|
In
early August 2002, the department of prehistory at the OÖ
Landesmuseum Linz organised, in cooperation with the experimental
archaeology group of the Austrian Prehistoric Society and
the Celtic Studies curriculum at the University of Vienna,
a large heritage event at the open air museum of Mitterkirchen,
Upper Austria. A number of different events took place during
a two-day "Celtic fair", ranging from demonstration
of prehistoric craft to re-enactment of cultural practices,
a stage performance of a play written specifically for the
event and computer-aided presentations of research results
in heritage studies. This paper tries to explore how an evenly
weighted distribution of different approaches to heritage
presentation can greatly benefit the overall quality and public
reception of heritage events,
and how this can result in a resurgence of interest in local
heritage even after not only the event had ended with the
saying après moi le déluge (in the play), but
actually was followed by exactly that - the great summer 2002
floods that caused massive damage to many areas of Central
Europe, heavily affecting the Mitterkirchen area as well.
Key words: event-management, re-enactment, computer, flood-catastrophe,
Austria
|
