Міські кладо- вища Харкова у XVIII – на початку XX ст.: між традицією та інноваціями

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to research the peculiarities of the creation, functioning, and evolution of cemeteries in the cultural and historical space of the provincial city, to demonstrate the role of local authorities and citizens in the process of desacralization of necropolises. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, comprehensiveness, and integrity, objectivity, and systematicity. The research was conducted within the framework of microhistory. T e thesis about the transformation of a sacred place into a place of collective memory, the emergence, and extinction of interest in necropolises among urban residents, is based on the typology of scenarios of anthropologist P. Connerton and the theory of heterotopia by M. Foucault. The scientifi c novelty of the study is that for the fi rst time in the national historiography, the Kharkiv city necropolises became the object of a special study. The regional material illustrates the process of transformation of the traditional attitude to the burial place of the dead. Based on archival materials, an attempt was made to analyze the combination of traditional and innovative approaches to the life of cemeteries, which gradually became widespread during the study period. Conclusions. The urban necropolises of Kharkiv during the XVIII – early XX centuries passed the path of transformation from sacred places on the consecrated church land, around the temples, to the territory used for economic and commercial purposes. The creation and existence of these cemeteries is an interesting example of constructing a symbolic space of the city, considering the sacred traditions and social stratifi cation, which resulted in the modernization of life in the country. During the study period, necropolises had been an important part of the public space of the city, and ritual practices had long demonstrated the stability of traditional forms of commemoration. Population growth and expansion of the city at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries led to the emergence of innovative approaches by local authorities to the organization of the funeral business.