Jewish cultural heritage of the Lviv Oblast as a tourism resource

Abstract

The article describes the theoretical and methodical foundations of the study of the Jewish cultural heritage as a modern tourism resource. It turned out that in both foreign and domestic literature studies are not enough. The historical background of the formation of the cultural heritage of the Jewish ethnic group in the territory of the modern Lviv Oblast, which for many centuries has been the center of Jewish life, is considered. The dynamics of the ethnical composition of the population of the Lviv Oblast in 19312001 is studied and a significant reduction in the share of the Jewish community is found. The dynamics of the share of the Jewish population in urban settlements of the Lviv Oblast is studied, and it is found that it sharply decreased after the events of the World War II, primarily as a result of the Holocaust. A map of the share of the Jewish population in the urban settlements of the Oblast in 1939 is developed. The existing objects of Jewish cultural heritage (in particular, synagogues and cemeteries) in Lviv and other cities of the Lviv Oblast are characterized, and a map of these objects is developed. The main centers of Jewish cultural heritage of the Lviv Oblast are: Lviv, Brody, Busk, Zhovkva, Rava-Ruska, Uhniv, Velyki Mosty, Sokal, Belz, Stryi, Drohobych, Staryi Sambir, Turka. It found that the main problems of the Jewish cultural heritage of the Lviv Oblast are: neglected state of the objects, insufficient funding for the rehabilitation and restoration of these objects, the absence of tourist routes involving these objects, etc. The tourist route “By places of the Jewish sacred heritage of the Lviv Oblast” is developed and a map of this route is created. Measures for the restoration and popularization of Jewish cultural heritage of the Oblast are identified: allocation of budgetary funds, attraction of private investors, international organizations and Jewish communities; development of new tourist routes; determination of places by information stands; publication of information materials about objects; organization of international conferences, round tables, festivals; training of guides on the topic of Jewish cultural heritage, etc.