National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century
basilica in Mren

p 2021

National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren

FOLETTI, Ivan, Klára DOLEŽALOVÁ and Katarína KRAVČÍKOVÁ

Basic information

Original name

National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren

Authors

FOLETTI, Ivan (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Klára DOLEŽALOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Katarína KRAVČÍKOVÁ (703 Slovakia, belonging to the institution)

Edition

EDUC Seminar - Culture and Heritage, 24. 3. 2021, online, 2021

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Vyžádané přednášky

Field of Study

60401 Arts, Art history

Country of publisher

France

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/21:00118901

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords in English

Mren; Transcultural Caucasus; Armenian Identity; Cultural Genocide; Shared Heritage

Abstract

V originále

On the border between the present-day Turkey and Armenia stands a 7th-century Christian basilica preserved from the medieval city of Mren. Its today’s state of preservation is catastrophic, since the monument was destroyed by Turkish army after the Armenian genocide of 1915. While belonging to Turkey, this site of world heritage is menaced and without a rapid intervention risks to cease to exist. This is due to tragic understanding of the local heritage by all parties involved: for Armenians, Mren is a proof of their presence in eastern Anatolia, for Turkey it appears to be a memory of the past events of 1915, which are still negated by the official politic of Ankara. From our perspective, this nationalist and 19th/20th-century perspective is biased – Mren should be considered as a place of “shared heritage” beyond the national borders. Its visual patterns and architectural setting show its strong connection to a shared Mediterranean culture of the early Middle Ages. Thus, this paper wishes to investigate: 1) Mren’s historical value as a proof of interconnection between the medieval Armenian culture and the Mediterranean; 2) its historiographical interpretation in art-historical research, especially in the period of growing tensions around the year 1900; 3) its importance as a site of memory and possible reconciliation through monumental heritage.

Links

GF21-01706L, research and development project

Name: Kulturní dialogy v Jihokavkazském regionu ve středověku: historiografická a historicko-umělecká perspektiva (Acronym: CIMS)

Investor: Czech Science Foundation, Partner Agency (Switzerland)

Citovat

FOLETTI, Ivan, Klára DOLEŽALOVÁ and Katarína KRAVČÍKOVÁ. National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren. In EDUC Seminar - Culture and Heritage, 24. 3. 2021, online. 2021.

@misc{1755296,
   author = {Foletti, Ivan and Doležalová, Klára and Kravčíková, Katarína},
   booktitle = {EDUC Seminar - Culture and Heritage, 24. 3. 2021, online},
   keywords = {Mren; Transcultural Caucasus; Armenian Identity; Cultural Genocide; Shared Heritage},
   language = {eng},
   title = {National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren},
   year = {2021}
}

TY  - SLIDE
ID  - 1755296
AU  - Foletti, Ivan - Doležalová, Klára - Kravčíková, Katarína
PY  - 2021
TI  - National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren
KW  - Mren
KW  - Transcultural Caucasus
KW  - Armenian Identity
KW  - Cultural Genocide
KW  - Shared Heritage
N2  - On the border between the present-day Turkey and Armenia stands a 7th-century Christian basilica preserved from the medieval city of Mren. Its today’s state of preservation is catastrophic, since the monument was destroyed by Turkish army after the Armenian genocide of 1915. While belonging to Turkey, this site of world heritage is menaced and without a rapid intervention risks to cease to exist. This is due to tragic understanding of the local heritage by all parties involved: for Armenians, Mren is a proof of their presence in eastern Anatolia, for Turkey it appears to be a memory of the past events of 1915, which are still negated by the official politic of Ankara. From our perspective, this nationalist and 19th/20th-century perspective is biased – Mren should be considered as a place of “shared heritage” beyond the national borders. Its visual patterns and architectural setting show its strong connection to a shared Mediterranean culture of the early Middle Ages. Thus, this paper wishes to investigate: 1) Mren’s historical value as a proof of interconnection between the medieval Armenian culture and the Mediterranean; 2) its historiographical interpretation in art-historical research, especially in the period of growing tensions around the year 1900; 3) its importance as a site of memory and possible reconciliation through monumental heritage.
ER  -

FOLETTI, Ivan, Klára DOLEŽALOVÁ and Katarína KRAVČÍKOVÁ. National, World or Shared Heritage? The seventh-century basilica in Mren. In \textit{EDUC Seminar - Culture and Heritage, 24. 3. 2021, online}. 2021.

Detailed Information on Publication Record