Revitalisation of Historic Centres in Small Towns of Warmia - In Search of Creative Spaces

Abstract

Warmia is a historic land where twelve towns founded in the Middle Ages have survived until our time. All of them (except Olsztyn) can be classified as small urban centres. Their location was dictated by a combination of military and topographic considerations. In the past, these towns were protected by castles and fortified walls, while their layout was developed according to the medieval principles of urbanistic composition. Revitalisation of small Warmian towns is a problem that mostly concerns their historic centres, which are a manifestation of the town's identity. The part of a town called the Old Town comprises both public and private spaces over its relatively small area. The complexity of elements which create these structures (spatial factors, such as the urbanistic and architectural components, preservation of historic buildings, economic and social issues) forces us to seek for such transformations that will expose and revive the functionality of a town's historic centre against the backdrop of its other areas. This is where the need to shape creative spaces within the town's historic area can find its justification. The above issues are the main objective of this article.