Integrating socialist cultural heritage into the tourism offer of the municipality of Koper

Abstract

The period of socialism has changed the society and the space of the Municipality of Koper and bequeathed the cultural heritage of the recent socialist period, which may be referred to as 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 that were erected during the time of socialism. Invisible relics, called the relics of ideology (non-material cultural heritage), may be included as well. The purpose of this paper is to present the cultural heritage of socialism because it is not yet integrated into the tourism offer, as well as to form proposals for its integration. This paper initially deals with the registration of the relics and provides their presentation. Next are highlighted those relics that could potentially be 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 the existing museum collections, the establishment of an open-air museum and creation of info points, perhaps including souvenir shops, and learning pathways. In conclusion, the importance of the integration of 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 the local, regional, and national levels in integrating the new products into the sustainable tourism supply of the Municipality of Koper. © 2010 WIT Press.