Socialist Heritage Tourism in the Municipality of Koper: valorisation of newly recognized tourist sites

Abstract

The period of socialism changed the society and space of the Municipality of Koper, leaving a distinct cultural heritage of the recent socialist period, which in its particulars may be called the relics of socialism. This cultural heritage includes spatial phenomena of the time: commercial and residential buildings, suburban settlements, individual buildings, monuments of the National Liberation War and other structures erected during the time of socialism. Invisible relics of ideology (non-material cultural heritage) are also included. As this aspect of Slovene history is not currently part of the tourist offer, the purpose of this paper is to present this heritage in such a way as to valorise tourist sites and also form practical proposals for their integration. The paper initially deals with the registration and presentation of the relics. Meanwhile we attempt to prioritize selected potential tourist sites according to various factors in order to advance the prospect of establishing those that seem worth registering and incorporating into the tourist offer. Next are highlighted those relics which could be potentially integrated into the tourism offer of the Municipality of Koper as new or complementary tourism products. Because of the typological diversity of the relics, we propose various forms of tourism products: the establishment of museums, expansion of existing museum collections, establishment of an open-air museum and creation of info points, learning pathways and the arrangement of excursion tours. In conclusion, the importance of the integration of the cultural heritage of socialism in tourism and the promotion of new tourist products is highlighted. We also emphasize the importance of involvement and participation of all potential stakeholders on