jan groenendijk europeanization of quotidian life in human

OWK
JAN GROENENDIJK
EUROPEANIZATION OF QUOTIDIAN
LIFE IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY'S
PERSPECTIVE. REFLECTIONS ON THE
SILBOSAX REGION (SILESIA –
BOHEMIA – SAXONY)
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GÖRLITZ-ZGORZELEC-ZHOŘELEC
JG. VIII (2004/05), BEITRAG 3
HRSG.: MATTHIAS THEODOR VOGT
HOCHSCHULE ZITTAU/GÖRLITZ |
INSTITUT FÜR KULTURELLE INFRASTRUKTUR SACHSEN
E-MAIL: INSTITUT@KULTUR.ORG | WWW.KULTUR.ORG
Regional Development and
Identity within the Euro region:
Neisse – Nisa – Nysa
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
Borderlands of
SILezia, BOhemia and SAXony
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
University Utrecht
Faculty geosciences
Master courses:
Geography and Communication
Regional Geography
Geography and Planning
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
• Territories, states and national
communities
• “Tidal lands of Europe”
• European integration
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
This project aims to provide background
information for borderland tourism in the
Silbosax area
To be published in a series of the Royal
Netherlands Geographical Society
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
Project locations:
• Liberec – Sudeten area
• Wrocław – Identity formation
• Görlitz - Zgorzelec – transformed
communities, one beside the other in one
city
STUDENTPROJECT
SILBOSAX
Today's program discussions on themes:
Image
Tourist development
Vertriebenen
Economic development & Regional position
Housing & Population
Presentation on 4 or 5 statements per theme
directly followed by discussion on that theme
Image
Image
Poland and the Czech Republic make
insufficient use of their tourist promotion and
potential
Image
Lack of knowledge leads to a negative
image to encourage a more positive
image, more attention should be paid to
learning the language of neighboring
countries
Image
Polish see Germans as money machines
and Germans look down on the Polish
Image
People from Silezia, Bohemia and Saxony
have a more negative image about each
other than about themselves
Image
As long as you don’t promote yourself as
one city, you can never become the
cultural city of Europe
Image
• Poland and the Czech Republic make insufficient use of
their tourist promotion and potential
• Lack of knowledge leads to a negative image to encourage
a more positive image, more attention should be paid to
learning the language of neighboring countries
• Polish see Germans as money machines and Germans
look down on the Polish
• People from Silezie, Bohemia and Saxony have a more
negative image about each other than about themselves
• As long as you don’t promote yourself as one city, you can
never become the cultural capital city of Europe
Tourist development
Tourist development
Tourist cross-border projects do only exist
because of EU initiatives
Tourist development
Presenting Görlitz - Zgorzelec as one unique
city is misleading tourists
Tourist development
To give tourism in Görlitz a chance in the
future it should take youth and business
tourism in Wrocław as an example
Tourist development
It is ridiculous that Poles and Czechs are not
working together in “Das Riesengebirge”
Tourist development
Tourism in Görlitz depends far to much on
“Görlitz - Zgorzelec 2010
Tourist development
In Görlitz - Zgorzelec Europe is a synonym
for non communicating Germans and
Poles
Tourist development
• Tourist cross-border projects do only exist because of EU
initiatives
• Presenting Görlitz - Zgorzelec as one unique city is
misleading tourists
• To give tourism in Görlitz a chance in the future it should
take youth and business tourism in Wrocław as an example
• It is ridiculous that Poles and Czechs are not working
together in “Das Riesengebirge”
• Tourism in Görlitz depends far to much on “Görlitz Zgorzelec 2010
• In Görlitz - Zgorzelec Europe is a synonym for non
communicating Germans and Poles
Vertriebenen
Vertriebenen
Wrocław is thé place establish the ‘Zentrum
gegen vertriebung’
Vertriebenen
‘Heimat shops’ increase the gap between
Germans and Poles
Vertriebenen
The existence of the ‘vertriebenen –
generation’ makes interrelationships in this
area more difficult
Vertriebenen
The Polish vertriebenen had to pay for their
new possessions in former German areas.
The main target (repossession of houses
and land) of the “Landmannshaft” is
therefore questionable
Vertriebenen
• Wrocław is thé place establish the ‘Zentrum gegen
vertriebung’
• ‘Heimat shops’ increase the gap between Germans and
Poles
• The existence of the ‘vertriebenen – generation’ makes
interrelationships in this area more difficult
• The Polish vertriebenen had to pay for their new
possessions in former German areas. The main target
(repossession of houses and land) of the “Landmannshaft”
is therefore questionable
Economic development
and Regional position
Economic development
and Regional position
Görlitz geographic position close to the
Polish border isn’t necessarily a drawback:
the city could develop itself as a “bridge”
between German entrepreneurs and
Poland in providing solid framework of
possible cross-borders relations.
Economic development
and Regional position
The EU membership of the Czech Republic
and Poland did not bring concrete
advantages to their respective peoples
Economic development
and Regional position
Because of the continuing aging of the
West-German workforce which stimulate
labor migration from east to west, it is of
crucial importance to open the labor
market for Poles in order to attract Foreign
Direct Investments (FDI)
Economic development
and Regional position
The German economy is endangered by a
loss of innovation power due to processes
of dependencies and “lock in”. Only by
providing easier access to foreign
companies and workers, for example
Poland and Czech, Germany can remain
being the export “Weltmeister”
Economic development
and Regional position
• Görlitz geographic position close to the Polish border isn’t
necessarily a drawback: the city could develop itself as a “bridge”
between German entrepreneurs and Poland in providing solid
framework of possible cross-borders relations.
• The EU membership of the Czech Republic and Poland did not
bring concrete advantages to their respective peoples
• Because of the continuing aging of the West-German workforce
which stimulate labor migration from east to west, it is of crucial
importance to open the labor market for Poles in order to attract
Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)
• The German economy is endangered by a loss of innovation
power due to processes of dependencies and “lock in”. Only by
providing easier access to foreign companies and workers, for
example Poland and Czech, Germany can remain being the
export “Weltmeister”
Housing and population
Housing and population
Housing in the socialistic period was better,
because the rent has increased
enormously after ‘die Wende’
Housing and population
The best way to solve the problem of empty
houses in Görlitz is to give support to the
Poles in order to rent a house in Görlitz
Housing and population
It is a good thing that the rent in Görlitz has
increased after ‘die Wende’, because
otherwise the houses would deteriorate,
like in Liberec
Housing and population
• Housing in the socialistic period was better, because the
rent has increased enormously after ‘die Wende’
• The best way to solve the problem of empty houses in
Görlitz is to give support to the Poles in order to rent a
house in Görlitz
• It is a good thing that the rent in Görlitz has increased after
‘die Wende’, because otherwise the houses would
deteriorate, like in Liberec