

Proposals for future action

Lines of tension provide valuable lessons for present an

Europeans. They provide the material evidence for a collecfor planning for the future. This can be achieved in two wa

vation (including education).

Research will ideally move beyond the constraints of s

become more integrated. Historians and social historians c

sources both for conflict per se, and its wider social and eco

physical mapping of remains is important, and here geogracan work together to develop a more thorough understanding

Geographical information systems will be invaluable in pro

tlefields never before seen or appreciated, and allowing a m

t ti A th l i t t ill h l bl t ib



43/162

Conservation involves taking decisions now that will determ

able for future generations. The remains of contested borders a

vary in character, recognisability, coherence and spatial cont

countries have included historical defence works in their lists

ments on the basis of their historicity (from the Roman lime

Some countries are still hesitant to see the physical traces of th

in terms of heritage because of the painful memories. Also le

restrictive effect on acknowledgement or protection, such aswhich excludes sites less than fifty-years-old from being listed

restrictions would enable a wider range of heritage resources to

levels.

Meanwhile, the former strategic landscape of the places of

stant process of change for peaceful reasons (urban developm

tourism, infrastructure, coastal reinforcement and so forth). Towith respect for the historical meaning of these places, an

preservation and cultural planology is recommended, such

cultural historical value maps used in the Netherlands, or ba

sation principles, as is taking place now in England and elsewh

Rippon, 2002). In some cases former fortresses can be convert

icated to the conflict in which they played a role, but other k

will leave the sites military character more or less intact shouwell. Some former lines of tension are now already part of recr

vided with information panels. Also war cemeteries and former

cated as places to visit.

The theme of historic lines of tension has thus far been mo

national level, and especially in western European countries. I

encourage more international collaboration and exchange oEurope, in order to develop a better understanding of the two s

borders.

g , g


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Deller, Jeremy, The English Civil War Part II: personal aminers strike, Artangel, 2002.

Fairclough, Graham, and Rippon, Stephen, (eds) Europarchaeologists and the management of change, Europae AOccasional Paper 2, 2002.

Foot, William, Public archaeology: defended areas of WorBulletin 44, 2003, pp. 8-11.

Going, Chis, Historic air photographs help map war riFebruary 2002, pp. 38-43.

Gross, Manfred, Rohde, Horst, Rolf, Rudi, Wegener, Wvom Denkmalwert des Unerfreulichen, Rheinland-Verlag G

Heijster, Richard,Ieper 14/18, Lannoo, Tielt, 1998.

Hoffmann, Detlef, Authentische Erinnerungsorte. VonEchtheit und Erlebnis, in Meier, Hans-Rudolf und Wohund Orte als Trger von Erinnerung. Die Erinne

Denkmalpflege, Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zrich, Z

Jarman, Neil, Troubling remnants: dealing with the Northern Ireland, in Schofield, John, Johnson, William G

(eds), Material culture: the archaeology of twentieth centu2002.

Kauppi, Ulla-Riitta, The Salpa line: a monument to the war in the Finnish cultural landscape, in Schofield, John, and Beck, Colleen, (eds) Material Culture: the archaeoloconflict, Routledge, 2002, pp. 49-57.

Keegan, John, The First War, an illustrated history, Random

Kippin, John, Cold War pastoral: Greenham Common, 2001.

Junor Beth Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp:



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Rolf, Rudi, Der Atlantikwall. Die Bauten der deutschen K1940-1945, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrck, 1998.

Saunders, Nicholas J., Bodies of metal, shells of memory: Great War recycled,Journal of Material Culture 5 (1), 2000,

Saunders, Nicholas J., Excavating memories: archaeology 1914-2001,Antiquity 76, 2002, pp. 101-8.

Schofield, John, Conserving recent military remains: choicethe twenty-first century, in Chitty, Gill, and Baker, David, (toric sites and buildings: reconciling presentation and prese

1999, pp. 173-86.

Schofield, John, and Anderton, Mike, The queer archaeology preting contested space at Greenham Common Airbase, Wo(2), 2000, pp. 236-51.

Szpanowski, Piotr, Before and after the Change: the social-period and its impact on the agriculture and cultural landscFairclough, Graham, and Rippon, Stephen, (eds) Europesarchaeologists and the management of change, Europae ArchaOccasional Paper 2, 2002, pp. 125-32.

Tarlow, Sarah, An archaeology of remembering: death, bereaWorld War, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 7(1), 1997, pp

Uzzell, David, The hot interpretation of the Cold War, inMoevaluation, recording and management of twentieth-century mi

Heritage, 1998, pp. 18-21.

Virilio, Paul,Bunker archeology, Les Editions du Demi-CercleFrench edition of 1975 by George Collins), 1994.

Visser, H.R., Wieringen, J.S. van, and Kruijff, T. de (eds)Interbellum, Stichting Menno van Coehoorn/Buijten Utrecht/Amsterdam, 2002.


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47/162

Excavated and restored. Trench systems at Vimy Ridge.


48/162

A coastal battery and anti-tank wall on Guernsey, now enjoyed by tourists.


49/162


50/162

CHAPTERIII

BOUNDARIES IN THE LANDSCAPE AND IN TH

Gabi Dolff-Bonekmper and Marieke Kuipers

State boundaries are traditionally conceived of as the limit

But they are also socio-spatial constructions related to ter

identity and landscape. Their manifestations as well as the

various practices and discourses in relation to power and

both lines of division and lines of contact, inclusion or e

contestation. Besides the intended artefacts of demarcatio

various side effects can be noted of the presence of a bou

Differences in legislation, policy, economy, ideology and c

influence on the borderscape. The significance and the

have changed tremendously among European countries, es

the twentieth century. Recently, some of the former barriermore open and partially obsolete, if not removed, while new

structed around the extended European Union. This chap

effects of the geographical boundaries within Europe, espe

includes examples of Berlin and Kerkrade-Herzogenrath.

The concept of Europe can be related to many entities: a c

communities in an area of moderate and sometimes wet c

political entity of forty-six individual states. Each state is

territory, each territory is defined by boundaries to disting

impact of borders on the landscape goes beyond the commo



51/162

delimitation of private land started with stones, poles, fence

fixed on the imaginary borderline and visible for all in the land

Biblical times, and throughout antiquity, any re-location of th

would be severely punished.1 Markers were followed by cont

finally by inscription in land registers, less visible on the sp

and words on paper and secured by administrative rules. The N

tration supplemented private ownership in much of western Eu

public territories municipality, province, state and these ptheir validity up till today. Also, land has a double meaning

another to country and community, and the two lands do not ne

rather the boundaries have been contested over time. As a co

between states are man-made constructions, even in desolate

barriers serve to establish the boundaries, such as water, sw

ranges (for example, the Pyrenees and the Riesengebirge). Riboundary or an international route for trade and transport; in t

cial barriers were made across their route (for example, the R

Danube). In built-up areas similar ambivalent situations exi

case of bi-national cities. Moreover, economic and sociocultu

land use, language or ethnic group, are reflected in the landsc

One way or another, borders create distortions in the built env

like solidifications of the topographical division lines; they p

derscapes on either side of the borderline (Harbers, 2003).

Types of borderscape

Depending on the chosen parameters, around six different types

can be distinguished, apart from the military borderscapes of natraditional borderlands, bi-national cities, zones of interrupt

example the never completed Adenbach railroad viaduct in the R

zones, zones of irregular allocation or migration and obsolete

Boundaries in


52/162

In the Netherlands, for instance, the 544 kilometre-long

Germany reflects the long history of feudal states; some bo

Denekamp and Hardenberg are the oldest remaining type

Bentheim and the Burgundian cross as references to the tw

ferent series of land markers can be distinguished, referring

in the history of land re-division. The 450 kilometre-long b

defined in detail in 1843, when it was decided to place a s

poles of iron or stone with the arms of the new Belgian son the relevant sides and a torch on top, as a symbol of vig

160 years, these poles still exist and every year they are com

if necessary, repaired.

Even on high, rugged mountain ridges, permanent boundar

such as the square poles in the Silvretta massif, indicatSwitzerland and Austria. The symbolic meaning of boun

that this form was chosen for the recently erected monu

Agreement to create a Europe without borders; it is locate

Schengen, Luxembourg, near the borders with Germany an

lines were meant to regulate the movement of people, by

cific places, nature could develop without restriction on ei

fences demarcating the border. Such natural areas have other

in western Europe, and after the Schengen Agreement vario

tage of the new opportunities arising from free border cross

borderland areas as a bi-national nature park, where the hi

are often the only man-made construction. Where border c

at slow speed on foot, perhaps bicycle or horse (instead of

rience the artificiality, if not the arbitrariness, of a land di

much more so than at a regular customs post on a highwa

control post inside an airport terminal.



53/162

Treaty of London (1839), where the Dutch-Belgian borderline

through an old house and the control of crossing has never b

presence of a frontier within the city centre has never caused ser

tainly not trauma. The scarcely tangible references to the inter

have a rather banal, inconspicuous character; if they have any v

very local and painless. In sharp contrast with this is the su

where the concrete wall became the symbol of the Iron Curtain

of East and West in Europe. On a minor scale, the evolution ofs-Hertogenrade in the Maas Valley, split up into two municip

cores and different nationalities, has been deeply influenced b

agreed subdivision of 1816. Just after the big wall in Berlin f

wall in the Nieuwstraat/Neustrae (Newstreet), which separa

Kerkrade from the German town Herzogenrath, was removed

national and bilingual city is in the process of shaping the Eu

Bi-national Newstreet towards Eurode: Kerkrade

Origin of the borderline on Newstreet

The adjacent towns of Kerkrade (the Netherlands) and Herzogen

belonged for centuries to theLandof s-Hertogenrade in the eley, which has a long and complicated history of ever-changing

aries. In 1794 the territory was conquered by French t

incorporated into the French Republic. The entity of s-Hertoge

old coal mining industry had been established under th

Augustinian monastery of Rolduc/Kloosterrade, fell apart after

Waterloo and the following Congress of Vienna in 1815, wwere negotiated. The Concert of Powers and local geogra

rivers and roads help to explain the awkward result. Here, at i

kingdom of Prussia had sought compensation for the lost terr


54/162



55/162

built in 1891-92 by Brother M. Klein, is a typical reminder of

Kulturkampf.

Visibility of the state division

During the First World War, the Netherlands had anxiously

tried to keep its political neutrality. For the first time, the st

very tangible in the streetscape and it caused serious tensionstion. The international controversies were felt in a very harsh

level of a street. Barriers were installed in the side-roads to k

traffic on Newstreet, which was no longer a neutral border zo

the Germans started to build a two metre-high iron curtain of

in the middle of the street and the Dutch created a parallel en

all in order to prevent espionage, desertion (from the German arsmuggling and illegal trade. The Dutch inhabitants were not e

their front doors and windows on the street side.

After 1918, the borderline was precisely fixed between th

(belonging to the Dutch) and the main road, which became f

so-called flying shops appeared, housed in wooden sheds o

advantage of a profitable cross-border trade. Also, commonactivities were organised. In the 1930s, however, the econom

mate changed again. After a bypass had been constructed in 19

traffic between Herzogenrath and Aachen away from Newstre

border, most shops closed and the sheds were removed. New ten

increased after a 2.5 metre-high wall of barbed wire was create

1939 on Newstreet and placed under armed control. In May 1the entire state of the Netherlands became heavily involved i

War; the traditional cross-border contacts were blocked and inst

and buildings suffered from the (military) fighting and from se

Boundaries in


56/162

middle of the now widened (on the German side) and tarm

Although two passageways were provided for local cross-bosmall barrier was nicknamed the little Berlin wall, to in

separation was the embodiment of an unwanted division b

nities. The elongated Newstreet became surrounded by ne

both Kerkrade and Herzogenrath; the cities grew together,

Meanwhile, a tremendous shift took place in regional em

centuries the coal mining industry had been of major impo

in 1969 the Dutch government decided to close down th

other mines), because it was no longer of economic advan

ities had developed a preference for other resources of e

power) and their liberal economic policy was not in favour

national mining industry. In 1974, the headgear of the Dom

been a characteristic industrial landmark of Newstreet, was

more of the industrial heritage including some border-rel

was to disappear in the area. Closure was seen as synony

with the inevitable consequence of demolition. The remo

lations was aided by national and European Community

develop a new economic base and a new cultural identity, j

Cross-border commuting to Germany, which already existlater 1970s, employment was also hard to find on the other

Cross-border trade and currency exchange still provided

these economic activities were to become less profitable

because of increasing western European co-operation, sinc

Coal and Steel Community had been founded, to be foll

European Economic Community.

Fading traces, fading memories

H i l th h ll t t li



57/162

often did not even require a stop. Entering another state becam

the unremarkable buildings of the customs offices.

Today it is hard to imagine how serious a border crossing was

period. On a personal note, I [Marieke Kuipers] recall my firs

Dutch-German border at Emmerich or Venlo in 1968. Tra

the Netherlands, was much more stressful than going south.

borders were very different, because the close co-operation w

started at a much earlier stage and there still remained high se

Germans. For a long time my parents had wanted to avoid dir

tion with German officials in uniform, due to their personal hu

riences, and therefore they had preferred the badly signpo

Belgium and France on the way to Switzerland rather than t

Autobahn. It was impossible not to notice that one was cross

was announced a good three kilometres ahead of the actual gat

stop was compulsory for passport control, with, additionally, a

of the interior of the car. What made the impact of the border

striking was the mere fact that one had to pass two controls a

no mans land in between. Nearing the second, German, contro

aware of entering another country, because of the different sign

guage. The intensity of control mostly to check smuggling dictable, but in most cases carried out very properly. Although

and remains the most important economic partner of the N

ical relations had been normalised again after 1945, there

slight tension when entering Germany, because it was assoc

period of the occupation of the 1940s and with the dark

Germanys eastern neighbours behind the Iron Curtain, bringinCold War nearer. But these feelings of tension faded as soon as

office was left behind, just like the moment after the monthly

signal in our hometown.

Boundaries in


58/162

me) their tensions and went hand in hand with a decrease

pragmatic aspect of different currencies and languages recrossing a state border. The noticeable relaxation of formal

a prelude to the Schengen Agreement.

The neighbouring towns of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath we

political and pragmatic solutions to reduce the impact of t

them. In July 1991, the two municipalities decided to createco-operation under the name Eurode. This name refers bo

place name element rode (to take root, to reclaim la

to the suffix rade and which is represented in the names o

buildings: Rolduc (Rode-le-Duc) in Kerkrade and the Rode

One of the first actions was to pull down the low wall of

the dividing line on Newstreet and to reconstruct the road The inauguration of the reconstructed road and the newly ad

1995, was attended by the two foreign ministers, to underli

European dimension. For the two local communities this

by great Eurode festivities to promote mutual understan

Additionally, various projects have begun to intensify the in

in the fields of education, language (especially the local diafire service, government and business (Technologie Park

Business Centre). One remarkable result is the Plitschard

German soil, in Merkstein/Herzogenrath, according to a D

tivities and attractions have been organised to strengthen th

the two communities, initiated by the Eurode 2000+ Foun

initiatives are clearly future-oriented, the common heritageas a tool for building a closer relationship in the bi-nationa

based on their common history, which has very long roots

The cultural heritage of the border is an important element i



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more shocking and violent because it was raised on a dividin

ran through the city, but had never been more than an invisiblspace of a few hours, on the night of 12 to 13 August 1961, th

the Russian-sector districts Mitte, Friedrichshain, Treptow,

Pankow and the others, which the three western allies had oc

of the Second World War, was turned into a deadly barrier. As t

barrier was extended and strengthened. Mined and studded with

floodlit at night, surveyed by soldiers on watchtowers and patrguard-dogs, the border between the two Germanys was as im

ingenuity could make it. Even the white sand along the death

fully raked to show any trace of footprints. A frightening bord

promising landscape.

Slightly less visible to most Berliners, the same thing existed on

West Berlin and Brandenburg. Brandenburg was part of the Rus

of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), while West Berlin

as a four-power city) belonged to the Federal Republic of Germ

the western half of the Cold War world. Travellers leaving West

pass through one of the checkpoints, at Drewitz/Dreil

Stolpe/Heiligensee, take one of three designated transit routes ac

exit into the FRG through one of the four checkpoi

Marienborn/Helmstedt, Herleshausen/Wartha or Zarrentin/Gudo

Confined to the East and prevented from even approaching th

and checkpoints at a safe distance from it, East Berliners were

row horizons, and not really aware of the borderscapes phy

Berliners, on the other hand or at least the ones who travellesiting across East Germany was like. There were no special

lowed the rules, but the experience was striking enough to

rigid with anxiety. The checkpoints were the only openings in

Boundaries in


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people in the other queues got out and pushed the car, c

Depending on traffic and the number of lanes open, this part anything from 10 minutes to an hour. Back in the car, we ed

post a hut-like structure, rather like a tollbooth on a French

in our passports. A guard with a gun in his belt came over

tions: How many people? Where are you headed?, etc. O

stood around on the perimeter. Not a smile in sight, and we

point in wasting energy better to keep ones mouth shut.

We moved forward, alongside a covered conveyor belt, wh

ports to the hut at the other end, where we would get them b

indicating our names, car number and time of entry.

Uncover your ears! Yet again, our faces were scrutinised.

searched too inside and (using mirrors) underneath. Tha

and the toilets were off-limits.

Then we were off and, swinging left, back on the motorway

another with adverts for Wolfen films and we were in th

the Brandenburg landscape to us remote and unreal, since

ping, except at approved rest areas, was forbidden. The sp

metres per hour. The road was bad and police checks werethe GDR, the same ritual, the same questions. No, we had

hadnt bought anything at the Intershop. Once again, our f

visas were collected, probably for filing, and we left the

stretch of no mans land into the FRG back to real life i

whole thing should have got easier with practice. In fact,

was as hard as the first if not harder.

Guarding the border

T i i ll d d h f



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Our sources for all this are the research and interviews carrie

associations and individuals who are working to ensure that tforgotten.1 A regular part of this has been campaigning to sav

wall and the other defence works on the border, many of wh

listed as historic monuments by heritage departments in the re

Tracking the remnants

Why preserve the traces of this deadly barrier? Why remember

horror? Who wants to remember? Who wants to know? What

of these remains? What do they look like now? How much d

clear is their message? What will their emotional impact be o

the border, and people who did not?

We need to remember that the border fortifications between the

dismantled years ago, and that we celebrated the fifteenth anni

the Berlin Wall in November 2004. The mines, the anti-tank o

wire, the metal barriers and the electric fences were all cleared

the opening of the wall. The concrete slabs, with their tubula

cement, which epitomise the wall, have been taken down and

building roads. The only exceptions are the protected areas, wmetres of the wall, a piece of the death strip and a couple o

been preserved. Even that took a lot of doing. For one thing,

idents and local decision-makers who never wanted to see the

anxious to forget it as quickly as they could and their oppos

come first. Memories of imprisonment, oppression and fe

recent. To start with, in other words, there were very few peopreminded of the wall, and also very few who could imagine th

or need to remember it later. The conservationists, who have

to anticipate changes in the public mood, found themselves fac

Boundaries in


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ally acknowledge their historical importance. What mad

mind so sharply?

Fortunately, no one today finds the remains of the wall an

tier the borderscapes between the two Germanys fright

when West Berlins Bernauer Strae, overshadowed by the

the end of the world, a place filled with menace and wrapp

Even people who remember it like that now look at it and

with a piece of the wall a harmless relic on one sid

Berlin Wall is fading, and weeds have long since invaded th

ered its white sand. At astonishing speed, the border has

scape or, more accurately, an archaeological site. As suc

target for research, and a place where the imagination can r

it is not just the largest surviving or best-preserved sect

attract attention, but also the places where the trac

Researchers, artists, residents and visitors are all welcom

wall and its era to find a place in the citys, the countrys

tive memory.

Living with the traces

Now that the vestiges of the Iron Curtain have become pr

Cold War and no longer frighten, people can live with the

aware of them. People walk their dogs on the death strip

through the city, following the line of the wall. The landsc

blocks of houses on one side and vegetation running riot

city wasteland, where the borders presence is felt through

unfettered, this seems a free zone, where the normal rules d

the former East and former West apart. Suspended between

the less hints that the future holds change. Dogs love it.



63/162

ine what life was like when the wall was still standing, talk t

enjoy the fresh country air on the old patrol road, once closedthe border guards, who rattled up and down it in their Trabants

pleasant about the Cold War but, to learn more about it, its trac

and the remnants of the wall, can help to unlock the past.

Interpretations and meaning

Traditionally, monuments are regarded within a national fram

national territory as well as to history and art. History, howe

the borders of a state territory can change and that boundar

offices and barriers can become obsolete. Moreover, recent po

have led to an intended removal of two separating walls in t

English saying good fences make good neighbours did not

contrary, the separation was a traumatic experience and it is re

as a blessing that the borders are now open again and easy to

But does this positive development justify the total disappear

remains of the former dividing walls? However ordinary th

was, the symbolic meaning was and remains immense. A

be needed, not to create undesirable separation within one entan identity, a territory to which one belongs and where one ca

In the same way, a tangible reference, on the ground, to the hi

now cleared division is necessary for educational reasons, as

heritage of two nations and of Europe: it needs to remain visi

or in the city, just like archaeological remains showing that b

dangerous in times of acute conflict, are now de-fortified. The

change even more in the near future, but the heritage of histori

its usefulness in promoting a common understanding of the c

woven character of history and geography.


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Rooijen, M. van, Grensverschijnselen, Shell Journaal Nederla

Spapens, P., Kemenade, K. van, De grens gemarkeerd, Gren

toren aan de landzijde, Kempen Pers, Hapert, 1992.

Stenvert, R. et al., Monumenten in Nederland, Limb

Waanders/RDMZ, Zwolle/Zeist, 2003.

Zandvoort, R. van (ed.), Kerkrade en de Tweede Were

Deurenberg Kerkrade, 1994.

Websites

www.eurode.nl (Welcome in Eurode)

www.grenspalen.nl (De Grenspalen van Nederland)

www.herzogenrath.de (Herzogenrath Online)www.kerkrade.nl (Gemeente Kerkrade)


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Prussnear tand P


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Concrin the

GDRcompcircle


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CHAPTERIV

NEW URBAN FRONTIERS AND THE WILL TO B

John Schofield

This chapter describes the degree to which borders and

structed and used in the urban environment. It describes ho

places where they live from the other that lies beyond, an

manifests itself both to the community and to those from o

ric of these places its buildings and monuments will othough significant part in creating this distinctiveness. A

covers theoretical frameworks and relevant principles of

three case studies describe three distinct communities in

assessing: the methods by which information might be ga

new urban frontiers; the tangible and intangible heritage

their own (intangible in the sense of heritage without exprculture); and the difficulties that can arise where physical

as a replacement for the hidden or invisible boundaries tha

Constructing urban space

Segregated residential patterns within urban space will gen

tion of twin processes of choice and constraint: in some cchoose to live segregated from other groups; in other case

and discrimination may be at work (Moon and Atkinson,

ples and protocols that govern this division of urban spa

social identity and social practice in Berlin during and after the



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social identity and social practice in Berlin during and after the

been discussed (Borneman, 1992; 1998). In Belfast, peace-lineers separate many working class Protestant and Catholic ar

Jarman has described the effect these boundaries have had on t

itants (Jarman, 2002: 283-4). He notes how most residential a

time been dominated by one community, rather than being

Churches are segregated, as is the school system, workplaces

social clubs. Most people are therefore born, brought up, liveare buried among their own community. Jarman goes on:

The two working-class communities have lived relatively s

the early expansion of the city in the nineteenth century, bu

of conflict [approximately 1969-99] these patterns of segre

The families who lived in the streets that connected the Ca

the Protestant Shankill Road were in one of the most vuln

were subjected to extensive rioting and violent intimidation

communities were further polarized and a no mans land

boundary zone after people moved away from the interface

heart of their community. Initially improvised barricades or

segregated the two sides. Soon these were enhanced by m

fences and then further strengthened by a two-tier steel fen

reached some 6-7 m in height.

These barriers and physical boundaries have obvious signific

urban space and defining or imposing a sense of community.

made between the effect of boundaries at different scales, recogn

ties like those in Belfast withdraw from boundaries within citiesthose of nations and states (Wilson and Donnan, 1998: 13). The

ever, is on exploring that sense of community and cultural ident

which distinct socially- or culturally-defined groups feel attach

are so familiar Characterisation as a suite of techniques and

New urban fr


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are so familiar. Characterisation as a suite of techniques and

landscape (including townscape) in totality and on a broad moting informed conservation, is now widely used in the U

across Europe (see, for example, Fairclough and Rippon

forms part of this characterisation agenda, seeking out w

whom, based on well-developed principles of human geo

environmental research. In turn, social significance is an i

determining sense of place (Byrne et al., 2001; King, 200ues will result from social and personal experience of plac

large part be culturally constituted. Modern heritage the r

recognised as having value, however recent or mundane the

be (for example, Jones, 2002). And it is also now recognis

can be tangible in the form of buildings or monuments

form of customs, language and dialect, musical styles, artals and so on. All of these are relevant and related consid

understanding new urban frontiers and the will to belong

these issues will therefore precede some examples.

To begin with characterisation, the character of a place o

unique combination of factors and influences (characteri

tinctive, and set it apart from its neighbours (Fairclough, 2

can be distinctive in this way, as can parts of a town. Histo

determinant of character, alongside its contemporary use

tions and customs. Characterisation as an approach to reco

seeks to take account of them at a general level, seeing and

managing change. It recognises all areas and their characte

and special areas. Characterisation champions local divimportance of the commonplace and everyday; that these m

recognised by all, creating peoples links to history and

identity sense of place nature and the future (ibid : 30

Related to character is sense of place and belonging Sense of


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