Politicising St. Martin and Constructing Heritage: A Case Study of a Small Town in Croatia

Abstract

The article focuses on the processes of constructing and interpreting heritage and their use in legitimising ideological aims and creating a desired cultural identity of the town. Based on ethnographic records and accounts, news- paper and Internet sources, as well as recent archaeological investigations, the authors trace the positions attributed to St. Martin in the public (re)signifying of Dugo Selo, a small town in Croatia. They present St. Martin's gradual evolution from a saint on the margin of Communism through a local symbol associated with a broader national framework, towards a symbol of the pro-European orientation of the local community in the period when Croatia was politically approaching the European Union. western Croatia, we trace the dynamics of the construction and interpretation of heritage aimed at creating a desired local identity. We observe these processes through three main sequences of the town's recent history, marked by political turbulence and changes in political orientation: through the period of the rule of Communist ideology, the period of gaining Croatia's independence, and the period marked by Croatia's preparations to join the European Union. The paper is based on the available ethnographic archival records covering the 20th century, newspaper records from the mid-20th century to the present, Internet resources, recent archaeological investigations, observations of contemporary public celebrations of St. Martin's Day, as well as interviews. In considering the positions attributed to St. Martin in the public (re)signifying of Dugo Selo, we are interested in the politics and selectivity of heritage. We consider the constructedness and processuality of the heritage and its embeddedness in