DARK TOURISM Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development Proceedings of the International Workshop Edited by Anton Gosar, Miha Koderman and Mariana Rodela dark tourism DARK TOURISM Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development Proceedings of the International Workshop Edited by Anton Gosar, Miha Koderman and Mariana Rodela koper, 2015 Scientific Monograph Dark Tourism: Post-WWI Destiantions of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development – Proceedings of the International Workshop Edited by ■ dr. Anton Gosar, dr. Miha Koderman in Mariana Rodela Reviewers ■ dr. Dejan Cigale in dr. Uroš Horvat Proofreading ■ Terry Troy Jackson Design and Typeset ing ■ Davorin Dukič Published by ■ University of Primorska Press, Titov trg 4, si-6000 Koper, Koper 2015 Editor-in-Chief ■ dr. Jonatan Vinkler Managing Editor ■ Alen Ježovnik isbn 978-961-6963-28-2 (www.hippocampus.si/isbn/978-961-6963-28-2.pdf) isbn 978-961-6963-29-9 (www.hippocampus.si/isbn/978-961-6963-29-9/index.html) isbn 978-961-6963-30-5 (printed edition; not for sale) Print ■ Grafika 3000, d. o. o. Print-run ■ 200 copies © 2015 University of Primorska Press UP IN SVET – Mednarodna vpetost Univerze na Primorskem: operacijo delno financira Evropska unija iz Evropskega socialnega sklada ter Ministrstvo za izobraževanje, znanost in šport. Operacija se izvaja v okviru Operativnega programa razvoja človeških virov za obdobje 2007-2013, razvojne prioritete 3: Razvoj človeških virov in vseživljenjskega učenja, prednostne usmeritve 3.3: Kakovost, konkurenčnost in odzivnost visokega šolstva. CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 338.48(082)(0.034.2) DARK tourism [Elektronski vir] : post-WWI destinations of human tragedies and opportunities for tourism development : proceedings of the international workshop : scientific monograph / edited by Anton Gosar, Miha Koderman and Mariana Rodela. - El. knjiga. - Koper : University of Primorska, 2015 Način dostopa (URL): http://www.hippocampus.si/isbn/978-961-6963-28-2.pdf Način dostopa (URL): http://www.hippocampus.si/isbn/978-961-6963-29-9/index.html ISBN 978-961-6963-28-2 (pdf) ISBN 978-961-6963-29-9 (html) 1. Gosar, Anton, 1945- 279001344 Contents List of Tables 7 List of Figures 9 Introduction 11 SCIENTIFIC PAPER S 15 Anton Gosar The Concept of Dark Tourism 17 Stephen Miles The Western Front: War Heritage, Contested Interpretations and Dark Tourism 21 Chiara Beccalli, Igor Jelen, and Moreno Zago Marketing for Dark Tourism Purposes: The Case of WWI Remnants, Battlefields, and Memories on the Isonzo-Soča Front 33 Matjaž Klemenčič and Miha Koderman The Isonzo/Soča Front and Its Potentials for Development of Tourism 45 Tadeja Jere Jakulin and Aleksandra Golob Remnants of WWI – Dark Tourist-Sustainable Events and Programs Potentials 53 Stefan Bielański From Galicia to the Alps – Polish Memory of »the Italian Front« of WWI 63 Dušan Nečak The Rupnik Defence Line as a Tourist Destination 71 Sergio Zilli The First World War and the Use of Memory in the Landscape of the Isonzo/Soča Front 77 5 dar k tour ism Elena dellʼAgnese Dark Tourism and Memory Tourism: From Schadenfreude to »Global Citizenship« 87 PROFESSIONAL PAPER 95 Zdravko Likar and Maša Klavora WWI and the Possibilities for Developing Historical Tourism – The Case of the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic 97 APPENDICES 107 Appendix 1: Conclusions of the International Workshop 109 Appendix 2: First World War and the War's Aftermath – Excursion Guide Compiled by Anton Gosar 113 Appendix 3: Workshop Partners 137 Abstracts in Slovenian/Povzetki v slovenščini 139 List of References 151 Index 167 6 List of Tables Table 1: Results of a survey of a commercial coach tour to the Western Front – April 2010. 26 Table 2: Main tools used in the museums of Kobarid and Gorizia. 38 Table 3: Dark Tourism potentials. 56 Table 4: The diversity of events depending on the type of events 58 Table 5: Dark Tourism versus Memory Tourism. 90 7 List of Figures Figure 1: The Western Front. 23 Figure 2: Tyne Cot Military Cemetery near Ypres. 24 Figure 3: The names of the missing at Tyne Cot. 26 Figure 4: The Menin Gate, Ypres. 28 Figure 5: Trench reconstruction at Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Zonnebeke. 29 Figure 6: The cemetery of Gorjansko is the largest cemetery of the First World War in Slovenia. 50 Figure 7: Rates of locations. 56 Figure 8: Responsible (sustainable) events. 60 Figure 9: The highest military location on Mount Ortler (3850 metres). 68 Figure 10: 30 cm mortar in the Pustar Val ey. 68 Figure 11: Exhibits at the exhibition of the remains and the time when Rupnik line was built. 73 Figure 12: A typical machine gun bunker on Javorč, a symbol of Rupnik defence line. 75 Figure 13: Italian military ossuary in Kobarid/Caporetto, Slovenia. 81 Figure 14: Sredipolje/Redipuglia First World War cemetery, Italy. 82 Figure 15: The memorial to the defenders of the Slovenian homeland at Cerje, Slovenia. 85 Figure 16: Tours in Krakow, Poland, include dark tourism destinations. 89 Figure 17: Tourists at concentration camp Auschwitz II–Birkenau, Poland. 92 Figure 18: Tourists at 9/11 Memorial in New York, U.S.A. 93 Figure 19: Kolovrat, crossborder outdoor museum. 98 Figure 20: Fortress Kluže, performance with NGO assocciation 1313. 101 Figure 21: Sabotin-Park of Peace. 102 9 dar k tour ism FIGUR ES FROM APPENDIX 1 107 Figure 1: Cerje tower. Field work: WWI Soča/Isonzo battlefields. Greetings by Komen and Miren-Kostanjevica mayors. 111 Figure 2:Piazza del a Transalpina/Trg Evrope, Gorizia – Nova Gorica cross-border square. 111 Figure 3: Kobarid, WWI Museum – workshop activity. 112 Figure 4: Kobarid, WWI Museum – president of the Walk of Peace Foundation Mr. Zdravko Likar welcomed workshop participants. 112 FIGUR ES FROM APPENDIX 2 107 Figure 1: Map of the Italian Front. 114 Figure 2: Austro-Hungarian supply line over the Vršič Pass (October, 1917) . 115 Figure 3: The June 28, 1914, assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip set off a chain of events that ended in the outbreak of WWI. 116 Figure 4: Gavrilo Princip . 116 Figure 5: Palace Hotel in 1915. 117 Figure 6: Palace Hotel in 1957. 118 Figure 7: Hotel Palace in 2014. 119 Figure 8: Bazovica/Basovizza – Monument of the TIGR heroes. 122 Figure 9: A view of Trieste in 1885. 123 Figure 10: Yugoslav Army entering Trieste. 124 Figure 11: Hungarian cemetery in the near of Sredipolje/Rediplugia Doberdo, Italy. 125 Figure 12: Church of the Holy Spirit, Javorca. 128 Figure 13: Outdoor Museum Kolovrat. 129 Figure 14: Kobarid Museum. 129 Figure 15: Kluze Fortress. 130 Figure 16: Luigi Cadorna. 132 Figure 17: Svetozar Boroević von Bojna . 133 Figure 21: Tomb of field marshal Svetozar Boroëvić von Bojna on Vienna Zentralfriedhof, Austria. 134 Figure 22: Ernest Hemingway with Agnes von Kurowsky, the nurse who became the inspiration for the heroine of A Farewell to Arms. 136 10 Introduction University of Primorska (UP) and the World – International Incorporation of the UP Internationalization is a strategic objective of the University of Primorska, with the goal of enhancing its strategic role and financial performance in the EU and other international fun- ding programs for scientific research and development activities in order to achieve greater cir- culation of research personnel, enhanced exchange of knowledge, and upgrading of the rese- arch infrastructure. Another goal is to increase the mobility of students and teaching staff as well as the number of foreign students and experts. In this spirit, the University of Primorska is carrying out the project entitled »University of Primorska (UP) and the World – Internati- onal incorporation of the UP«, partly financed by the European Union and the European So- cial Fund as well as by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slove- nia.The focus of the project is to support more rapid development of the University and a wi- der range of activities, which lead towards the internationalization of the UP. Thus, the UP includes foreign experts in its pedagogical process and carries out activities that strengthen its perception in the international environment. The scope of the project is to accelerate this in- ternationalization, especially by achieving a greater circulation of foreign experts in our educa- tional and research processes, and to encourage a wider openness of the UP in the internatio- nal environment. One of the activities within the framework of the abovementioned project was the inter- national workshop Dark tourism: Post – WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Rele- vant Tourism Development Opportunities, which took place between 2 and 4 October 2014. Within the workshop, the Koper Regional Museum, one of its organizational partners, ho- sted the exhibition »No Escape« by the artist Silvia Biazzo, who has been visiting sites known for torture and killings over the previous decade. The photographs were taken in Lipa (Cro- atia), Goli Otok (Croatia), Rab (Croatia), Jasenovac (Croatia), Ljubelj (Slovenia), Loibl (Au- stria), Gonars (Italy), Visco (Italy), Ravensbrück (Germany) and Mauthausen (Austria). The exhibition was held from 4 October until 2 November 2014. 11 dar k tour ism Background of the International Workshop The centennial of the beginning of the First World War is an occasion to discuss the tra- gedies of war and its multiple effects in the arrangement of post-First World War political and regional environments. Exceptional tragedies have been designated by memorial shrines, mo- numents, and museums, and are »promoted« via battle re-enactments and memorial events. Places of horror and human tragedy are visited by tourists. The spatial arrangements after the First World War have strengthened new political pla- yers and have produced new spaces of confrontation. In the Danube–Alps–Adriatic area of Europe, the fragmentation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the geographical enlargement of the Italian Kingdom, and the evolution of Central European nation-states, induced by Ame- rican democratic ideals, have also produced new borders and a variety of new nation-states to Europe’s political map. After two world wars, ethnic, economic and political boundaries in many cases do not coincide. The quest for territory was for a substantial amount of time on the agenda of irredentist fascist, national socialist and communist regimes of the 20th century. The workshop should, in particular, identify significant arrangements of remembrance of the tragedy of the First World War and places of First and Second World War centres of horror in relation to relevant visits of tourists and events taking place there. Major attention should be devoted to the discussion of the Alps-Adriatic region of Italy, Slovenia/Yugoslavia and Austria. Regarding WWI, we are planning, among other regions and issues, to discuss the effects of tourist visits to the memorial sites of Kobarid (Caporetto), Redipuglia and Oslavia, of museums devoted to WWI (for example, Kobarid) and of the outlined structures/areas on remembrance paths (for example »The Walk of Peace«, a hiking trail from the Alps to the Adriatic), as well as on re-enactment performances along the way (for example Kluže Fortress). The time betwe- en both world wars was devoted to strengthening the newly established borders by fortification lines on and near which remaining structures are in the interest of tourists as well (for example Rupnik’s line in the former Yugoslavia) and Val o Alpino (in Italy). The Second World War and the post-war period have left imprints of horror and human tragedy in several places of the regi- on now being visited by groups of tourists and individuals. Among them, the fol owing destina- tions are significant: The Hospital Franja (candidate for UNESCO world heritage list) and me- morial sites in Cerje, Vrtojba, Bazovizza, Monte Grisa, Dražgoše, Ljubelj, Teharje, Pod Krenom, Osankarica/Trije žeblji, Ljubljana (»Along the Barbwire of the Occupied City«) and others. The Organizational Committee of the Workshop consisted of: - Prof. Anton Gosar, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism Studies TURISTICA, speci- alizing in Political and Tourism Geography; - Tadeja Jere Jakulin, Associate Professor and Vice-Rector for International Relati- ons of the University of Primorska; - Luka Juri, Ph.D., a human geographer and Director of the regional museum (Po- krajinski muzej) in Koper-Capodistria; - Miha Koderman, Assistant Professor, and human geographer at the Faculty of Humanities in Koper-Capodistria; - Gregor Balažič, Assistant at the Faculty of Tourism Studies TURISTICA; - Mariana Rodela, Linguist and Professional at the Faculty of Tourism Studies TU- RISTICA. 12 introduction The work of the Organizational Committee started at the beginning of 2014 and intensi- fied during the summer of the same year. Field observations and meetings took place. Co-ope- ration was established with institutions dealing with the topic of »dark tourism« in Italy and Slovenia and in particular with those whose primary orientation was and is related to events of WWI. Professional co-operation was sought with academic institutions in the region and Eu- rope. Sadly, the contribution of members from the iDTR (Institute of Dark Tourism), Lanca- ster, England had to be cancelled at the last minute. Foreword to the Proceedings The international workshop Dark Tourism – Post-WWI destinations of human tragedies and opportunities for tourism development gathered researchers from the fields of tourism stu- dies, geography, history, social and political sciences, as well as professional experts from dif- ferent non-governmental organizations, who had been invited to deliver manuscripts focusing on the phenomenon of dark tourism. The scientific and professional papers, presented in this book of proceedings, are the result of this process. In the first paper, Anton Gosar (University of Primorska, Slovenia) discusses theoretical concept of dark tourism and presents several other (sub-)segments of this tourism activity, which are wholly or partly devoted to suffering, horror and death. The author also presents se- veral definitions of this phenomenon that have evolved over the past three decades in acade- mia, and concludes with the observation that human tragedies, atrocities, and heroic acts, as well as spaces of natural disasters and deaths of celebrities, have become a desired tourist desti- nation in the modern Western conception of tourism. The second discussion by Stephen Miles (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom) investi- gates the nature of tourism on the Western Front conflict zone of the First World War. The author, who conducted field research at many First World War locations in France, asserts that tourism there is characterized by a commemorative outlook, often directed by organized tours, and highlights the complementary importance of the war’s tangible heritage in the tou- rist experience. The paper then discusses the nature of the Western Front as »dark« tourism and acknowledges that it is a dark tourism site from a supply-side definition. The authors Chiara Beccal i, Igor Jelen and Moreno Zago (all authors from University of Trieste, Italy) analyse the experiences of visitors to the First World War museums of Gorizia, Italy, and Kobarid, Slovenia, in the light of tourism marketing. They study the potential argu- ments the tourist operators may have to deal with when marketing the First World War sites and argue that the standardization of war remnants for tourism raises the risk of provoking a loss in solemnity and in significance, as well as turning these objects into something artificial. The fourth contribution by Matjaž Klemenčič (University of Maribor, Slovenia) and Miha Koderman (University of Primorska, Slovenia) focuses on the historical elements of the Ison- zo/Soča Front heritage and analyses their potentials for the international tourists and visitors. The authors give particular emphasis to four different First World War monuments that re- main poorly included in the tourist itineraries: the Russian Chapel near Vršič Pass, the Koba- rid Museum, the German Charnel House in Tolmin, and the Gorjansko and Redipuglia/Sre- dipolje First World War military cemeteries. Remnants of the First World War are also in the foreground of the fifth paper, written by Tadeja Jere Jakulin and Aleksandra Golob (both from University of Primorska, Slovenia). The 13 dar k tour ism authors present the results of the survey, consisting of thirty-four tourism decision-makers and inhabitants, and debate tourism programs and sustainable events in the municipality of Ko- men, Slovenia. In their opinion, these programs and activities contribute to the commemora- tion of the First World War and present a symbolic sign of peace and mutual understanding among nations. Stefan Bielański (Pedagogical University of Kraków, Poland) is the author of the sixth paper in this book of proceedings. He presents geopolitical changes in Poland from the late 18th cen- tury to the outbreak of the First World War and focuses on Polish participation in the First World War. Polish soldiers and officers from Galicia, an autonomous province of the Austro- -Hungarian Empire, played a significant role in the battles in the Alps, especially on the Itali- an Front. Historian Dušan Nečak (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) changes the period of the context from the First World War to the interwar period, when the so-called »Rupnik line« (a defen- ce line of bunkers, tunnels, and other large concrete formations) was built by the Royal Yugoslav Army in the proximity of the Rapal border with Italy. The author presents the efforts of local enthusiasts and the municipality Gorenja vas-Poljane, where a large number of »Rupnik line« artefacts are located, to thoughtful y restore these objects and include them in tourist itineraries. The First World War and its memory in the Italian-Slovene border landscape are exami- ned by Sergio Zil i (University of Trieste, Italy). He argues that the memory of the war and its disasters was transformed into a celebration of victory for the Italians in the interwar peri- od, as the Italian government decided to build a series of monumental cemeteries, museums of war, commemorative monuments and memorial stones for Italian soldiers. The author sees these objects as significant signs, easily identifiable to the naked eye, which characterized the landscape throughout the twentieth century. Theoretical aspects of dark tourism and its representations in tourism offer are primary su- bjects of the ninth paper, elaborated by Elena del ’Agnese ( University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy). She analyses forms of tourism, connected with heritage, national identity, history, diaspora and, generally speaking, the creation of a collective memory, while presenting some case studi- es of the so-called »memory tourism«. The book of proceedings is concluded with the professional contribution of Zdravko Likar and Maša Klavora, representatives of the Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation. Since its establishment in 2000, the organization’s priority has been protection and preservation of immovable historical and cultural heritage of the First World War, the publication of expert and promotion materials, as well as the development of history tourism in the valley of the So- ča and on the Karst plateau. The editors of the book of proceedings would like to express thanks to all contributors to this workshop as well as organizational partners (in alphabetical order): Fundacija »Poti Miru v Posočju« (Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation), Kobariški muzej (The Kobarid Museum), Občina Komen (Municipality of Komen), Občina Miren-Kostanjevica (Municipa- lity of Miren-Kostanjevica) and Pokrajinski muzej Koper (Koper Regional Museum). Anton Gosar, Miha Koderman, and Mariana Rodela (editors) Portorož/Portorose, March 5th, 2015 14 Scientific Papers The Concept of Dark Tourism Anton Gosar Introduction Sites of natural disasters, scenes of battles, military clashes and mass killings, and terro- rist acts, and the cemeteries holding the graves of a nation-state’s leaders and of popular per- sonalities in politics, culture and music (in other words: the graves of celebrities) continually receive attention and, subsequently, visits of individuals and tourist groups. Such sites beco- me major tourist destinations. They are include in regular tours, and some have become the core attraction of a tourist trip. Some cemeteries, monuments to war victims and to the hero- ic acts related to the motherland, the nation, the culture and/or ideology register visits of seve- ral hundred thousand yearly. The WWII concentration camps, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau Oswiecim in Poland, attract millions. Dark tourism destinations are in the classic repertoires of global European and Sloveni- an tourist agencies. Common tours of Rome include visits to the Coliseum (70 AD) where hundreds of Christians, gladiators and animals were killed; tours to Naples would not satis- fy customers if Pompeii, where the Vesuvius’ lava and ashes smothered thousands(79 AD), would not be visited. Many trips to Kiev, Ukraine coincide with a visit to Chernobyl where an explosion and subsequent radiation leak at the nuclear power plant there (1986) killed 64 and forced 350,000 residents to migrate. Since 2007, all guided tours in New York stop at the Ground Zero Monument, commemorating the 2,752 victims of the 2001 terrorist attack the World Trade Center. Visiting San Francisco, one would not miss the famous island of Alca- traz, where thousands of inmates were kept (1934–1963) and close to five hundred sent to the San Quentin death row. We, as curious tourists and travelers cannot pass by famous cemete- ries, like the Roman necropolis in Šempeter (Savinja Valey, Slovenia), the magnificent tombs of the Taj Mahal (Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India), the Pierre Lachaise Cemetery (Paris, France), where Jim Morrison (1971) and Edith Piaf (1963) are buried, and Arlington Cemetery (Wa- shington D.C., USA), where at least 139 famous Americans, presidents, generals, astronauts, and other persons of note have found their final resting place. As early as 1815, English nobles found the funds and time to view the battle at Water- loo as it happened. London’s citizens followed in organized groups and visited the place of 17 dar k tour ism Napoleon’s defeat only a year later. In 2008, tourist guide publisher Lonely Planet highlighted places that in one way or another are marked by tragedy and horror, and are recommended for a visit (The Blue Sheet, 2008). This type of tourism informs, educates and evokes memories of the past (tragic, inhuman, heroic, etc.). It has elements of »the spectacle of horror«. Regar- dless of whether for the effects of nature, or for the results of historical events or socio-political confrontations, all of them are part of humanity’s history, misery, tragedy, horror and mystery, and relate to pain and/or death. Regional Character Since 1945, in former Yugoslavia, organized tours to WWII memorials and spaces of Par- tisan heroic acts have been taken by people of all ages. Most tourists visited the canyons of Su- tjeska and Neretva, in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, where praising the sacrifice of the Partisans in their heroic battle against the Nazi-German occupiers took place; by visiting the Jasenovac concentration camp, in present day Croatia, tourist groups learned about the cruelty of the WWII German allies on Yugoslavian soils. In Slovenia, the (Partisan) resistance move- ment of WWII is still celebrated each winter at Dražgoše (with several thousand participants/ visitors), where the Cankarjev battalion fought fierce fight with Nazi-German police (1942: 8 Partisan, 26 German casualties) before withdrawing to the woods of the nearby karst platea- us (the execution of 35 villagers followed, others were sent to concentration camps and village was burned down). The tomb of Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia’s Partisan leader, long-time com- munist dictator (1945–1980) and initiator of the political non-allied movement (1961), saw millions of visitors after his death in 1980, and remains a tourist attraction in Belgrade, the ca- pital of Serbia. The Concept Therefore, it is difficult to say that »dark tourism« is a new type of tourism or a niche- -product recently discovered by the tourism industry. National heritage tourism and »heroic, historic tourism« has existed since the 19th century, when modern-day tourism was born. In English-language literature and academia, the term »dark tourism«, as being wholly or par- tly devoted to the suffering, horror and death, prevails. This academic concept is in contrast to marketing slogans that prefer the broader promotional aspect and call this type of tourism »hi- storic tourism«. Major encyclopaedias of tourism identify »dark tourism« also as »thanatou- rism«, in which the core meaning of the term relates mostly to visits to the tombs, cemeteries and memorials of prominent people. In a context similar to »dark tourism«, terms like »ma- cabre tourism«, »tourism of mourning« and »dark heritage tourism« are also in use. Mana- gers of Slovenian tourist destinations oppose the term »dark tourism« ( temačni turizem) beca- use they perceive it as accentuating the grim, dark and murky part of history, which is difficult to promote and sell. They would rather see the use of the term »historic tourism« ( zgodovinski turizem), despite the fact that this term encompasses a much broader aspect of topics. Dark tourism was first studied in the 1970s, but the systematic exploration and, con- sequently, the first definitions of this phenomenon were constructed and used by the acade- mia in the 1990s. Since then, study of this this phenomenon has increased, and the scales of relevant studies have been enlarged; subsequently, several definitions of this phenomenon ha- ve made impact: 18 the concept of dark tourism - The systematic integration of travel to a place associated with death, tragedy and suffering is to be regarded as dark tourism (Folley and Lennon, 1996); - Dark tourism relates to the presentation and consummation of a place or an area of death or tragedy (Seaton, 2009); - With dark tourism, we associate visits to places that have experienced tragedy and/ or are associated with historically significant deaths of people that have affected the perception of our current life (Miles, 2002); - All the actions associated with the tourism trips that expose/define the places asso- ciated with death, suffering and/or everything that is reminiscent of the grim peri- od of mankind is to be related dark tourism (Stone, 2006); - Dark tourism relates to tourist travel, which interprets the heritage through trage- dies and conflicts and is raising awareness of dark historical realities, or the herita- ge of it (Stone, 2013). The central research centre for dark tourism is located at the University of Central Lanca- shire, in England. The Institute of Tourism Research (iDTR) is led by Dr Philip Stone. Accor- ding to researchers there, dark tourism is a subcategory of the historic tourism, which includes the content of the material and intangible heritage, as both strengthen our historical memory. Dark tourism is formed on the basis of designs and consolidates target groups of people visi- ting these destinations. Visits to these destinations are bound to the motives that: - consolidate the collective historical memory; - develop and strengthen the identity of ethnicities or people, or make a specific commitment to a specific ideology and/or beliefs; - provide historical experiences; - consolidate instrumental values of a certain society or mankind; - offer fun and (adrenaline) experience; - strengthen the awareness of visitors’ mortality. According to iDTR, the main contours of dark tourism destinations are to be found in three groups of geographically expressed areas: - destination of the death, burial, and/or the tragedies of celebrities; - destinations of great battles and falling soldiers; - destinations of collective suffering and death. Conclusion Sites of natural disasters, battles and military clashes and killings, and terrorist acts, ce- meteries, prisons, memorial rooms and houses of suffering and murders and graves of celebri- ties have always received attention or visits of individuals and tourist groups. Tourist groups and individuals are also led to dungeons and (former) state correctional institutions and insti- tutions where certain cultural/social groups of people have experienced violence, hunger, tor- ture and subsequent death (for many). On their biggest holiday, one-third of world’s popula- tion commemorates the suffering and death (and resurrection) of a human – God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The passion of Christ is at Easter revealed in plays and performed to attract visitors to certain destinations. Hundreds of films glorify this, such as Mel Gibson’s The Pas ion (2004) 19 dar k tour ism as well as other horrors, like Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List (1993). The newest tech- nology brings suffering and death into our houses, living rooms and even into palms of our hands. However, real-life suffering (as opposed to fictional) is also within sight. On TV, we observe people who are confronted with natural disasters: flooding in Bangladesh, volcanic eruptions in the Philippines, tsunami in Japan and Thailand, and so on We had the opportu- nity to track planes as they’ve crashed into New York’s World Trade Center and had listen to cries of the falling and dying; on YouTube, 14 years later, we follow with revulsion the behea- dings of Islamic fundamentalists and executions in China. Some tourist agencies bring intere- sted individuals to the battle front-lines located in eastern Ukraine, Yemen or Syria. Human tragedies, atrocities, and heroic acts, as well as spaces of natural disasters and de- aths of celebrities, have become in themselves desired tourist destinations in the modern, We- stern conception of tourism. In order to strengthen the impression of past events, regular »ce- lebrations« of events are taking place around monuments, but also paid memorial parks and museums arranged around death and suffering are growing in numbers. Re-enactment events have become popular. By some estimates, close to 7 % of the income within the tourism indu- stry is related to the supply of the many-colored dark tourism subjects. 20 The Western Front: War Heritage, Contested Interpretations and Dark Tourism Stephen Miles Introduction With the cessation of hostilities at the Armistice in November 1918 the carnage of the First World War (1914–18) was finally brought to an end. The countries involved now started to make sense of this shocking conflict which had left enormous death, suffering and damage in its wake. The difficult process of recovery would take a long time in what George Creel, Presi- dent Woodrow Wilson’s propaganda chief, described as ‘…a world turned ‘molten’ by the vol- cano of war’ (quoted in Reynolds, 2013, xvi). For Britain and the Commonwealth nations the war left a deep trace which was latent, but present, in society all the way through the ensuing century. One only had to scratch the surface of society to reveal the painful scars of war. At the end of the twentieth century the writer Geoff Dyer was to state: ‘Every generation since the ar- mistice has believed that it will be the last for whom the Great War has any meaning’ (Dyer, 1994, 22). This has clearly not happened so that in 2014 Britain commemorates the centena- ry of the outbreak of the Great War1 with as much pride and enthusiasm as at any other time in the previous century. The First World War remains iconic in British society as it does in the Commonwealth countries of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The conflict continues to stimulate varied and often heated discourse and is many things to many people. For much of the last half century it has been a byword for enormous and futile loss and suffering crystallised in the potent symbolism of the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916).2 This is coun- tered by a newly revived revisionist interpretation which views the war as a necessary conflict which saved the country (and indeed Europe) from a great threat and emphasises the courage, determination and endurance of a nation where the conflict was anything but futile. This is much nearer the view that was prevalent in Britain at the time and in the decade after the war. Whatever people’s views on the morality of the war all are united in respectful commemo- ration of the fallen as the nation enters the 2014–18 Centennial Commemoration. At the ti- me of writing there are literally hundreds of commemorative events in Britain including exhi- 1 The ‘Great War’ was what the people at the time cal ed it; they clearly didn’t realise that they would be fighting in another one and the terms ‘First World War’ or ‘World War One’ only came into use from the early 1940s. 2 This is considered the most disastrous day in the history of the British army with 57,470 kil ed, wounded and missing (with 19,240 dead) in one day (Sheffield, 2003, 68). 21 dar k tour ism bitions in small villages and towns commemorating the contribution of men and women to the war effort, to large scale concerts and events where the memory of the war is kept alive as the centenary unfolds. But in tandem with the rich commemorative climate of homeland Bri- tain in 2014 is an increased interest in visiting the sites of the conflict, particularly on the old Western Front in France and Belgium. This paper examines the heritage and tourism of the area and focuses on the Western Front as a commemorative and heritage landscape and as a ‘dark’ tourism site. An empirical analysis of some of the meanings of tourists to the area taken from the author’s fieldwork on the We- stern Front is provided before the question of ‘dark tourists’ is explored. The paper challenges the view that all tourists to battlefield sites such as the Western Front are dark tourists. The Western Front: History and Tourism On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany and within weeks a 100,000-strong British Expeditionary Force was on the Continent supporting Belgian and French forces. By the end of that year the early war of movement had stalled and both sides settled down to dig in opposite each other. The Western Front was soon established, a series of trenches, saps, for- tified villages and farms, pillboxes and bunkers extending some 736km (460 miles) from the North Sea to the Swiss border (Holmes, 1999). Along this military zone gains were slight and there was to be little movement of military significance here until March 1918. This became a savage war of attrition where both sides attempted to win by wearing their opponents down, in terms of manpower, matériel, morale and money. The loss of life and suffering on the We- stern Front was staggering and continues to shock us to this day. From both sides there were 6 million dead and 14 million wounded. Of these dead 750,000 were British and Commonwe- alth and today they are buried in more than 1000 military and 2000 civilian cemeteries along the battlefields (Holmes, 1999, 237).3 Perhaps more poignantly there are 300,000 allied de- ad with no known graves (the Menin Gate at Ypres has the names of 54,403 and the Thiepval Memorial 72,191 British and Commonwealth missing) (Commonwealth War Graves Com- mission, undated). The poet Edmund Blunden (1896–1974) described the Western Front as ‘a whole sweet countryside amuck with murder’ (Blunden, 1937, 260). After the war tourists started to visit the Western Front in order to visit the graves of their loved ones or to see their names recorded on the monuments to the missing. This highly per- sonal and emotionally charged journey was really a form of pilgrimage and much of the lan- guage that supported it was religious in tone. But people also came out of curiosity. This pat- tern of pilgrimage and tourism became a common feature of the Western Front war landscape and has remained with us to this day. The war had touched wide geographical, social and cul- tural sectors of the British nation and few people would not have known somebody who had been affected by it. For this reason there was a pilgrimage aspect to most visits and tourists were looked down upon in many circles as debasing the pure motivations of those who wan- ted to visit sacred family space (Lloyd, 1998, 40–47). The Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) (from 1960 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission or CWGC) worked ti- relessly to provide a dignified resting place for the thousands of killed as well as recording the names of the missing in as respectful a manner possible (Longworth, 1985). The creation of beautifully landscaped cemeteries was in part for the benefit of the large numbers of tourists 3 The total dead from all British and Commonwealth forces for the war was 1.2 mil ion. 22 the western front: war heritage, contested interpretations and dark tourism who were soon arriving at the old Front. By the end of 1921 132 cemeteries in France and Bel- gium were complete (Longworth, 1985, 76). But commemoration was public as well as private and large memorials were built all along the battlefield zone. The Menin Gate at Ypres (1927) and the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval on the Somme (1932) were mono- lithic structures built to make bold statements about sacrifice. A tourist industry developed to meet the demand for visitors and by 1919 60,000 people had visited the Western Front battle- fields assisted by tour companies (Seaton, 2000a, 63). Figure 1: The Western Front (Source: Wikipedia Commons). From a highpoint in visitation in the late 1930s battlefield tourism to the Western Front declined during and after the Second World War (1939–45) and did not increase in populari- ty again until the 1960s. This coincided with a renewed cultural interest in the war in Britain (Reynolds, 2013). From the 1970s the guided coach tour became prominent as a means to vi- sit the area and numbers of visitors have risen constantly since this time. In 2008 the Westhoek (Maritime Flanders including the town of Ypres) area of Belgium had 326,900 battlefield tou- rists every year spending 31.2 million Euro (forming 30 % of the total tourist return in the re- gion). Forty percent of these were British and of these 52 % were in groups. This indicates the important position coach tours have in the area (Vandaele and Monballyu, 2008). Between Fe- bruary and November 2010, the In Flanders Fields Museum at Ypres received 198,542 visitors and 250,000 visited the Thiepval Memorial and Visitor Centre in 2009.4 Battlefield tourism is 4 Sources: internal survey data tables e-mailed from the management of the sites. 23 dar k tour ism now an important sector of the tourist industry in these parts of France and Belgium. A sophi- sticated array of amenities has developed to cater for it including hotels, restaurants, tour gui- des, shops, souvenirs, museums and visitor centres, and state supported tourist agencies. It co- uld be argued that the battlefield product is packaged and presented to the tourist in a form of post-modern commoditisation no different from other segments of the industry. The Western Front in Its Dark Tourism Context The discussion now moves on to explore the Western Front as a dark tourism site. Dark to- urism can be defined as ‘the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions that have real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme’ (UCLAN, undated). By this supply-side definition the Western Front is clearly a dark tourism site; it is mo- re precisely a series of sites where there was very great mortality and suffering. It is where literal- ly tens of thousands of (mainly) young men were killed, maimed, blinded, gassed and psycholo- gically traumatized. Indeed it is a sobering thought when one travels across the landscape that the remains the hundreds of thousands of missing lie beneath your feet. The Western Front is, in effect, a huge war grave. It fits in to the dark-light spectrum first devised by Stone (2006, 145–160) and as a series of sites of (darker) as opposed to sites as ociated with (lighter) violent death can be placed on the most opaque side of the spectrum. Darker sites tend to have more of an educational theme than entertainment and this is correctly in line with the area’s ethos reflec- ted in the way its museums, visitor centres and other heritage interpretation is designed. Figure 2: Tyne Cot Military Cemetery near Ypres (Photo: S. Miles). But this is to interpret the Western Front as a type of dark site; it says nothing about the experiences of visitors to the area. An alternative term for dark tourism is thanatourism5 and in the opinion of Seaton the thanatourist is ‘motivated by the desire for actual or symbolic en- counters with death’ (Seaton, 1996, 240). This suggests that the tourist seeks out an encoun- ter with the places of death and implies that this is an important factor in the decision to visit a site. This paper challenges this assertion. In highlighting a number of empirical results rela- ting to the experiences of visitors to the Western Front this paper will demonstrate the wide 5 Thanatos was the daemonic personification of death in Greek mythology. 24 the western front: war heritage, contested interpretations and dark tourism range of meanings that are present. It will consequently question whether, although framed in death, such battlefield sites can be called dark. A Commemorative Landscape The most prominent features of the Western Front are the ubiquitous cemeteries and memo- rials which populate the bucolic fields, woodlands, villages and towns of this rolling landscape. There is very little else to remind the visitor of the momentous events that took place in this spa- ce a hundred years ago. This is a landscape of loss and remembrance expressed through stark rem- inders of the enormous human cost of the conflict. It is a commemorative landscape expressed for both col ective and personal memory. Memorials are often large-scale and commemorate the missing in grandiose style but they can also be modest relating to the actions of regiments, units and individuals on the battlefields. These memorials are ‘triggers for memory’ and according to the French historian Pierre Nora these lieux de mémoire are important ‘memory substitutes’ whi- ch are charged with meaning whether we experienced the event or not (Benton and Cecil, 2010). But if memory is expressed personal y at cemeteries and private memorials it is also part of a wider ‘social memory’ expressed within a ‘fictive kinship’ (Benton and Cecil, 2010). Commemoration can be represented material y (memorials), perceptual y (in people’s thoughts and feelings), sym- bolical y (the leaving of a wreath at a grave) and ceremonial y (determined moments of silence). Commemorative culture is particularly potent on the Western Front and forms a key part of any tourist visit to the area. It determines the nature of the coach tour and itineraries are often tightly choreographed to accommodate commemorative practice. Table 1 shows the ti- mings from a typical coach tour to the Western Front from Britain. This demonstrates that just under 60 % of the time taken when the coach stopped was devoted to Memorials, Ce- meteries and Other (including commemorative ceremonies). The commemorative aspect is further reflected in the provision of »Special Visits« on some coach tours whereby the to- ur operator takes a passenger on a pre-arranged visit to the grave of a relative. This is often ac- companied by background research into the individual conducted by the company’s research department on behalf of the client and the provision of a wreath. This is arranged partly due to the difficulty of finding some graves in the remoter cemeteries. When a visitor is able to decode the story and the message of the Western Front the overw- helming impression of the landscape is one of loss. This ‘geography of grief’ is highly impactive to those who lost ancestors and also to non-relatives who observe the vast rows of headstones and lapidary lists of names. And it is this uniformity and symmetry which is so resonantly symbolic with those who visit the Front; line upon line of headstones drawing the eye onward, or names layered neatly and perfectly on the faces of the walls. The way the headstones and names are all standardised speaks of a oneness in death, of a simplicity and dignity, but also of a martial sense of togetherness and comradeship. The emphasis on natural beauty in the way the cemeteries we- re careful y landscaped is also symbolic of the land these men left behind; the IWGC adopted a careful horticultural policy which gave the cemeteries the appearance and ambience of an Engli- sh country garden. This al owed them to depart from the rather depressing connotations of the word ‘cemetery’ (Longworth, 1985, 73). To this day visiting a CWGC cemetery is an aesthetical- ly pleasing experience sympathetic to the changes in the seasons and highly symbolic of the home country. For the dead it symbolises the peace, emotional warmth and comfort of the homeland.6 6 This is redolent of the oft-quoted lines from Rupert Brook’s (1887–1915) poem The Soldier:»If I should die, think only this of me:/ That there’s some corner of a foreign field/ That is forever England« (Silkin, 1979, 81). 25 dar k tour ism Table 1: Results of a survey of a commercial coach tour to the Western Front – April 2010 (Source: Miles, 2012a, 181). Category Timings in minutes % 1. Memorials 127 25.4 2. Cemeteries 141 28.2 3. General war related sites, e.g. trench systems 171 34.2 4. Museums 30 6.0 5. Other (inc. Menin Gate ceremony) 31 6.2 Total: 500 100 On any visit to the Western Front one is drawn to the headstones which form the fulcrum of the ‘commemorative experience’. Guides and guide books direct the visitor to these plain and simple blocks of Portland limestone which act as portals to the rich biographies of the men who lie there. Figure 3: The names of the missing at Tyne Cot (Photo: S. Miles). On the face of it a headstone says little about the experiences of the war. But it can draw one in to the story and bring to life the very kernel of the war on the Western Front: that it was fought by very ordinary people from ordinary backgrounds that the contemporary visitor is able to relate to. We can do this because we, too, are human. This is often understood thro- ugh acts of bravery from these men (‘what would it have been like for me if I was in that situa- tion?’) or perhaps of the particular circumstances of their lives before or after the war. One of the survey responses illustrates this: …there was a sense of proximity, of closeness to the real people. And just wandering through the graveyards…there is a sense of connecti- on I suppose with every soldier that you see there. There’s a sense of family, there’s a sense of who he was, what he was, a living breathing ordinary person. What were his interests and his foibles, his loves, his hates? (male, 66). 26 the western front: war heritage, contested interpretations and dark tourism The Western Front has a potent ability to provide these connections and enhance the hu- man side of a terrible industrial conflict. Amongst the row upon row of graves and the weight of statistics these men live on for tourists who have an important role in perpetuating this me- mory. Commemorative Practice An important adjunct to the cemeteries and memorials are the ceremonies that take pla- ce regularly on the Western Front which have now become important tourist attractions in themselves. The most prominent of these is the Last Post ceremony which takes place at the Menin Gate in Ypres. At 20.00 every evening, winter or summer, in whatever weather, the traffic beneath the gate is stopped and members of the local Fire Brigade play the Last Post and Réveille.7 An extended ceremony can also include a One Minutes’ Silence in honor of the dead and the laying of a wreath under the gate by groups from school groups, serving forces personnel, cadets, public service contingents, visiting dignitaries and local representatives. The ceremony is a huge draw for tourists to the area, particularly coach tours. The ceremony has been sounded there ever since 1928 (during the Second World War it moved temporarily to England) and in July 2015 it will have its 30,000th sounding. So popular is the Last Post that tour operators are already advertising trips to this landmark sounding. The number of people attending the ceremony is growing and there is evidence that the attitude of spectators is not always in keeping with the ethos of the ceremony. The body responsible for organising the ce- remony, the Last Post Association (LPA), view the event in an honorific way and aim to ‘main- tain this daily act of homage in perpetuity’ (Last Post Association, undated). One cannot fail to be moved by this ceremony but the large crowds, low sussurus of conversation and rapid re- turn to profane behavior after the end of the ceremony can impair its respectful and reflecti- ve nature. The LPA has a guide for proper behavior on its website and in the last few years has had to add a request that spectators do not applaud during or after the ceremony (Last Post Association, undated). This does indicate that the meaning of the ceremony is contested bet- ween those who want to maintain its original ethos and the pressure of modern tourism whi- ch unwittingly impinges upon a particular interpretation of commemoration. During this ce- remony the Menin Gate is quasi-sacral space subject to the culturally sanctioned behavior of those who share it. Although there are no overt religious overtones to the ceremony the ru- bric does borrow many aspects of religious ritual such as an expectation of silence, the use of performative utterances (‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remem- ber them’), sacral acts (the lowering of flags) and public gesture (bowing of heads as a mark of respect). There is no pre-ordained script and attendees will have been made familiar with the elements of this ritual from their own socio-cultural milieu (although this type of ritual is gro- unded in Western Christian military tradition). Any disruption of this ritual, as with back- ground noise or applause, is dissonant and is effectively the intrusion of the profane into the sacred. This contestation frequently underlies the presence of tourism at sacred sites (Shackley, 2001). 7 These represent the traditional final salute to the fal en and the waking of soldiers at sunrise respectively. 27 dar k tour ism Figure 4: The Menin Gate, Ypres (Photo: Johan Bakker; source: Wikimedia Commons). The Physical Heritage of the Western Front Commemoration remains the dominant feature of any visit to the Western Front but the- re is also an accompanying heritage landscape. Visitors will engage with this like any other heritage resource; research has shown that even at the most opaque of dark sites there are al- ways strong heritage tourism aspects to the visit (Biran, Poria and Oren, 2011). Considering the amount of construction work and the large-scale damage that the Western Front landsca- pe was subject to, there is relatively little evidence left of the enormous conflict that took place in this landscape. Because of this one commentator has suggested that the contemporary to- urist is orientated more towards what can be understood than what there is to see on the We- stern Front (Iles, 2008, 151). After the war a Herculian effort was made in both Belgium and France to return the land to its pre-war use and towns and villages damaged by the war were gradually rebuilt and repopulated (Clout, 1996). Neverthless some areas of shell holes have be- en preserved as at the Newfoundland Memorial Park on the Somme (Gough, 2004) and the large mine craters dotted along the Front testify to the powerful destructive forces of the tun- nelers’ war. Amongst the most visited of these are the Lochnagar Crater near La Boiselle and the Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater Memorial (or Pool of Peace) near Messines. Vestiges of the bunkers and other solid structures built as part of the fortifications also exist and are an im- portant aspect of understanding the battlefields. They also make a vital contribution to the surviving tangible heritage of the war and to the cultural heritage of the host nations. 28 the western front: war heritage, contested interpretations and dark tourism Figure 5: Trench reconstruction at Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Zonnebeke (Photo: S. Miles). Because so much of the physical remains of the war have not survived (destroyed, recycled or ploughed over) the modern demand to understand the war experience has led to much re- construction of its heritage. At the Passchendaele Memorial Museum at Zonnebeke, for exam- ple, a deep dugout has been constructed using the floors of the building to give it its depth. In addition a robust length of trenches and shelters has been reconstructed in the grounds. These were built using contemporary documents on trench building as well as archaeological eviden- ce; some of the materials used were taken directly from archaeological excavations. The effect is to provide a taste of what being in a trench would have been like. British cultural memory of the Western Front is imbued with a narrative of trench warfare and its horrors, dangers and depravations. The trenches have captured the imagination of the British nation over and abo- ve any other aspect of the war and have acquired quasi-mythical status (Wilson, 2008). Despi- te this not all men who served in British and Commonwealth forces actually fought in tren- ches and not all who served on the Western Front saw action at all.8 Nevertheless the trenches are prominent in British and Commonwealth national consciousness and heritage providers are apt to respond to this. The Zonnebeke trenches give examples for the armies who fought on the Front and how their designs differed. But they are textbook reproductions, well-con- structed, undamaged, pristinely clean and adhering closely to Belgian Health and Safety re- gulations. As heritage attractions they sanitise a brutal past; there are no corpses used to repa- ir broken walls, no rats or lice and no snipers to worry about. But it is a past that we want. As Lowenthal has said: ‘The more strenuously we build a desired past, the more we convince our- selves that things really were that way; what ought to have happened becomes what did ha- ppen’ (Lowenthal, 1985, 326). Heritage re-orders space and presents us with a past in line wi- th our cultural expectations. 8 The supporter to fighter ratio in the British army was 3:1 in 1918 (Corrigan, 2003, 112). Corrigan has tried to debunk many of the myths of the First World War including the ‘horror of the trenches’ (ibid., 77–107). He also shows how for many men who spent their time on the continent the war was quite routine and tedious. 29 dar k tour ism Visitor Experiences and the Meanings The Western Front is a complex area suffused with deeply felt narratives underpinned by strong cultural expectations. These are set in a poignant arena of locations whose symbolic complexity nearly always requires decoding. The previous discussion has shown how concep- tually the tourist experience is characterised by a commemorative orientation as well as an en- gagement with the tangible heritage of the war. In order to interpret the interaction that visi- tors have with this landscape empirically this section discusses some of the previous research findings conducted in the area. This is then placed alongside the author’s own ethnological field-work results to provide a closer understanding of visitor experiences. An assessment of whether the Western Front experience can be considered dark is then made. Previous Empirical Research on the Western Front Much of the tourist experience on the Western Front is driven by the desire to research the backgrounds to family members who fought and/or died in the area. This has been greatly fa- cilitated by the Internet which has made Family History so much easier. Tourism thus has strong pilgrimage aspects (Dunkley, et al., 2010) now as it was after the war. This is augmen- ted by a distinctive personal and collective culture of remembrance which has its own langu- age, rituals and performances (Seaton, 2000a; Dunkley, et al. , 2010). British tourists who vi- sit the Western Front come from a culture where they are influenced significantly by a popular discourse of the war marked by such ‘cultural expressions’ as media coverage, cinema, theatre, literature, art, poetry and much informal cultural discourse. When they visit they ‘validate’ what they already know (Dunkley, et al. , 2010). This finds its expression in the rich and roi- ling discourse that is generated by the Western Front. The battlefield area has the capacity to create and nurture a myriad ‘discursive fields’ (Seaton, 2000a) and these are reflected in the large number of topics and subjects that interest ‘war enthusiasts’. Such discourse also bene- fits from the fertile social environment of the coach tour, the ‘enclavic space’, where in talking and interacting with like-minded people coach passengers enrich and are enriched by ‘symbo- lic exchange’ (Seaton, 2000a). Coach tours are an important mainstay of Western Front to- urism for British visitors and the role of the guide is key to an understanding of the Western Front (Seaton, 2000a; Iles, 2008) in ‘incarnating the facts’ in what is a relatively bland lan- dscape. Neverthless although tightly choreographed, coach tours have the capacity to generate a wide range of individual experiences (Seaton, 2000a). This reflects the growing awareness in tourism that tourists are complex actors who have the capacity to create their own experiences in conjunction with tourist providers (Chronis, 2005; Iles, 2008). One of the most visible aspects of tourism along the Western Front is the way the war and its places are linked closely to nationalistic narratives. Slade (2003) has demonstrated that for Gallipoli the First World War was formative in helping to forge a new Australian nation but the same could be said of Villers-Bretonneux for that country. It was here that on 24 April 1918 Australian forces recaptured the town with the loss of 1200 men (Pederson, 2013); con- sequently Villers-Bretonneux has a special place in Australian national consciousness. Vimy Ridge has similar connotations for Canada as does Mametz Wood on the Somme for Wales. Finally one of the most incisive theories about tourism on the Western Front, as with other areas where tourism interacts with narratives and places of painful memory, is that tourists ha- ve a role in enshrining, re-inscribing and perpetuating memory (Gough, 2004; Winter, 2009). 30 the western front: war heritage, contested interpretations and dark tourism Through visiting cemeteries and memorials and attending ceremonies tourists stand as cham- pions of memory and play an important role in making sure that ‘we will remember them’. A Survey of Coach Tour Passengers to the Western Front To talk to visitors on the Western Front and survey their attitudes is to bring out a who- le welter of different views, opinions, emotions and sentiments. This provides a rich corpus of material from which common strands of meaning can be extracted. A selection of the findin- gs of my own work are summarised here.9 Few can visit the Western Front without an enhan- ced empathy with victims from both sides. This is a place where old enmities are lost and the commemorative orientation outlined above affects people in deep and meaningful ways. This is a widespread response often expressed through language imbued with emotion. To illustrate this one of my repondents, a man deeply disturbed by the visit, commented: ‘I think the mes- sage is really one of the re-affirmation of humanity…’ (male, 66). This is someone who had be- en moved by the ‘darkness’ of the Western Front, as a place of great mortality, cruelty, suffe- ring and waste. Yet he still felt there was something positive about his experience. A visit can thus turn the negative effects of hearing about so much violence on its head and emphasis the opposite: that the Western Front throws into sharp relief the concepts of good and evil. It hi- ghlights both positive and negative aspects of human nature, often to the extremes. Several re- spondents suggested that engaging with the narrative and places associated with the conflict can make a person appreciate more the value of peace and what humanity can achieve. A trip to the Western Front can therefore result in a greater appreciation of life’s better aspects and an enhanced sense of tolerance. We should perhaps not see this as War Tourism at all but Pe- ace Tourism. A further feature of these comments is that they are deeply meaningful to the individu- al. This reflects the findings of Dunkley, et al.. (2010) that the experiences of tourists on the Western Front can be quite complicated and are anything but superficial. This idea is diame- trically opposed to the theory that tourism is a trivial and frivolous pursuit (Boorstin, 1962). This is not superficial engagement with a post-modern form of hyper-reality (Eco, 1986) whe- re events and places are created as simulacra to satisfy tourists’ desire for authenticity. ‘Com- memorative tourism’ is a genuine experience marked by profound reflection and can be a dee- ply visceral, if not life-changing, encounter. Discussion and Conclusion The range of both conceptual and empirically surveyed experiences described above inclu- des a rather complex matrix of motivational and experiential factors that problematizes the concept of dark tourism as applied to a battlefield zone like the Western Front. Whether the corpus of comments reflects dark motivations and experiences is, however, a moot point. In addition this paper has shown how the Western Front has a recognised physical heritage and tourists to the area engage with this like any other heritage site. This author doubts whether tourists are driven to visit the Western Front because it is a place of death and suffering; it is far too complex a place for that. In her survey of visitors to IWGC cemeteries Winter (2010) does detect a small number of people who could be described as dark tourists. But these are li- 9 The survey was conducted amongst passengers on a commercial coach tour from the UK to the Western Front over three days in April 2010. Nine were interviewed ranging in age from their mid-50s to 73 years. For full me- thodology and results see Miles (2012b). 31 dar k tour ism kely to be a minority amongst the large number of visitors whose experiences and reflections on the Western Front are characterised by a range of preoccupations including family history, nationalist sentiment, hobbyist interests and a desire to see the places where history was made. Battlefield tourists here are not fascinated by death per se. The Western Front is framed in death but, as an area salted with historical, cultural and nationalistic resonance, its meanings are multi-faceted. As defined dark tourism might only make a contribution to these meanin- gs. A pure dark motivation to the area might therefore not exist and as Stone and Sharpley ha- ve said:Tourists may implicitly take away meanings of mortality from their visit, rather than explicitly seek to contemplate death and dying as a primary motivation to visit any dark site (Stone and Sharpley, 2008). In conclusion one of the problems in using the phrase ‘dark tourism’ is that by definiti- on it forces us to think of the practice in terms of a binary opposition between dark and light; in adapting it as a label an inadvertent distortion of the many and varied aspects of the prac- tice is introduced into the discourse. As Biran and Poria (2012) have argued, ‘dark’ is a soci- ally constructed concept and, notwithstanding Stone’s (2006) attempt to provide a dark-light spectrum, its connotations hamper us in interpreting any form of dark tourism as being pur- poseful and ‘good’ (light). Perhaps the use of the term thanatourism is better in that it is more neutral. As this paper shows so-called ‘dark’ tourism can often lead to constructive, uplifting and socially wholesome experiences. Remembrance and commemoration can be deep experi- ences but they often leave people with a greater sense of empathy, tolerance, humanity, insight and understanding than before. ‘Dark’ might be the problem word here and we need to ask ourselves the question: is death always necessarily ‘dark’? It may be that ‘dark tourism may ha- ve more to do with life and living, rather than the dead and dying’ (Stone and Sharpley, 2008, 590). We thus need to keep an open mind about the definition of dark tourism. 32 Marketing for Dark Tourism Purposes: The Case of WWI Remnants, Battlefields, and Memories on the Isonzo-Soča Front Chiara Beccal i, Igor Jelen, and Moreno Zago The Standardization of War: Some Marketing Reflections Basic Characteristics of War Remnants Marketing The marketing of WWI remnants tourism (WRT) has to consider many potential argu- ments that tourist operators may have to deal with: in addition to the primary target of marke- ting (i.e. the maximization of the economic and cultural use of such resources), they must face a set of cultural, emotional, and even ideological circumstances potentially affecting this job (Cohen et al., 2013; Miles, 2014; Korstanje, 2011).Therefore, the intrinsic elements synthe- sized in the so-called four »Ps« (product, promotion, price, place) cannot ignore the ethical aspects, such as the necessity of maintaining a respectful approach in order to preserve such ar- guments from triviality, from an even (possible) nationalist drift and from any speculation. It is not merely a matter of efficient market segmentation to plan a consistent and durable eco- nomic initiative, but also to avoid situations causing contempt of feelings and lack of respect for the various memories embedded in WWI. The »war remnants«, just like other niche to- urism economies (religious, experience or cultural tourism) characterized by particular set of motivations, show a broad set of incompatibilities with other forms of tourism, especially wi- th mass-seasonal tourism. The standardization of WRT offers (in itineraries, museums and exhibitions, packages, promotion strategies, communication material, etc.) risks provoking a loss of solemnity and si- gnificance, making this object something artificial. Therefore, the marketing technique has to carry out a method of developing cultural activities that are to be significant, stimulating and desirable as a tourism service while simultaneously maintaining a clearly respectful approach that takes into consideration the fact that the »product« consists of monuments, cemeteries, battlefields, remnants and relics, solemn celebrations and ritual ceremonies. For these reasons, in order to make the product a useful instrument for making not just culture, but also economically productive, it is necessary to elaborate a strategy to reconvert a potentially disruptive argument (the war remnants, with all their evocative potential) into so- mething culturally and experientially interesting (but not pleasant); in fact, this is the main goal of the marketing method. 33 dar k tour ism Such an operation is necessary, but not with the aim of purifying the WRT from unplea- sant significances and nuances (which is, in principle, impossible and inappropriate). Rather, it is necessary in order to treat the specific content in an appropriate way, offering the possibility of a humanly interesting experience. All this indicates the importance of a communication strategy in order to trace any possi- ble meanings of such a concept, in order to make it usable for wider audiences. In this effort, it is necessary to apply all possible marketing devices, in order to create renewable formats: WRT is challenging because it implies strong non-economic significances that are ethical, in- dividual and ideological values, etc. Just like other difficult tasks, the »war product« is suitable for a decomposition of signifi- cance: an operation to make more interesting the difficult »tasks« and to discover always new elements to widen the visitor segments (in principle those not interested in this tourist target) and consequently for justifying the organization of economic efforts in this activity (e.g. in- vestments and planning). All these concepts, even if included in a stratification model of moti- vation, have to be assembled and disassembled continuously (composed and de-composed), in order to discover always new elements of interest and new possible synergies. The Normalization of the War Evidently, in order to make of this activity something usable for economic purposes, not merely for evocative-cultural rituals, the normalization of such elements in a standard tourist discourse (or package) is important, thereby also making it attractive for persons otherwise not interested in this argument (which is a niche segment, i.e. a specific interest target) (Gillen, 2014; Iles, 2008; Jelen, Weixlbaumer, 2011). All such elements can be derived from the deconstruction process, from which the mea- nings can be converted and re-organized into further product variants that have to be classi- fied in order to avoid incongruences and disturbing effects, to make the narrative (of words, imagines and contexts) fluid and coherent through the invention of term and the use of ima- ges to juxtapose, to connect and then interpret them. For marketing purposes, the matter is the same: mix the uniqueness of the »WWI product« and the exigencies/necessity of stan- dardizing it. Without a process of standardization, it would be much more difficult to develop the economic potential (also useful are practical necessities, e.g. financing the cost of mainte- nance of monuments, museums and remnants of the WWI, etc.) and preserving the emotio- nal/sacred significance of the product (risking the decline of authenticity). A successful marketing offer will attain not merely a tempering of the unpleasant and un- desirable effects of such experiences, but work to deconstruct the limited significance throu- gh appropriate narrative-devices; for example, the close-combat narration or the description of tragic daily life of the infantry soldier can become a portrayal of the complexity of human events, in which all the soldiers were actually heroes and victims of the same militaristic, au- tocratic and colonialist regime (even when, it should not be forgotten that the Austro-Hunga- rian Empire begun the war with a preventive attack on Serbia). Moreover, the description co- uld also consider some particular effects in tactics and battlefield organization, such as the organization of trench lines, which was done in order to create the effect of a trap, to literally constrict the soldier to fight in order to save his own life. The elaboration of new meaning sho- uld not consider a shortcut, but instead elaborate a narrative suitable for anyone, and to predi- 34 marketing for dark tourism purposes .. spose the visitor to meditation and cultural deepening (instead of instinctive reaction). In this case, the discourse could reach some more abstract level, achieving a deeper impact on cultural satisfaction, more utility (value, effect) as well for marketing purposes. Furthermore, nowadays it is impossible to define the social, national and political borders in univocal terms, and it is improper and grotesque to consider a neo-nationalist celebration for the centennial because the European geopolitical balances are completely different: many victorious regimes disappeared (immediately after the war or in the following decades), some are part of other political coalitions and, especially in Central Europe, some still have no po- litical stability. Such discourses may be difficult to accept in political-ideological terms, but with regards to tourist marketing purposes, it represents a further argument of a discussion about a scenario that consists of a mix of heroes and cowards, people loyal or not to the central powers, most of which have disappeared. The war is an element of the human (past) experience; therefore, it must be dealt with; for this reason, war remnant marketing could contribute to overcoming the fact that the category of »war« may lose concrete significance after a few generations. To prevent possible ethnic misunderstanding or nationalistic drift, it is necessary to deve- lop ideological tools in order to deal with the dramatic experience; therefore, the past could as- sume a new meaning: not the sums of errors favoured by imperialistic ideology but the past as a reservoir of human experiences, personal elements, and memories. These elements could be- come the guideline for an inter-fungible language capable of being used in any situation, with any interlocutor. Concrete Realizations and Applications: Product and Place in WRT Marketing The intrinsic contradiction of dark tourism ‒ represented by the paradox of conducting promotion for war remnants ‒ could be overcome by both marketing and ideological narrati- on, as well by concrete applications. This is the case with the exhibitions of museums, as well of variations of the itineraries, including memory tales, peace parks, etc., which must be confi- gured to produce a cultural effect capable of stimulating the interest even for uninterested vi- sitors. As suggested above, the activity relies on a continuing adaptation, which is in principle reconciled in a wider scale, namely on the level of the ethical values (e.g. the futility of the war, the vanity of the officials, the passivity of the soldiers) at which point an appropriate marke- ting methodology based on developing specific adaptive methods can begin and which consi- sts of several practical devices: the interchangeability of the museum exhibition panels and po- sters, the arrangements of open air itineraries, the »critical« reconstruction of battlefields and war scenarios, with the aim of representing a multi-lateral approach. In the Isonzo-Soča area, dark tourism marketing could plan a trans-border »corporate landscape design«. This specific landscape is already evident mainly on Italian side of the bor- der (because there was such interest in constructing a monumental geographical iconography after a victorious war, mainly with propagandist intentions), but since a part of the eastern border currently lies in Slovenia and Croatia, it is actually possible to plan a common landsca- pe. This is an occasion to develop a unique tourism (and political) asset. At present, the me- morial landscape is composed of rows of cypress trees (along Highway 55, the so-called »Stra- da del Vallone«) evoking the image of a cemetery and the sacrifice of the soldiers; a sequence 35 dar k tour ism of »remembrance parks« spread out in several cities, monuments for the Unknown Soldi- er and many others, sometimes neglected. Regardless, they continue to represent something, even when in a reversal context: not just symbols of a victorious and glorious war, but as sym- bols of peace such as peace parks or monuments dedicated to all the victims of all the wars, na- mely as symbols of historical tragedy. When conducting contextual (area) planning, it is important to create a coherent disposi- tion of the different elements, with the aim of preserving an aesthetic and ideological messa- ge, in order to underline some significance, and to immunize against others. In principle, the context may help to produce some sensation, some predisposition, in order to avoid the shoc- king approach to contact with battlefield or the narrative of cruelty etc., and simultaneously in order to avoid banalization and to give to such contents an adequate format. Such landscapes must be preserved in order to maintain the original characteristic, whose integrity and unifor- mity is per se an added value, suitable for being used for WWI tourism purposes. In this bor- der area, such corporate design plan can moderate the sense of the dark as something of ma- cabre, morbid or simply sad and depressing, but use the dark tourist services to realize a new motivation and a new consciousness. WWI tourism marketing is merely a technique to optimize the use of resources and, in this case, cultural resources; the WWI marketing plan relates to memories and reproducing society: it is not just a common place, a fancy or a speculation, but a systemic-ideological neces- sity. Peace speeches and the knowledge of the experience of the war are necessary in order to prevent a »banalization drift«. Case Study: The WWI Museums on the Isonzo-Soča Front Territory and Memory Territory and memory are the two elements to start with for the organization of an offer of Dark Tourism for WWI in the Isonzo-Soča area. The sociological literature stresses the im- portance of the territory as a space in which memories can found and re-found in the present time (Miles, 2013; White, Frew, 2013; Jansen-Verbeke, Wende, 2013). Just as collective me- mories do not remain unaltered, but change over the present, so too do territories alter, trans- form, disappear into oblivion and then re-emerge following the current needs and wills of so- cial groups. This concept relates to the studies of the sociologist of Alsace Halbwachs (1941) about the localization of the holy places in Palestine; he argues that collective memory should connect to something concrete, material, to an image and a place; it does not matter that this place is fitting to reality or that certain traditions have remained over time while others have fallen into oblivion, because this happens when the material goes along with the symbolic va- lue and with the meaning that the group gives to the place. Fabietti and Matera (2000, 43– 44) explain that the needs to represent Christianity have changed over the centuries, but the bond with places and concrete elements ensures the continuity over time: »Christian collecti- ve memory adapts to every age its recollection of details of Christ’s life and of places linked to it [. .] whichever age you study, the attention is not directed to the origin [. .] but to the faithful and to their memorial work«. The meaning of the recognized past for a group can, through the identification of a mate- rial medium, become its memory and durability as well as the chance to become the referen- ce for other groups if the meanings attributed to events, places, and materiality are shared, be- 36 marketing for dark tourism purposes .. coming a bridging metaphor. The Jewish Genocide has become a universally shared grief only when the »evil« perpetrated by the Nazis has taken on a universally shared meaning, that is when survivors and fields have become reification of absolute evil (Alexander, 2002).The ma- teriality of places – such as battlefields, war memorials, cemeteries, burial sites of military lea- ders, war museums, peace parks, battle, re-enactments and battlefield tours – are fundamental to the restoration of the memory because they oblige us to recall historical facts especially lin- ked with death, suffering and sacrifice (Gough, 2008, 224). War, argues Smith, is a »stimu- lus to tourism through […] nostalgia, memorabilia, honorifics and reunions. […] The US en- trepreneurial activities established a style of tourism that has dominated the industry for half a century, and will probably continue for several decades to come« (1998, 224). In accord with Stone and Sharpley’s (2008, 508) conclusions: »Within a social structure, to address issues of personal meaningfulness−a key to reality, thus to life and sustaining social order, and ultima- tely to the maintenance and continuity of ontological security and overall well-being. It is wi- th this latter point in mind that dark tourism may have more to do with life and living, rather than the dead and dying«. As suggested before, the central core of a dark, or light dark, tourist services is to create an emotion and touch deeply the visitors/tourists without trivializing the events and the nume- rous memories (individual, familiar, collective) embedded in a specific place or in a specific en- vironment of memory. In order to understand what visitors consider important and attractive in a light dark tourist place of memory, such as museums of WWI built on two important ter- ritories, we present the visitors’ responses of the Provincial Museum of Gorizia − First Wor- ld War Museum, and the Kobarid Museum. For the presentation of the case studies, we have selected a total of 100 »open questions« questionnaires administered to the visitors of muse- ums, from which we have transcribed some excerpts. In addition, short interviews with those responsible for the museums (Alessandra Martina, Ph.D., and Prof. Zelco Cimpric) were con- ducted in order to deepen the communication objectives of both museums. The Emotional Dark Elements in the Gorizia and Kobarid Museums Removed from conflicting elements and without witnesses, presentations of WWI memo- ries have the possibility of resorting to numerous material elements and to new narrative tech- niques not only to present the events, but also to organize an experiential tourist service. The Gorizia Museum, located in the medieval hamlet, has been renewed since the beginning of the 1990s, and the rooms of the permanent collection run along a chronological path: from the European situation in 1914 to the signing of the Armistice, paying attention to the war and the local civil situation. The Kobarid Museum, opened in October 1990, is focused on the 12th Battle of the Isonzo-Soča, through thematic rooms concentrating on life in the frontlines, civil life during the war and the harshness of mountain war. Regarding the narrative aspects, both facilities have strong points from which to start to organize a possible dark tourism marketing service; in fact, they are located in areas of prima- ry importance for the Eastern frontline; they are the focal point of collective, individual and familiar memories; they relate by juxtaposing official documents, images, old newspapers, of- ficial statements and materials that reconstruct the history of border areas; they stimulate the visitors’ emotional involvement: reconstruction of trench and of a military shelter in a moun- tain cave, dioramas, sounds, images of military and civil life, tombstones, epitaphs, etc.; they 37 dar k tour ism show materials (videos, maps, topographic maps, etc.) that help visitors to contextualize histo- rical events from 1914 to 1918. Table 2: Main tools used in the museums of Kobarid and Gorizia. Tools Kobarid Gorizia Bloody images X Captions (more languages) X X Dairies, postcards, etc. X X Didactic laboratory Dioramas X Environments (trenches, cave, etc.) X X Evocative sounds of war X Gravestones, epitaphs X X Guided tours, school visits X X Images of civil life X X Images of life in the trench X X Old newspapers X X Plastic models of battlefield X Soldiers’ handworks X X Soldiers’ letters X Technological devices Videos (more languages) X Weapons for close combat X X The lack of technological devices leads to defining the facilities as no tech engaging, beca- use they do not use touch screens, tablet computers, holographic projections or wireless devi- ces that can recognize the visitor’s location in space so as to provide information about the se- lected object in order to improve the visitor’s experience. This weakness, which would require a structural reconsideration and innovation, is partially overcome by other tools used to re- ach the objectives that the directors of the two exhibitions defined: not only to dissemina- te historiographical notions, but also to enhance reflection on the presented themes, because the suggestions are developed from the protagonists: not only generals, commanders, heroes, uniforms and weapons, but also soldiers, civilians, diaries, letters, postcards and faces; these elements that have little or nothing to do with glory but much with violence and suffering. The visitors’ responses suggest how the bloodiest elements and the devices that attempt to re- produce (even in watered-down form) the facts can maintain high interest and ensure visitors’ emotional involvement. »The Black Room (the room with bloody images): terrible but it shows what war real y is. No uniforms and heroes, but terrible suffering.« (Kobarid: I, m, 48 y.o.) »I was mainly affected the exhibits on weapons, pictures of the wounded pris- 38 marketing for dark tourism purposes .. oners and angry words against the generals (engraved on the door of the pris- on).« (Gorizia, I, f, 44 y.o.) »Photos always fascinate me; it is like going back to a moment of the past and in feelings through the subjects’ facial expressions. In this museum, the uni- forms and the daily objects also impressed me.« (Gorizia, I, f, 25 y.o.) »Photographs, weapons for close combat.« (Gorizia, A, m, 28 y.o.) »Attention to the soldier’s experiences, thanks to the many photographs de- picting the living conditions.« (Kobarid, S, f, 34 y.o.) These first responses show the emotion of some visitors and those that follow suggest that the feelings arise parallel to the humanization of the conflict. Sometimes, they are reactions of surprise in discovering ignored aspects such as the number of deaths, number of weapons, war costs, the number of bullets fired, and so on, and even the brutality perpetrated against the enemy, until they realize that the killers were not only the others (Audoin-Rouzeau, Becker, 2000). »Sadness for the destructive war; the face images really touching.« (Kobarid, UK, m, 47 y.o.) »The museum is very complete (reminds me of Auschwitz in some places), I think it’s one of the best museums because you can empathize with the events.« (Kobarid, SLO, f, 43 y.o.) »Confusion, astonishment, uneasiness, curiosity, empathy with people’s li- ves that giving rise to compassion, pain, etc. the exposed material created in me strong interest, empathy, reflection on daily life in wartime. The emotional in- volvement is inevitable.« (Gorizia, SLO, f, 29 y.o.) »Depressed as humans are so cruel to each other. The official ignorance of the very high number of killed and wounded soldiers.« (Gorizia, DK, m, 61 y.o.) It is clear how the bloody aspects, disfigured faces and bodies and soldiers’ terrified looks before an assault represent a strong attraction for the visitor; they are the core around which to develop a personal reflection that is often linked to family and local memories. There are peo- ple who return to the places where grandparents fought and whose stories they have impressed in their memory; others, such as the Hungarians, choose these places to learn more about the history of their nation, or those from overseas who return on holiday and discover their roots, the territories and the events that led their ancestors towards new territories. The few sentences herein, although they do not value the possibility of communication of the two borderland museums, certainly call to refer to »light dark« elements as opportunities to build a tourism marketing proposal. Although the term »dark« can raise doubts, the visi- tors’ words are explicit; thus, even the gravestones in the Kobarid Museum and Gorizia Muse- um have great significance. In the first case, the commemorative stones do not have inscripti- ons, but they are placed in front of the wall with the images of dead soldiers in Kobarid battle. In the second case, the gravestones are carved by soldiers’ friends on the battlefield. War, de- ath, and suffering are evocative moments for visitors, who need to be guided inside the dark; otherwise, the visit would merely be a macabre visit, and the tourist experience deprived of cultural value. 39 dar k tour ism Dark and Slow Tourism: An Experimental Approach to the WWI Offer The paragraphs above highlight some aspects that will be explored here: customer fo- cus, development of experiential tourism, use of new technologies. Above all, we will attempt to connect the WWI dark tourism to the approach developed with the cross-border project »Slow Tourism« for the implementation and promotion of slow tourism itineraries betwe- en Italy and Slovenia, for which slow tourism is an approach to the supply and the use of tou- rism products that require planning aimed at improving the quality, enhancing the specifici- ty of places, preferring non-frenetic rhythms and involving a multi-sensory experience (Zago, 2013). The Slowness and the Experiential Dimension The sociologist Bauman (2009) highlights that in liquid modernity, in which the central role of work has been replaced by consumption actions, everything is entrusted to temporary experience. We live in a society that has lost the sense of time, and that has emptied the criteria by which it is possible to distinguish the enduring from the ephemeral, the essential from the superfluous. Bauman echoes the words of Kundera (1996), who writes in his novel Slowness, that there is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting. If the degree of speed is directly proportional to oblivion, we can only slow down and take a slow approach or »the way that provides solutions that help achieving a high degree of quality to whom that is willing to commit the necessary time and attention to put at stake their personal capacities« (Mancini, Jegou, 2003, 165). Slow tourism must arise, first of all, from the desire to become involved. The journey is not just the final landing, but it is the verification of many experiences and sensations. The con- temporary tourist is a multisensory tourist in search of playful, liminal, experiential compo- nent and of sense gratification (Costa, 2005). As shown by Bruno (2006), places become gene- rators of moods, feelings, emotions that come along, going through known roads or unusual places, but of which we perceive the soul. All of this is emotional geography. A visitor needs to share both the natural landscape and the urban sites as »soul atmospheres«. In the era of be- ing everywhere, but feeling disoriented, sensory experiences, touch, smell, taste, inner reverb are the anchors that help to perceive the space that you live. Through the discovery, which occurs through movement and travel, inner landscapes, landscapes of the soul, or inner maps are generated, which are to remain in the atlas of our memory. The memory is linked, in fact, to the space and no more to the time. The memory, like the history, becomes a question of ge- ography, in which reality is redrawn by suggestions. In other words, the slow tourist is a special traveller who prefers quality over quantity, likes new things, discovers simple relationships, looks for authentic elements, situations and objec- ts rich in symbolic value, wants to learn, looks for cultural excitement, while not objecting to calmness and fun (but not banality). In this sense, the slow tourism operators are not mere- ly providers of services, but also of emotions. They know, deepen and emphasize the themes of history/literature and of local culture/tradition/environment, and they have an educatio- nal and didactic aim toward their guests: they encourage their active involvement through le- arning and (re)discovering of local reality. Therefore, the experiential dimension is central to a modern tourism service (Smith, 2006). It uses enthusiastic and competent guides; it plans 40 marketing for dark tourism purposes .. stops where tourists are invited to a multisensory moment that requires time and peace; it avo- ids crowd-pulling situations, but instead suggests an original reading/visit that is distinct from the traditional one; it selects and develops the many components of the supply following the structure and the principles of the storyline and coherently with the chosen theme. Enthusia- sm and play are important elements for the learning ( edutainment) and the creation of unfor- gettable moments. The ICT for the WWI Experiential Tourism In the museum approach, the use of technologies in order to attract visitors has always be- en important. In 1675, the philosopher Leibniz already believed that museums should combi- ne scientific interest and educational exhibitions with sensational entertainment (in Cremers, 2002, 21). As previously highlighted, there is a lack of modern technologies with regard to the usability of Gorizia and Kobarid WWI museums, but the impact of information and commu- nication technologies (ICT) on contemporary tourism is profound. Temporal rhythms of per- ception of the market by tourists have changed: there are new rhythms for holiday organiza- tion and (regarding the supply and demand of tourism prices), new time spans for travelling, new time dimensions that tourists directly discover in the places they visit. The diffusion of Web 2.0, of applications for smartphones, of sites for mobiles and of so- cial networks have segmented the available information for tourists: the demand and supply of products have found new definitions following interests of old and new niches of consu- mers. Flexibility has become a dogma: tourist information should be easily available, transpa- rent and verifiable. Tourist marketing has, as a consequence, moved from the traditional 4P (product, price, promotion, point of selling) to the current 6P approach (personal customi- zation, peer to peer, participation, prediction, process and performance). However, following the results of the Slow Tourism approach, there is not just one type of techno-slow tourist. It is possible to distinguish four types categorized on two dimensions: their attitude towards tech- nology ( pro or contra) and their use of technology ( low or high) (Spizzo, 2011). Moderate pro-technological (pro attitude-low use): the tourist included in this type is com- mitted to a technological world. He prefers to live in a human-controlled world or on territo- ries that are in some way urbanized and that satisfy his psychological needs of security. The slowness he loves is defined by the devices he uses to gather information about his route or du- ring his stay. Extreme pro-technological (pro attitude-high use): the tourist of this type lives from and for technology. ICT technologies should allow him to enjoy different tourist spaces: a mountain trip, an adventure park or the visit of a museum. This is the most demanding tourist who lo- oks positively at the most innovative ICT products. Extreme anti-technological ( contra attitude-anti use): this type of tourist refuses technolo- gy almost in toto, at philosophical and also at concrete levels. He has a very limited demand for technology and, as a consequence, ICT is not relevant for him. Moderate anti-technological ( contra attitude-high use): in this case we can also observe a re- fusal of technology and a profound exaltation and defence of nature. However, at the same ti- me, there is the approval of an instrumental use of technology in order to reach common go- als.Then, in the techno slow sector, a rather diverse tourist demand of products clearly emer- ges. This demand requires the development of offer channels that can satisfy a deeply diffe- 41 dar k tour ism rentiated request of time-sensitive information. These technologies require a typical 6P mar- keting approach. First, personal customization is required: the techno slow product must be constructed for the specific needs of the final consumer, by using his communication codes, by offering emotions, pathos and rich experiences that respond to technology and nature ne- eds. Second, a peer-to-peer approach must be adopted, i.e. one that is able to enter the com- munication networks of persons that have a common identity: an identity that can be used to build up a strong feeling of community. The third crucial aspect is the participation of the to- urist who (according to a traditional consumer status) should become an effective prosumer of products, i.e. a role in which he actively promotes product through social networks, websites, word of mouth, etc. Fourth, a strong prediction capacity is also required, in order to anticipate new trends in the market through active listening practices. The fifth point insists on the fact that new processes of product invention should be activated in order to always keep in contact with the techno slow tourist. Finally, performance is also important: a constant monitoring of produced results should always be done at the end of a specific marketing action. The following are some European examples of use of technology in the different phases of promotion and visit of a museum of the First World War. With a remarkable collection unpa- ralleled anywhere in Europe, the Museum of the Great War in Pays de Meaux (France) offers a new vision of the conflict, through innovative scenography illustrating the great changes and upheavals in society that resulted from it. The museum seeks to encourage visitors to question their preconceptions, and its scenography is designed make them do so; for example, they are plunged into the midst of armies marching off to war in the summer of 1914. The immersive scenography uses the most innovative technologies, bringing all five senses into play: objects to touch and handle, and olfactory and sound ambiances await visitors throughout the itinerary ( www.museedelagran deguerre.eu). The Imperial War Museums of London explores how the history of modern conflict affec- ts all people, from the frontline to the home front. Exhibits range from objects of war to pho- tographs and personal letters. Visitors will see a realistic representation of what life was at the front and experience the sights and sounds of a recreated trench, with the Sopwith Camel fi- ghter plane and Mark V tank looming above them. Projected silhouettes of soldiers and a so- undscape evoke the drudgery, discomfort, danger and comradeship which characterized the experience of a »British Tommy« on the Western Front, from a sudden thunderstorm to a gas attack ( ww w.iwm.org.uk). Fifteen meters below ground, the Cave of Dragon (Chemin des Dames, France) gives visi- tors an inside look at the hellish daily lives of World War I soldiers on the front. With its ama- zing and powerful scenography, it uses modern animation techniques, objects, sound and ima- ge archive material and video footage to recount a bit of history from different angles, be it geographical, social or military ( www.caverne-d u-dragon.com). The In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres (Belgium) presents the story of WWI in the West Flanders front region. The focus of the scenography is the human experience, and it emphasizes the personal stories. Lifelike characters and interactive installations confront the contemporary visitor with his/her peers in the war. Every visitor receives a personal poppy bra- celet on arrival. The microchip in the bracelet enables the visitor to discover four personal sto- ries. The museum has a high reputation to uphold for multimedia presentation methods (to- uch screens, interactive poppy bracelet, video projection, soundscapes, etc.) which contributes 42 marketing for dark tourism purposes .. to an intense experience and an authentic submersion into life on the front ( www.infland ersfields.be). Located on the exact site of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the Battle of Picardy in 1918, the Historical of the Great War Museum of Péronne (France) offers an international vi- ew of a conflict. The presentation of the collection, more orientated towards social than mi- litary history, is centered on the individual’s experience. It encourages constant comparisons among the different belligerent countries while making a clear distinction between life on the front and on the home front ( en.historial.org). In conclusion, as underlined above, the aspect of experience is a crucial point in the offer of post-modern tourism. In terms of marketing, the slow tourism approach applied to the dark tourism of conflict sites category (Stone, 2006) shows rather than describes and, in particular with reference to the ICT, encourages visitors to actively participate in the experience in con- sideration of the fact that in the tourism experience, today, what you remember is most impor- tant than what you buy. 43 The Isonzo/Soča Front and Its Potentials for Development of Tourism Matjaž Klemenčič and Miha Koderman Introduction This paper deals with the phenomena of dark tourism, using the example of the region of the Italian-Slovene border, where the events of the Isonzo/Soča Front took place during the First World War. Tourism is an economic sector that is usually characterized by holiday, rec- reational and entertainment motives, which attract tourists to exotic tropical seaside resorts, preserved mountain areas, and remarkable cities. However, within this diversified sector, to- urists can often find themselves visiting memorial heritage sites and tragic locations, predo- minantly associated with death. Concentration camps and war cemeteries, mass graves and places of battles and massacres that represent the darkest chapters of human history are simul- taneously locations of remembrance and important tourist destinations, visited by millions of tourists annually. This so-called dark tourism, which includes travel to sites associated in one way or another with death, disaster, and suffering, has a long tradition in several countries (Sharpley, 2009, 5). The sites connected with the events of the U.S. Civil War have attracted millions of tourists since the beginning of the 20th century. In the Old World, this phenome- non, also referred to as »thanatourism«, can be traced back to the very beginning of the de- velopment of modern tourism, as travellers and adventurers began visiting the Roman cata- combs and the pyramids at Giza in the 19th century. Such memorials and tragic historic places, which yearly attract thousands of visitors, can also be found in Slovenia and its neighbouring countries. A significant part of them are mar- ked by the First World War and the Isonzo/Soča Front. The battles on the Isonzo/Soča Front were among the most important fought during the First World War (Schindler, 2001; Rau- chensteiner, 2013; Grdina, 2010; Klavora, 2004; 2007; 2011). The leaders of the Habsburg Empire were aware of the hundreds of years of hatred between Slovenes and Italians in this region and they used ethnic Slovenes and other Slavs of the Empire as cannon fodder in the battles between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies. Members of all Austro-Hungarian ethnic groups fought in these battles. The authors of this paper discuss the historical meaning of these battles and give particular emphasis to selected cases represented in historic memori- es, shown in different types of monuments: the Russian Chapel near the Vršič Pass, the Koba- 45 dar k tour ism rid Museum, the German Charnel House in Tolmin, and the Gorjansko and Redipuglia/Sre- dipolje First World War military cemeteries. In this paper, the focus shall be on the historical elements of the Isonzo/Soča Front heritage and their potentials for the international tourists and visitors, especially those coming from successor states of the Habsburg Empire, Italy, Ger- many and Russia will be analysed. Such places present a unique bond with the ethnic/national heritage of the citizens of all the above mentioned states. Historical Background of the Isonzo/Soča Front The Isonzo/Soča Front or the Italian Front was a series of battles at the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy, which were fought between 1915 and 1918 in First World War. After the members of Entente Cordiale made secret promises in the Treaty of London (which became public after the Russian revolution of 1917), Italy entered the war with the aim of an- nexing the historic lands of Gorizia/Gorica, Istria and the city of Trieste/Trst. They also wan- ted to annex parts of the historic land of Tyrol south of Brenner. Italy had hoped to occupy these territories with a surprise offensive; however, events did not go as they had planned. The front soon stalled and it became a trench war, similar to the front in France. It was, however, fought under different circumstances because of the physical geographic characteristics of the region, due to high altitudes and very cold winters. One of the root causes of the front was the forced migrations of the civilian population, during which several thousands died in Italian and Austrian refugee camps. Because the front was fought mostly on the Slovene ethnic terri- tories on both sides of the present Italian-Slovene border, the civilians affected by malnutriti- on and disease were mostly ethnic Slovenes. The territories on which and for which the Isonzo/Soča Front battles were fought were at- tacked in the name of ancient Italian nationalism, to which Slovenes responded as soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian army. This fact was well known by the Austro-Hungarian authoriti- es, who used the bravery and ethnic hatred towards Italians by Slovenes to use Slovene soldiers as cannon fodder. However, it can be said that all the nationalities that comprised the Austro- -Hungarian Empire were involved. Ethnic Germans and Hungarians of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were used in technical- ly more demanding jobs on the front, while Slavic peoples were mostly used on the main front li- nes. There was, however, a Serb from Croatian Krajina, Field Marshall Svetozar Boroević, who was commanding officer of the Austrian army. He came from what is now Croatia but spent his entire life in the imperial military, becoming a nobleman with the title Baron von Bojna. Just be- fore the end of the First World War, he became a field marshall (Nećak and Repe, 2010). After the Treaty of London had been signed on 26 April 1915, Italy declared war on Au- stria-Hungary on 23 May 1915. Italy started attacking the Austro-Hungarian army on the ter- ritory of the current Slovene-Italian state border from Duino/Devin on the south and Mon- te Rombon/Rombon on the north. Exploring the details of a day-by-day chronology of events would exceed the aim and limits of this paper; therefore, only the crucial events are explored in the further text. During the twelve battles of the Isonzo/Soča Front, the Assiago offensive and the final battle of Vittorio Veneto, over one million each of Austro-Hungarian, German and Italian soldiers were killed, missing or wounded. According to one source, the numbers are as follows: 1,256,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers and 1,160,000 Italian soldiers were kil- led, wounded and missing (La Grande Guerra, 2014). The number does not include civilian 46 the isonzo/soča front heritage and its potentials for development .. casualties, which were also enormous. On 3 November 1918, Austria-Hungary asked for ar- mistice and terms of peace. The armistice was signed in the Villa Giusti, near Padua, on 3 No- vember 1918. For the aims of this paper, it is important to note once more that among the participants in the battles of the Isonzo/Soča Front, members of all nationalities that lived in Austria-Hun- gary should be mentioned: Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Bosnians, Hungarians, German-Austrians, Germans, Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Romanians and Russians, who died as prisoners of war. In the region where the Isonzo/Soča Front was fought and in the surrounding areas, many graves and memorial sites are found. There are many war cemeteries in today’s bor- der region. During the period between the two world wars, the Italian authorities rebuilt and reconstructed those cemeteries. They built Charnel Houses in Redipuglia/Sredipolje, Oslavia/Oslavje, and Kobarid/Caporetto, to which they brought the remains of the soldi- ers. They also buried the remains of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers. The largest was the cemetery of Gorjansko near Komen, larger among them were in Tolmin, Bovec, Soča and Log pod Mangartom. During and after the war, they built memorials to honour the me- mory of foreign soldiers of all nationalities, religions and classes. Quite a few monuments and memorial sites were prepared, for example in Štanjel, Vodice and Log pod Mangartom (monument to the defenders of Rombon). Seven kilometres from Kranjska Gora on the ro- ad towards Vršič Pass, they built a memorial chapel dedicated to the memory of the Russi- an soldiers, who built the road over the Vršič Pass and died during the construction on 12 March 1916 due to an avalanche. In 1916, they built a wooden memorial church in Javor- ca near Tolmin. Tourist Sites and Potential Tourist Sites along the Isonzo/Soča Front The sites of famous battles have been the subjects of recreational travel for purposes of si- ghtseeing for decades, even centuries (Baldwin and Sharpley, 2009, 186). Battles such as Wa- terloo, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Gallipoli, Verdun, Normandy or Stalingrad were made fa- mous by the heroic and simultaneously tragic acts of thousands of men and women, many of whom sacrificed their lives. The tragic connotation to these historic places is at the same time appealing to the people who want to visit them. Although the motives of the visitors are often of a personal nature, one general cause for visiting is usually common: to see and experience the sites where globally or nationally important and historical events took place. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight selected Isonzo/Soča Front memorial sites, which per se represent important remembrance places and landmarks, but remain unmentio- ned or poorly described in the tourist itineraries. The Russian Chapel The Russian Chapel is a Russian Orthodox memorial chapel located on the Vršič Pass ro- ad in north-western Slovenia. The road was constructed in 1915 by Russian prisoners of war of the Austro-Hungarian army, who were forced to build it. As the town of Kranjska Gora be- came strategically important because of its proximity to the Isonzo/Soča Front, the Austro- -Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič in order to fa- cilitate access to the front. 47 dar k tour ism The building of the road began in May 1915 and was completed by the end of the same ye- ar. Russian POWs had to clear the road of the heavy snowfall. On 12 March 1916, an avalan- che buried a POW work camp; at least 170 prisoners and ten guards were killed (the exact number of victims is unknown). The Russian camp was located about halfway between the town of Kranjska Gora and the Vršič mountain pass. In November of 1916, the surviving pri- soners built a small wooden memorial chapel on the site of the avalanche, which was later pre- served as a POW memorial (Slovenia Info, 2014). The Republic of Slovenia renovated the chapel in 2005. The chapel functions both as a war memorial and as a symbolic link between Slovenia and Russia. From 1992 onward, a com- memorative event has taken place each end of July. Every year, high level politicians of Slove- nia and the Russian Federation attend the ceremony. However, after and before the event, this chapel remains an unused potential tourist site. More than 50,000 Russian tourists visit Slo- venia each year. They mainly visit the coastal and spas resorts, the capital, and the mountain towns of Kranjska Gora, Bovec, and Bled (these three were visited by more than 6,000 Rus- sian visitors in 2013) (SURS, 2014). Although the Russian chapel is located less than 10 ki- lometres from the town of Kranjska Gora, there are no organized tours to the chapel or any other sites connected with the Isonzo/Soča Front. The Kobarid Museum The Kobarid Museum was established as the local people gathered artefacts of the First Wor- ld War in the region. At first it was part of the Tourist Society of Kobarid. In 1995, it official y be- came a museum, which was, with the consent of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slove- nia, transferred to a non-profit company, which manages the museum. It was not until 2011 that the Kobarid Museum was placed in the official register of Slovene museums. However, as early as in 1992, it was awarded the highest Slovenian award in the museum sphere – the Valvasor Prize. In 1993, the museum was also nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award and re- ceived the Council of Europe Museum Prize. This museum is one the main tourist destinations in the Upper Soča val ey as well as in Slovenia. Many notables have visited this museum; among them several members of various European royalties, three presidents of the European Parlia- ment, numerous presidents, prime ministers, ministers, presidents of various world associations, superiors of different churches and Nobel Prize winners (Kobariški muzej, 2014). The museum presents the views of different European nations participating in the Koba- rid Battle in the lecture series. It also organized a number of exhibits in some major European capitals during the Slovene EU Presidency in 2008. It is, however, somewhat surprising that in 2014 – the year that marks the centennial of the beginning of First World War – no special events (of national importance) were organized in Kobarid itself by the museum. Such events were organized by most major museums in Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and London. In regard to the tourist potential, the museum of Kobarid is not at all well marketed. Museums are pla- ces where history is sold; therefore, their potentials should be used for historical and cultural promotion of the region. The German Ossuary in Tolmin About 15 kilometres southeast of Kobarid is the town of Tolmin, the regional centre of the Upper Soča valley, with around 11,000 inhabitants. The town had an important role in the 48 the isonzo/soča front heritage and its potentials for development .. First World War, the remnants of which are still present on the several locations in the area. One of the most impressive sites is the German ossuary, also known as the German charnel house, which can be found in the direct vicinity of the Tolmin town centre. This magnificent memorial is situated near the Tolminka and Soča rivers and represents the only First World War German ossuary in Slovenia. A commemorative chapel and surrounding buildings were built in the years 1936–1938 in honour of 965 German soldiers who are buried there. In Oc- tober 1917, soldiers of the German Empire army participated in the Twelfth Battle of the Is- onzo/Soča front, known as the »Battle of the Caporetto« or »Bitka pri Kobaridu« in Slove- ne, »Battaglia di Caporetto« in Italian or »Schlacht von Karfreit« in German. In this battle, the Austro-Hungarian army was supported by German troops, and together they broke thro- ugh the Italian front line and pushed the Italian army about 90 kilometres west, to the Piave River. After this battle, which lasted nearly a month, with 11,000 killed, 20,000 wounded and 265,000 captured, the term »Caporetto« gained a particular resonance in Italy, used to mark a terrible defeat (Tolminski muzej, 2014). There are many reasons why this memorial site has great potential for tourism deve- lopment. Apart from the obvious commemorative aspect, which could generally be much bet- ter marked and presented to the visitors of the region (especially German and Austrian), its cultural and architectural role cannot be overlooked. The complex and its buildings include the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was constructed with such precision that the sun’s rays light the monument only on the day of the summer solstice. Furthermore, some architec- tural elements of the ossuary complex, such as the carved stones, which were brought in from Germany for construction of the site, and the iron grids in the chapel, forged of gun barrels, are truly unique and deserve the attention of the visitors. Despite the aforementioned charac- teristics, the memorial complex is closed to the general public and cannot be visited without a guide, provided by the management of the Tolmin Museum. At the time of the research of this paper, the gate to the complex area was also closed to everyone who came to the site wi- thout advance notice. It was surprising that even the directions to the ossuary are inadequate- ly marked – this demonstrates the attitude of the Tolmin Museum management and also of the local authorities towards tourism development, which is in recent years almost entirely fo- cused on the Soča River and outdoor activities. The ossuary could be visited by thousands of German tourists who are visiting the region for outdoor activities. There are days even in the summer when, due to weather conditions, outdoor activities are not possible; therefore, this could be the way to meet the need for alternative activities. Gorjansko and Redipuglia/Sredipolje First World War Cemeteries The village of Gorjansko is a typical Karst village, located five kilometres southwest of the town of Komen, at the intersection of the main road from Komen to Monfalcone/Tržič on the Italian side of the border. In the village, there are several sites commemorating the First World War. At the local cemetery, along the road that leads towards the uphill section, lies the most recognizable one – the large Gorjansko military cemetery from the Isonzo/Soča Front period. Although some battles of the Isonzo/Soča Front also took place in the area of Karst pla- teau, this part of the region mainly served as a hinterland for operations of the Austro-Hun- garian Army. There is a strong legacy of the First World War present in this area, represented 49 dar k tour ism by numerous memorials, graves, and more than 200 military cemeteries. During the interwar period, the region was under Italian rule, so the Italian authorities renovated some of them. As already mentioned, they built three main ossuaries along the main line of the Isonzo/Soča Front for the Italian soldiers: in Redipuglia/Sredipolje, Oslavia/Oslavje, and Caporetto/Ko- barid. They transferred most of the bodies of the Italian soldiers from abandoned cemeteries to these three ossuaries. Nowadays, cemeteries for the soldiers of both the Italian and Austro- -Hungarian armies can be found on both sides of the Slovene-Italian border. The Cemetery of Gorjansko (Figure 6) is the largest cemetery of the First World War in Slovenia; over 10,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Army of different nationalities are buried there (Visit Kras, 2014). Among them, there are many ethnic Hungarians, and it is noteworthy that the Hunga- rian state organizes annual commemorations on the site in Gorjansko. The cemetery is protected on the national level as a memorial heritage site, similarly to the other sites described above. However, the cemetery is not properly signposted, as the directi- ons were only marked in the village area, near the site itself. Therefore, the potential visitor to this site has to have the exact location of the cemetery on the map in order to find it or has to ask residents to point out the direction of the site. Less than 30 kilometres away from Gorjansko is the village of Redipuglia/Sredipolje. It is located in the Province of Gorizia/Goriška pokrajina in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giu- lia/Furlanija Julijska Krajina. The village is located about 35 kilometres northwest of Trieste/ Trst and about 13 kilometres southwest of Gorizia/Gorica. Redipuglia/Sredipolje lies at the eastern end of the shifting front of the Italian Campaign against Austria-Hungary (and Germany) in the First World War. Today it is home to Italy’s largest war memorial, on Monte Sei Busi. After the Battle of Caporetto/Kobarid in October and November 1917, the Austro-Hungarian army was forced to halt its advances due to lack of supplies; after almost a year, the Italians were able to reinforce and regain this territory by de- stroying the Austro-Hungarian Army in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which led to the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Figure 6: The cemetery of Gorjansko is the largest cemetery of the First World War in Slove- nia (Photo: M. Koderman). 50 the isonzo/soča front heritage and its potentials for development .. In Redipuglia/Sredipolje, the Italian (fascist) state built an enormous war memorial. It contains the bodies of 39,857 identified and 69,330 unidentified Italian soldiers. The Char- nel House in Redipuglia (Sacrario di Redipuglia) is the largest and most glorious monument to the fallen in the First World War in Italy. It was built by the architect Giovanni Greppi and sculptor Giannina Castiglioni and opened on 18 September 1938. The Ossuary is also known as the »monument to the hundred thousand« because it holds the remains of 100,187 soldi- ers who fell in the area and were soon buried in the nearby hill of Sant’Elia. The monument was erected by the fascist government that wanted to celebrate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and to provide a suitable burial for all those for whom there was no more space in the ce- metery. Trench fortifications of the Isonzo/Soča Front can be seen next to the war memorial. In addition, a large display of First World War artillery pieces can be seen (Poti Prve svetovne vojne, 2014). The site of Charnel House in Redipuglia/Sredipolje is very well marked, including signs posted on a nearby major freeway. Potential tourists have no problems getting to the place, and there will be thousands of tourists visiting the site in the commemorating years of 2014–2018. In general, the site of Redipuglia/Sredipolje cemetery shows great tourism potential, especial- ly for the cross-border tour packages and itineraries, which could connect the First World War sites and memorials on both sides of the border (oriented towards Italian and other visitors). Conclusion Dark tourism represents travel to sites associated with death. There are quite a few such places commemorating the deaths along the Slovene-Italian border. In this paper we discus- sed how the war memorials and monuments of the Isonzo/Soča Front are presented to the po- tential visitors. The examples of the Russian Chapel near the Vršič Pass, the Kobarid museum, the German Charnel House in Tolmin, and the Gorjansko and Redipuglia/Sredipolje First World War military cemeteries have been analysed. Each of them represents a (potential) tou- rist site, a special treasure. However, problems of access and promotion of these places have al- so been indicated. We can conclude that, despite the fact that the importance of the Isonzo/Soča Front in the context of the First World War is clearly evident for the reasons described in the introduction to this paper, it somehow remains overshadowed by its Western and Eastern manifestations in the global context. It is also obvious that the people and organizations who deal with the he- ritage of the First World War in France, Belgium and Germany have been more successful in the commercialization and presentation of these memorials in comparison with their collea- gues in Slovenia and Italy, where the Isonzo/Soča Front took place. In Slovenia, until it was part of communist Yugoslavia, even professional historians conducted very little research into these events, because the First World War was not as important as the Second World War in the eyes of politicians. In this regard, the mere existence of Kobarid Museum, described above, is is actually a miracle in itself. Nevertheless, significant effort has been made in the promoti- on and also the renovation of several First World War sites along the front in both countries, especially during the previous decade. 51 Remnants of WWI – Dark Tourist-Sustainable Events and Programs Potentials Tadeja Jere Jakulin and Aleksandra Golob Introduction World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of vi- olence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion. (Dalai Lama XIV) The southern battlefield of the Battle of Isonzo included the municipality of Komen in 1915. A hundred years later, the area hides much potential for the development of dark touri- sm. In order to teach tourists and locals to remember and to revive the infrastructure and to present the visitors thoughts of peace and mutual understanding among nations, a project of an EU summer school with four partner universities was organized. The summer school was launched as a pilot project to present the events and effects of the First World War in the ter- ritory of the Municipality of Komen, Slovenia; in addition to developing potential dark tou- rism, sustainable events and programs intertwined with local heritage and events, it showed potentials for a dark tourism program. The four universities that collaborated were the Uni- versity of Primorska (Slovenia), the University of Rijeka (Croatia), the University of Trieste (Italy) and the University of Klagenfurt (Austria). Within the project, the participants (i.e. students of the collaborating universities) developed three tourism programs, two of which presented potential dark tourism-sustainable events and programs. The students had inten- ded to develop regional cultural tourism development programs and not dark tourism, yet in the historical area of WWI they could not avoid local facts and infrastructure, or the stori- es of local residents and research of the area. Through intensive courses with lectures and field work over a seventeen-day period, students received detailed descriptions about the historical development of the region, information about WWI and its effects on the region, and geo- graphical facts about the territory. They also received knowledge regarding sociological me- thods to include the local community, explanations of tourist management, and descriptions of existing dark tourism attractions in the region (caves, graveyards, battlefield areas, weapons collections and stories of local community lecturers and people). The two programs of dark tourism sustainable events were a military camp near Cave Jerihovica, and the Historical Mu- seum in Gorjansko. 53 dar k tour ism As Time Goes By: Heritage, Cultural, Special Interest and Dark Tourism Let us save what remains: not by vaults and locks which fence them from the public eye and use in consigning them to the waste of time, but by such a multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of accident. (Thoma s Jefferson) What shall a type of tourism that is connected to violent death and showing respect to the victims by keeping memories of their lives alive be called? This is an especially relevant questi- on when considering the lost lives of many different nations and the fact that their remains lie in huge graveyards or memorial parks. There are a few subsystems of tourism that are very si- milar to each other: heritage, cultural, special interest, and dark or »thanatourism«. They are considered to be forms natural and heritage preservation. Fascination with death stems from the Middle Ages, and the habit of visiting craves and cemeteries from the 18th and 19th centuries (Seaton, 1996; 1999). Parks, graveyards, monu- ments, and buildings need to be maintained and become a matter of national, international or world heritage. Heritage is defined as that which we have inherited from our past. (Sharpley and Stone 1993 in Sigala and Leslie, 2005, 8). Heritage tourism according to Ashworth and Goodall (1990, p.162) is an idea comprising many different emotions, including nostalgia, ae- sthetic pleasure, romanticism and sense of belonging in time and space. It refers to historic si- tes and buildings as well as the experiences that peoples seek to have in them (Sigala and Le- slie, 2005, 5–6). Tarlow (2005, 48) categorizes dark tourism as special interest tourism, i.e. a part of niche tourism. Niche tourism is quite the opposite of mass tourism, as it represents a »boutique« or distinct type of tourism. Cultural tourism, in contrast, follows Richards’ definition of being a »good« form of to- urism, (Richards, 2001) that avoids many of the pitfalls of conventional tourism. It simultane- ously offers added value and attracts high-spending tourists who like to support culture (Ri- chards, 2001). If we think of special tourism and follow Swarbrooke and Horner, we could say that dark tourism is similar to special tourism, with its definition as the focus of the whole holiday or a way to spend one or two days during a holiday (Swarbrooke, Horner 2007, 37). Here, we can say that the themes of interest military history and visiting battle fields, such as that of the Battle of Isonzo, can be mentioned as an example. We can also consider it to be a form of educational tourism, when people (not only stu- dents) learn from the past in order to maintain thoughts of global peace. A case of educational tourism combined with dark tourism regarding the Battle of Isonzo (dark, educational touri- sm) was also considered in the research conducted at the Summer University 2013 by the stu- dents and teachers of four different universities organized by the University of Primorska, Slo- venia (Jere Lazanski, Bugarič, Mikelič Goja, 2013). According to Stone (2011), dark tourism can also be viewed as a pedagogical instrument to encourage health issues (something chan- ging bad habits) in visitors. Initial archaeological and anthropological reconnaissance and fieldwork along the Soča valley has taken the form of basic archaeological surveys, ethnographic interviewing of indivi- duals with private museum collections, and visits to wartime and post-war cemeteries, particu- larly in the limestone Kras region in the valley’s southern area. (Thomas et al., 2013) Nothing is forgotten when the remnants are visited by people, who search for their roots, visitors, and 54 remnants of wwi– dark tourist-sustainable events and programs potentials tourists. We talk about WWI, the remnants of which are still visited by small groups of fal- len soldiers’ relatives. Those were the times when nations of contemporary Europe fought each other; the war was bloody and destructive and of no benefit to humanity. Today, these nations live in one country, and their people grow together in a broadest sense (Jere Jakulin, 2014). The war remains are here to teach us and future generations how to keep memories of WWI alive, how learn from WWI, and how to live in peace and mutual understanding. Potentials for Dark Tourism of Southern Battlefield Darkness cannot drive out darknes : only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Dark tourism or »thanatourism« is travel to locations associated with death and disaster. It includes battlefields, murder and atrocity sites, places where the famous died, graveyards and war memorials, relics and reconstructions of death. It is an old, widespread and often con- troversial form of tourism that was, in the winter of 1996, the subject of a special issue of the International Journal of Heritage (Seaton, 2000b). It has a very special role for visitors, influ- encing the present by delivering information about a sad part of human history. Death caused by violence such as war, terrorism, and criminal activity in the name of a »higher cause« became a phenomenon denoted by graveyards, battlefields, and tourism sites, including monuments, museums and historical buildings. For some people, tourism in the form of visiting death sites is questionable; it does not ac- tually appeal to everyone since it causes strong emotional reactions, yet as a whole it has an im- portant role in remembering the past in order to prevent war in the present. Komen as a centre of the southern Karst area is a leading little town of the municipality of Komen. Komen has 604 inhabitants. A century ago, the town was a centre of Southern Bat- tlefield of Isonzo. In recent decades, the town’s inhabitants worked in an aluminium plant. Nowadays, the town faces economic problems as industry has declined and is striving to de- velop service industries, especially tourism. It has much potential in historical sites, especially those connected to WWI. It has certain negative points, including undeveloped tourist infra- structure, insufficient tourist signage, and a lack of tourist info centres. On the basis of the su- rvey, which was done by students and their mentors in the abovementioned project, students extracted local perspectives, defined which types of tourism are meaningful to the Municipa- lity of Komen, and discovered that the main attractions are connected with local churches, WWI cemeteries, and caves. These attractions actually present potentials for dark tourism. The results of the research were derived from the opinions and insights of the 34 locals and local tourism, accommodation and catering supplier chosen for the research regarding ten chosen tourism attractions, which were Battle of Isonzo points (Fig.7.) . They rated locations for dark tourism sustainable events and programs between 3 and 4. They thought that the Ferrari Garden in Štanjel was the most favourable for cultural tourism development. None of the locations was rated at the level of 5. The assumption is that the reasons for lower grading lies in the modest tourism and accommodation infrastructure. The selected sites are visited by foreign tourists looking for the stories and legends of the Battle of Isonzo, yet they are not pre- pared for larger tourist and visitor groups. The dark tourism spots, such as the Gorjansko and Sveto cemeteries, are frequently visited by the descendants of Hungarian, Slovak, and Ukrai- nian soldiers. Gorjansko is the biggest cemetery of the Isonzo Front in Slovenia. 55 dar k tour ism Figure 7: Rates of locations. The research has also shown that some of the people who collaborated in it thought that searching for family roots lost in WWI has a good potential to be developed. Dark Tourism Potentials and Two Related Sustainable Tourism Programs An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. (Mahatma Gandhi) The research area has six cultural tourism attraction sites, which represent the middle of the Southern Battle of Isonzo: the old medieval castle of Štanjel, Volčji grad, Komen, Ivan- ji Grad, Gorjansko, and Sveto. Each of these sites has unique sightseeing and events connect- ed to the natural and cultural heritage of their settings. Four of them have direct potentials for dark tourism development: Komen, Sveto, Gorjansko and Ivanji Grad, which is visible from Table 3. Table 3: Dark Tourism potentials. Komen Sveto Gorjansko Ivanji Grad St. George Church St. Tilen Church Historical museum col ection Casualties of WWI Monument Military cemetery Military cemetery Military cemetery WWI Railway remains Jerihovica cave Military cavern Alfa Romeo Col ection Church of St. Križ Traditional events Traditional events Traditional events Lavender festival According to the content of abovementioned dark tourism potentials, students developed two programmes with several events at the stops and different caverns. »Return to Soška Front – Battle of Isonzo« is a tourism program in which visitors can ar- rive at Štanjel by train (existing railway) and local transfer (from Štanjel to Komen by a local tourism-oriented mini bus). Komen would invite visitors to a tourist center with a central mu- seum, where it would be possible to buy tickets for the route »Return to Soška Fronta« and 56 remnants of wwi– dark tourist-sustainable events and programs potentials collect military clothing (including clothes, shoes, a hat and a few badges). The visitors would have the chance to choose between two options: organized transportation for smal er groups (authentic jeep from that era) and larger groups (for 20+ people, a mini bus that is a replica of a tank from World War I), or cycling along the same gravel road and improvised bombs (simu- lation). The stops of the route »Return to Soška Fronta« includes all the potentials of dark touri- sm mentioned above, beginning with biggest WWI cemetery, Gorjansko. a) There would be a small, darkened museum with sound and visual effects in which a short film presenting and describing WWI would be displayed. b) An information desk presenting information about battles, some important indi- viduals, and local legends would be located in front of the cemetery with 10,000– 13,000 fallen soldiers. Tourists would select their preferred battle, important person or local legend on a touch-screen computer and be presented with the in- formation. The second stop would be Jerihovica cave with: a) Presentation of the typical life of the soldiers who were hiding in the cave b) Special lights and sound effects could be placed inside the cave so the tourists co- uld experience the soldiers’ time in the cave. c) The whole cave and its surroundings would be an open-air museum. When tourists would finish their visit in the cave, they would have one hot meal outside the cave. The third stop: From Jerihovica cave to the village of Ivanji Grad In Ivanji Grad, the route would turn to the old Austro-Hungarian railway, which was used during WWI as the main transport for food, weapons and soldiers. Although the railway no longer exists, the ruins of it remain. The last stop: Sveto Passing along this path, the tourists would come to the third and final stop in the village of Sveto. At the end of this adventure, near the church, tourists would be able to watch a film about the end of WWI and the shifting boundaries of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (including Slovenia) and Italy. Then tourists would return to Komen, return the collected clothing items and buy souvenirs related to WWI. The second program is called »The Stories of Dry Walls«, in which the main goal is to re- juvenate Municipality of Komen and raise local awareness of the development potential of the region and bring added value to existing attractions (caves) from the period of WWI. This route focuses on possibilities for new uses of Cave Jerihovica and surrounding caverns. Jerihovica Cave: At the entrance of Jerihovica Cave, a simple stone building would be loca- ted as a »war & breakfast safety house«, consisted of 20 beds, reception desk, simple kitchen, and dining room, and toilet area. In the cave, the touristic services would include a re-enact- ment of an attack: - Beginning – warning siren for bombing/ smoke – visitors hide inside of the cave (lights and sound) - End – electricity on and the cave transforms into the open-air museum of WWI. 57 dar k tour ism The tourists would have the option to leave their memories on the stone wall outside the cave with the permanent pencil that was used by the soldiers during WWI. In this way, they would become part of the story, i.e. the wall as a book of memories. Caverns: Three caverns with three different contents: - Cavern No. 1: on Brikula hill: presentation of traditional customs: »Frnaža« bur- ning limestone to get quicklime, Karra exhibition – stone in everyday life, and Karst characteristics – limestone, terra rossa soil - Cavern No. 2: Souvenir shop would offer products (made from lavender, wine, and other regional products related to WWI) made by the local community - Cavern No. 3: commemorative tablet in the Memory of fallen soldiers. Sustainability of the Events Related to the Southern Battlefield of Isonzo It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace. (Aristotle) Nowadays, sustainability is a subject of great interest to both academics and the practitio- ners of tourism. Despite the fact that the discussions about the concept of sustainable tourism only began in the 1990s (Swarbrooke, 1999, 3), sustainable development is today a central to- pic of study in the field of tourism. The Slovenian Tourism Development Strategy 2012–2016 (SRST 2012–2016) places the sustainable development of tourism as one of its priorities, sta- ting that in 2016 tourism in Slovenia will be based on sustainable development and thus be a very successful economic sector of the national economy, providing a key contribution to the social welfare and reputation of Slovenia in the world. Sustainable development influences va- rious areas of tourism and thus sustainably oriented tourism programs and events play an im- portant role. This is confirmed by Getz (2007), who claims that events are an important mo- tivator of tourism. Table 4: The diversity of events depending on the type of events. Political, state Sports Recreational Educational, scientific VIP-visit, Professional and amateur. Games and sports, Seminars, rally / assembly, Entertainment events. congresses, inauguration, workshop, summits, conferences. royal occasions, political events. Cultural Entertainment Business Private Festivals, Concerts, Fairs, Social celebrations, soci- carnivals, exhibition, markets, al events, parade, awards, auction, weddings, religious events, performances. PR events, parties. Commemorations. meetings, conventions, consumer and trade shows. Source: Adapted from Getz, 1997, 7; Getz, 2005. 58 remnants of wwi– dark tourist-sustainable events and programs potentials Events that focus on WWI must be sustainably oriented and parts of the dark tourism of- fer, not only because of the theme of the events but also because of a variety of events. From Tab. 4 we can see that organizers can arrange many different events that are connected wi- th WWI, such as educational and cultural seminars, visitors’ cultural and art exhibitions, exchange of exhibitions, events of remembrance, parades, especially festivals, etc. We can see that Getz (1997, 2005) provides a typology of eight main categories of planned events. In his work (2005), he supplements their purpose and program. For categories of cul- tural celebrations, he inserts parades and commemorations, while for the category of political events, he inserts three more type of events, i.e. rally/assembly and inauguration, etc. In his other work Getz (2010, 7) states that, »[…] festivals are cultural celebrations and ha- ve always occupied a special place in societies.« We can add that this is especially so when they are organized in historical settings such as local churches and caves. Such events usually al- so have a theme with specific meanings, which exist at personal, economic, social and cultural levels (ibid). He continues by stating that festivals by definition have a theme and very diver- se programs and styles, all in the pursuit of fostering a specific kind of experience. If the events are different from others, they attract crowds of visitors and tourists to a particular destinati- on (Golob, Jere Jakulin, 2014). It is also mentioned that events take place every day, throug- hout the year, in and out of season, and their number increases each year (ibid). According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SORS), the number of events in cultural in- stitutions rose from 8,855 (2009), to 11,121 in 2010 to 11,453 in 2011 and to 17,473 in 2012). All of this indicates the need for designing events by creating their competitive advantage and added value in order to distinguish Slovenia with competitive events by taking into account the principles of sustainability. This is the main reason for giving more attention in the future to the development of sustainably oriented traditional events that are related to WWI. Similarly to Getz, Stone (2006) typifies seven diverse products enrooted in a curiosity re- garding death, which transmit a set of different messages to society: - dark-fun factories (entertainment based on simulated suffering of others), - dark exhibitions (learning opportunities), - dark dungeons (penal codes and reinforcement of law), - dark resting places (sites of commemoration), - dark shrines (secondary or peripheral sites of remembrance for victims, - dark conflict sites (commoditization of battles and wars), - dark camps of genocide (sites where genocide has been practiced). Every typology of dark sites encompasses a specific discourse transmitted once and once again to a wider range of tourists who manifest variety in their expectances. Due to its presentation of the local history and the authentic venues, they can distinguish Municipality of Komen from other destinations and provide a clear advantage over the com- petition. Alternatively, as Whitford and Ruhanen (2013, 58) found in their research »the fe- stival does create positive sociocultural benefits not only for festival participants and attendees but also for the wider indigenous community.« Some benefits were identified, such as deve- lopment of social capital, cultural preservation, and reconciliation, all of which are arguably si- gnificant factors in the facilitation of sustainable community development. 59 dar k tour ism Before the definition of sustainable events is described, one must be given for sustaina- ble development. One of the first and most cited and popular definitions of sustainability was created in 1987 by the Brundtland Commissions or World Commission on Environmental and Development (WCED), which defined sustainable development as development that me- ets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Raj, Musgrave, 2009, 22). Moreover, the Triple Bottom line (TBL) concept is consistent with this definition of the sustainable development thinking (Tyrell, Paris, Bia- ett, 2012). The TBL approach is based on multiple perspectives, including social, economic and environmental impacts; with regard to events, it is mentioned by many authors (Raj, Mus- grave, 2009; Getz, 2010; Andersson, Lundberg, 2013). In their work, Raj and Musgrave (2009) introduced the concept ofthe responsible (sustain- able) event, which contributes to the local sustainable development through TBL. This is cle- arly shown in Fig. 8, illustrating the sustainable events in the intersection of all three circles. According to the proportionality of circles, it can be assumed that each element is equal and should be represented in the same proportion. Mimimized environmental impact Maximized Optimizing economic socio-cultural impact impact Figure 8: Responsible (sustainable) events (Source: Raj and Musgrave, 2009, 25). Dickson and Arcodia concur with this argument (2010), because they associate events with valuable economic, cultural, socio-educational benefits as having growth potential for many destinations in the tourism industry. They also mention that events inherently create waste. Consequently, sustainable development is an important part of event organization. In our framework for systematically studying and creating knowledge about event tourism, Ge- tz (2007) also mentions two more outcomes and impacts: political and personal. In contrast, Whitford and Ruhanen (2013) claim that festivals and events can provide significant econo- mic, sociocultural, and political benefits. According to Waitt (2003), sustainability and event tourism require a process that captures positive host community involvement to enable and maintain the event experience and the destination’s attractiveness. However, the authors Raj and Musgrave (2009, 25) also propose the following definition for responsible events: »events sensitive to the economic, sociocultural and environmental needs within the local host com- munity, and organized in such a way as to optimize the holistic (positive) output need.« Go- 60 remnants of wwi– dark tourist-sustainable events and programs potentials lob and Ivankovič (2013) define sustainable events as an entire sum of units of all three fields of sustainable development (environmental, economic and socio-cultural) that are logically in- cluded in event program planning and in organizing public events. All sustainability criteria consider organizing public events that optimally cause indirect and direct economic multipli- cative effects on the destinations performers. In their study, Dickson and Arcodia (2010) determined which the event industry needs to further focus on in order to achieve more sustainable practices. Moreover, other authors emphasize the lack of sharing of good practice of sustainably oriented events (Musgrave, 2011; Getz, 2012; Mair and Laing, 2012). Here, we see one possibility for developing the Municipality of Komen: in developing of good practice of sustainability-oriented events related to WWI. One example of good practice is seen in the »VildmarkiVärmland« company from Sweden, which offers a range of activities and experiences in nature (concerts in the cave, hiking through the cave, transport with hor- ses, Carnival Village, cycling for local schools, exhibitions, lectures, etc.). Their ideas can be applied to the sustainable management of events. The company purchases only products and services at the local level, because they are closer and thus cheaper. They have developed a ne- twork of local businesses and stakeholders that support the company over the long term. The- refore, their profit creates good opportunities for people of the region (Handbook of ecotouri- sm labelling criteria and good practice in Europe, 2009). Conclusions There can be no purpose more inspiriting than to begin the age of restoration, rewe- aving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us. (Edward O. Wilson) It is always necessary to involve historians, local people, tourism and other experts in diffe- rent areas, since only with authentic performance can sustainable events and programmes can have a positive impact on the tourism development. Searching for roots lost in WWI has been discovered as having a good potential for dark tourism to be developed. The events and pro- grams of sustainable dark tourism potentials described in this paper were developed and pre- sented by students and their mentors at the end of the Summer University, according to the results of the research they conducted regarding local tourism perspectives. This was an EU project, which took place in Komen and its surroundings in September 2013 at the Southern Battlefield of Isonzo. The creation of dark tourism sustainable events at WWI locations pre- sents symbols of the past from which we should learn and which should never be forgotten. Our descendants shall understand the value of peace and understanding among nations. They will receive this understanding through information about events that happened a hundred years ago, through tourists and visitors searching for their roots today and through creating new tourism programs that will reveal the deeper meaning of history to the future. In this way, the sustainable dark tourism becomes an opportunity for remembrance. Acknowledgement: The project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The Programs were created by students of the University of Rijeka and the University of Primorska, participants of the ERASMUS IP Summer School in Komen. 61 From Galicia to the Alps – Polish Memory of »the Italian Front« of WWI Stefan Bielański Historical Background At the end of the 18th century, the political and state organization called the Polish-Lithu- anian Commonwealth (Polish: Rzeczpospolita, Latin: Res Publica), consisting of territories of the current Ukraine, Belarus and Latvia while its most important part was constituted by Po- land, and the Polish nobility ceased to exist. In the 19th century, the crucial concern for Poles was the struggle for the restoration of independence and for the rebirth of the state with the borders of the period prior to the First Partition of 1772. However, it must be emphasized that in the second half of the 19th century the attitude of Poles (also expressed during many uprisings against Russia) encountered resistance in the growing national self-awareness of Lithuanians and Ukrainians (and to a lesser extent of Bela- rusians), that is the inhabitants, along with the Poles, of the territories of the old Rzeczpospo- lita.Furthermore, it must not be forgotten that a number of Polish state units existed in the 19th century, although they were dependent on more powerful states: the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815) created as part of the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Kingdom of Poland (1815–1915) that came into existence as a result of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The later state was given some autonomy (until 1831) but remained in the Rus ian Empire. Another sta- te organization that had some autonomy was the Grand Duchy of Poznań (1815–1831/48) in- cluded in the Kingdom of Prussia. A distinct role was played by the Republic of Kraków ( Rze- czpospolita Krakowska), which existed from 1815 to 1846 under the protection of the powers which had divided Poland. Perhaps the most significant of all of these was Galicia (Polish: Galicja), which existed from 1867 to 1918 as an autonomous province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with its ca- pital in Lwów, which, along with the western Galicia and its capital, Kraków, constituted the spiritual capital of the whole of occupied Poland. 63 dar k tour ism Galicia – The Autonomous Province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire The historically Polish region of Małopolska (Polonia Minor) was incorporated into the Austrian Empire in the first partition of 1772; after the Kraków Uprising of 1846, the Repu- blic of Kraków ( Rzeczpospolita Krakowska) was also included in the territory of Austria. Howe- ver, in 1867, after the Austrian defeat in the war against Prussia (1866) and the subsequent birth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Galicia ( Galizien in German) was given the autonomy with the government and the local parliament located in the Polish city of Lwów, considered the capital of the eastern Galicia, a territory with a significant Ukrainian population. Until the First World War, Galicia had been in the hands of Polish conservative politici- ans who remained loyal to the Imperial Court and even managed to obtain many concessions for the Polish population, e.g. the Polish language in schools, national press and culture as well as free activity of two major universities in Lwów and Kraków. Not coincidentally, Polish po- liticians, loyal to the Emperor Franz Josef, served as Prime Ministers (Alfred Potocki (1870– 1871) and Kazimierz Badeni (1895–1897)) or in the Ministry of Finance (Leon Biliński and Julian Dunajewski). In particular, the government of Badeni with Biliński and Agenor Ro- muald Gołuchowski as a Foreign Minister was called by his opponents as »the Polish gover- nment in Vienna.« It is noteworthy that the Polish political circles of the Austro-Hungarian Empire conce- ived a project of the rebirth of Polish independent state, inspired by both Hungarian model and the important historical role played by Piedmont in the process of Italian Risorgimento. To achieve that goal, it was hoped in Lwów and Kraków that a winning war would lead to the reunification of Galicia with the »Kingdom of Poland« (with its capital in Warsaw) subjected to the Russian regime in the 19th century. Therefore, the First World War seemed to be an ide- al opportunity for realization of the so-called »Austro-Polish orientation« and of the rebirth of Poland as a part of the new Austro-Hungarian-Polish Empire.1 Polish Cause during the First World War The immediate trigger for the outbreak of the World War was the terrorist attack and the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, perpetrated on June 28th, 1914 by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian nationalist, inspired by the Serbian espionage service. The government in Vienna, although without evidence, first issued the ultimatum on July 23rd, and afterwards, thanks to the support of Germany, launched military action against Serbia on July 28th. However, Serbia obtained equal military support from Russia. Finally, due to a system of alliances, on August 4th, 1914, the European powers (»Central Powers« and »Entente Cordiale«) along with their allies faced one another on battlefields throughout Europe. At the beginning of the war, the Polish population remained largely faithful to the go- vernments of the occupying countries. Therefore, the soldiers of the first regiment of the re- surgent Polish Army ( Pierwsza Kompania Kadrowa), commanded by Józef Piłsudski, were so disappointed in early August 1914 when they entered the territory of the »Kingdom of Po- land« built by the Russian Empire, and received no support from their compatriots. Inste- ad, the majority of Poles were easily recruited to the Russian, German and Austro-Hungari- an armies. Consequently, Polish soldiers wearing different uniforms of the armed forces of the 1 (Suleja, 1992; Kawalec Wierzbieniec, Zaszkilniak, 2011; Holzer, 2004) 64 from galicia to the alps – polish memory of »the italian front« of wwi occupying countries2 often met on battlefields. However, at the outbreak of the World War I the occupying countries of Poland already stood against one another.3 Therefore, in 1914, Tsarist Russia promised the Poles greater autonomy, while the Central Powers (Germany and Austro-Hungary) even proclaimed the establishment of the new Kingdom of Poland (in 1916), obviously linked to the policy of Berlin and Vienna in the context of the project of Mitteleuropa,4 conceived by a German publicist, Friedrich Neumann. The concept consisted of the creation of different states in the area of Central Europe, which, while formally inde- pendent, should have been politically, economicly and militarily related to imperial Germany (and to a lesser extent to Austro-Hungary). From 1917 onward the Regency Council of the fu- ture Polish state existed, electing governments and attempting to administrate the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. Faced with the military defeat of the »Central Powers« as well as victory of the Western alliance and revolutions in Russia (especially the Bolshevik one, in October/November 1917), Poles took action, firstly by forming the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic in Lu- blin (November 7th, 1918) and finally, after November 11th, 1918, transferring all power into the hands of the future Marshal Józef Piłsudski. In the end, Rzeczpospolita Polska ( Republic of Poland), born on November 11th, 1918, was an independent country, allied with the Western countries (first of all France), and considered a bastion against the Soviet Bolshevism. Galician Soldiers in the Service of Franz Josef, Austro-Hungarian Emperor In this context, Polish participation in the First World War should be analysed, both as its own militarily initiative (the Polish Legions commanded by Józef Piłsudski) and as the part of the operations of countries such as Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. In the latter ca- se (also for the historical memories of the First World War), the presence of soldiers and offi- cers from Polish Galicia on the Italian front (from 1915) and after in the battles in the Alps is highly significant. It should be emphasized that the people of Galicia, while maintaining their Polish origins and national traditions, remained loyal and faithful to the power of »die unse- re Kaiser Franz Josef der Erste«. The majority of Polish subjects of the Emperor answered wi- thout hesitation the call to enlist at the outbreak of the World War I. As early as in 1915, many were sent from Galicia on the Italian front of the »Great War«.5 Overall, from 1914 to 1918, 1.4 million soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire came from Galicia (including 131,000 conscripts in the spring of 1914 and others mobilized betwe- en the outbreak of the war in August 1914 and its end in November 1918). It should also be added that more than 200,000 civilians died as a result of the war in the same years in Gali- cia.6 2 (Derejczyk, Olech, 1988) 3 (Bobrzyński, 1920; Kumaniecki, 1924; Lipiński, 1935; J Dąbrowski, 1937; Holzer, Molenda, 1963; Batowski, 1965; Pajewski, 1971, 1991; Dybkowska, Żaryn J., Żaryn M., 1996; Chwalba, 2000; Roszkowski, 2011; Were- szycki, 1986; Żywczyński, 1971; Gierowski, 1999) 4 (Pajewski, 1959; Grosfeld, 1962, 54–69; Schramm, 2010, 11–17) 5 (Rydel, 2001). 6 The fate of the civilian population of Galicia during the First World War: (Szymczak, 2013, 93–104) 65 dar k tour ism The tragedy of the World War I is also linked (paradoxically) the fate of the soldiers from Galicia (who fought in the trenches in the Alps) with those from Slovenia who fought on the eastern front, especially in Galicia (which was the subject of a recent seminar at the Institute of History of the University Jagiellonian between Polish historians and their Slovene colleagu- es7).It also should be added that hundreds of thousands of Polish subjects of William II, Em- peror of Germany fought in the uniforms of German army on the fronts of the World War I on the western and eastern fronts as well as on the Italian front. In the period between 1915 and 1918, many Polish soldiers and officers from the »provin- ce of Galicia« participated in the Austro-Hungarian army in the alpine battles. It should be remembered that both the Austrian and German regiments of Kaiserjager and Alpen Korps as well as Italian ones (Alpini) were recruited from mountain guides and mountaineers. Among them, there were also »Galicians« sent to the Russian front in the Alps. It is confirmed by the cemetery Monte Piana-Dobiacco with 145 graves of Polish soldiers as well as the active partici- pation in the struggles of such people as a writer Stanisław Vincenz or the future hero of Wor- ld War II, Stanisław Maczek.8 The Battle of the Dolomites (1915–1917) and Family Memories The participation of the officers and soldiers from Polish Galicia who had to fight in the Alps can be documented by unpublished photos9 (available to the author of this report regar- ding memories of a personal nature: the participation of the maternal great-grandfather of the undersigned, Stefan Czajkowski (as the officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army) in the war in the Dolomites. The album contains more than 100 original photos dating back to the war in the Alps, in- cluding the images of: the highest military location on Mount Ortler (3850 meters); fog in mountains Montozzo (with »our [Austrian] positions height 2850 meters«), 30 cm mortar in the Puster Valley; 30 cm mortar and other photos with the destruction in the area of Col di Lana; two photos of the destroyed bridge in Belluno and other near Levazzo; cannons left by Italian soldiers on the Passo Rolle and with Mount Castellazzo in the background; total de- struction of the location of the Italian mortars; Italian mortar »Borcola«; explosion in the 7 The international conference: W Galcji i nad Soczą. Polacy i Słoweńcy na frontach I Wojny światowej – In Galicia and Soca. Poles and Slovenes on the fronts of World War, Krakow, 29 to 30 May 2014. 8 Stanisław Władysław Maczek (1892–1994) was born in Szczerzec near Lwów, as a son of a judge Władysław in Polish family with Croatian origins (his cousin Vladko Macek was a politician linked to the Croatian national movement). In 1915, he was assigned to the 2nd Regiment of the Imperial Tirolen Kaiserjager in the Alps that took part in the military actions of the VIII Corps. In July 1915, Lieutenant Maczek was sent to Isonzo where he was wounded, but returned into the Italian front in 1916 as commander of the 8th assault battalion composed of skiers and mountaineers. Again wounded at the beginning of 1918, at the end of the World War I, after No- vember 11, left to Poland to take part in all the wars for independence of his country (and particularly in the war against nationalist Ukrainians 1918–1919 and in 1920 in Soviet Russia). In World War II, he was a commander of the first motorized units of the Polish army (which were still cal ed the 10th Brigade of the Cavalry), and then in the Polish armed forces that fought together with the Western al ies, Gen. Maczek was a commander of the 1st Armoured Division. He took part in the landing at Normandy (1944) and in the decisive liberation of Belgium and Hol and. After 1945, he was unable to return to a Poland subservient to the Soviet Union and had to face the fate of a simple immigrant. His merits were acknowledged only in the 1990s. He died in 1994 at the age of 102 years in Scotland. (Maczek, 1990; Potomski, 2012; McGilvary, 2014). 9 The photos offered the family’s friend, already deceased Mr. Biernacki, whose father also took part in the military actions on the Italian front in the years 1915–1918. 66 from galicia to the alps – polish memory of »the italian front« of wwi Austrian fort after the gunfire of Italian artillery; destructions in Landro; locality destroyed by Italians in the Adige Valley; Italian cannons on the Marmolada; Caproni and finally the march of Tirolen Kaiserjager through Cismone under the Ponte della Sera.10 These testimonies are important because, as Mario Vianelli and Giovanni Cenacchi claim: […] the Col di Lana front was the most bloody one in the Dolomites, where the infantry sent to death in absurd assaults was mowed down by machine guns fi- re and disintegrated by bullets artillery and by the blows of the mortars; here was also inaugurated the war of mines, but the conquest of the top of the mountain did not open the sighed step towards Val Badia. The Marmolada stands as a true queen: the war is mired in his ermine cloak, in a maze of tunnels and caverns car- ved entirely in ice, with outposts clinging to the brink of his immense southern wall. This was also the scene of the worst episode of »white death«, when a sin- gle avalanche destroyed the whole Austrian camp.11 Following the observations of Giovanni Cenacchi from the introduction to the book de- dicated to the theaters of war in the Dolomites, it must be confirmed that the war in that par- ticular scenario had aspects of »beauty and horror, technology and barbarity and absurdity«. Focusing on the latter issue, Cenacchi finds that: »The highest manifestation of technological rationality was accompanied in the Dolomites by the equally strong expression of irrationality. Italians and Austrians continued to slaughter each other [. .] losing or regaining endlessly the same positions, knowing that in any case no one would ever be able to penetrate significantly beyond the front opposed«.12 The authors of the above-quoted book also point out that: The front remained essentially unchanged until, in November 1917, Italians re- treated after the failure of their lines in the Soca Valley, which led to the rapid dissolution of the sectors in Venezia Giulia and in the Dolomites and the re- composition of new defenses of the Monte Grappa to the sea along the Piave.13 Giovanni Cenacchi emphasizes the factor of the »multi-nationality« of the Austro-Hun- garian Empire, noting that: The individual regiments used in World War I Army Imperial and Royal each saw the prevalence of Germans, Hungarians, Romanians, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenian (Ukrainian), Polish, Serbian-Croatian, Slovenian, Bosnian, Italian and Ladin. Each troop had a duty to use German as a language of service and command and the right to communicate in their own spoken [language]. The freedom of worship was fully guaranteed [. .]. Who wants to visit today the military ceme- tery in Landro between Cortina and Dobbiaco, dedicated to the fallen Habs- burg of non-German mother-tongue, can easily realize, reading the names on the crosses, of this particular multi-ethnicity. But this wealth was for the Crown of Vienna also a weakness which led to the collapse of the Empire.14 10 Cf. also Włochy przystępują do wojny. Bitwa nad Soczą, in: (Andriessen, 2011, 363–373). 11 (Vianel iI, Cenacchi, 2014, 6) 12 Ibid. (Cenacchi, XXII–XXII) 13 Ibid. 10. 14 Ibid., XXXVI. Cfr. also other works of Italian historians (even high-from Alto Adige) on the subject: (Acerbi, 1991; Cappel ano, 2002; Langes, 1991; Pel egrinon, 1999; Pieri, 1965). 67 dar k tour ism Figure 9: The highest military location on Mount Ortler (3850 metres) (Source: Album is the property of the author of the text; the photo is offered by deceased Mr. Biernacki, the friend of the family Czajkowski). Figure 10: 30 cm mortar in the Pustar Val ey (Source: Album is the property of the author of the text; the photo is offered by deceased Mr. Biernacki, the friend of the family Czajkowski). 68 from galicia to the alps – polish memory of »the italian front« of wwi Soldiers of Piłsudski on the Italian front The soldiers of the Polish Legions commanded by Józef Piłsudski, performing military ac- tions in Austro-Hungarian and German armies, but still retaining their autonomy, had to face a new situation in July 1917. Because Piłsudski did not consent to the oath to the Emperors of Germany and Austro-Hungary, officers and soldiers loyal to him were interned and a part of them was included in the Austro-Hungarian Army and deployed to the Italian front. The memory of these events can be found in the report entitled Na włoski front (On the Italian front), published in 1929 in the journal Legjon. 15 This article is reminiscent of the situation that occurred in 1917, when the soldiers of the First Brigade of the Legions, interned near Przemyśl (it was a group of two battalions included in the Austrian army) sent through Kraków, Vienna and Linz, reached the Alps, at Hermagor in Carinthia, and after which exer- cises had to take part in the struggle against the Italians. From Italian soil to Poland. . These are the words known by all the Poles as they come from the National Polish Anthem, wrote in 1797, that commemorates the story of the Polish Legions, the allied army of Napoleon Bonaparte commanded by Gen. Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. The same words were used by Col. Jan Józef Jeziorski in his memoirs of a particular story of the Polish officers and soldi- ers and their complicated way back to Poland from the Italian front at the end the war in 1918. The article was published by Jeziorski in 1933 in the journal Niepodległość ( Independence) . 16. Everything started in September of 1918 when the group of Polish officers, stationed in the Austrian military port of Pula, clandestinely formed the Polish Military Committee for the benefit of both Polish sailors, as well as the Austrian military forces, soldiers of the Austro- -Hungarian army who were on that territory. The ultimate goal of the committee consisted in, after gathering together the Polish soldi- ers and sailors, sending them back together to their native country, in anticipation of the for- mation of the armed forces of Poland, which was about to be reborn. The action was agre- ed with the Polish Military Organization (POW), which acted since 1917 in secret, and was commanded by officers loyal to Józef Piłsudski (still imprisoned by the Germans in the for- tress of Magdeburg). By the end of October 1918, the Polish Military Committee in Pula was able to record and put at disposal 6000 soldiers and 60 officers still serving in the army and navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As Jezierski wrote in 1933, the activities of the Polish Military Committee had no obsta- cle from »the Yugoslav authorities«. The situation became complicated by the arrival (No- vember 4th, 1918) in Pula of the Italian Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Cagni. At this po- int, the delegation of the Committee submitted itself to the Italian authorities, emphasizing that it exclusively represented the Polish armed forces. In accordance with the Italian political authorities, Polish soldiers were transferred from Pula to Milan. The situation of the soldiers from Pula became further complicated, although the cause can not be attributed to the Italian authorities, but rather to the Polish Committee of Ro- me, which was considered the political representation of the new Poland and controlled by na- tionalist politicians, related to the Polish National Committee in Paris, who had supported 15 Legjon, 2, 1929, 14–15. Cf. also: »Błękitny Weteran«, 1, 1937, 9–10. 16 Niepodległość« 8, 1933, 418–428. 69 dar k tour ism the Alliance Franco-British at the beginning of the war and therefore treated former Austro- -Hungarian officers and soldiers with suspicion. The problem also consisted in the fact that the Committee of Rome asked the enlistment in the ranks of the regiments that were part of the Polish forces in the West operated in Fran- ce under the command of Gen. Józef Haller. Instead, the »group of Pula« remained loyal to the new commander of the Polish Army, Marshal Józef Piłsudski and asked for a direct return to their homeland. In the end the problem of the »group of Pula« was solved thanks to help given by a pro- minent Italian financier of Polish origins, Jerzy Toeplitz, the founder and president of the Ita- lian Commercial Bank of Milan. Finally, one part of the group joined the Polish regiments stationed in Santa Maria Capua Vetere near Naples, and the other part, with different obsta- cles created by Polish political opponents, came back to Poland, to Kraków in January–Febru- ary 1919. Then the entire »group of Pula« entered the army of the independent Poland but still had to fight to defend the independence and the new boundaries. Rebirth of the Polish state (1918–1921) Although World War I ended with the armistice of November 11th, 1918 and with the very important decisions of the Congress of Versailles (1919), in Poland the war lasted an- other three years, primarily due to the problem of the eastern borders, established during the war against Soviet Russia in 1920, finished with the armistice in October 1920, and with the Peace Treaty between Poland and Soviet Russia signed in the capital of Latvia, Riga, March 18th, 1921. After the victory, Marshal Piłsudski consolidated the eastern border of Poland, but was not able to reach the borders of 1772, and therefore had to give up the federal program (i.e. the creation of the states of Belarus and Ukraine related to Poland and to the new Polish-Lithua- nian union). Reborn after the World War I and a war against Soviet Russia, Poland covered area of 388,634 km² with 27.2 million inhabitants (including 18 million citizens of Polish ethnici- ty), thus remained a country with strong ethnic minorities, often hostile to the government in Warsaw. From 1918 to 1939, Poland was bordered by Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania (and since March 1939 also with Hungary) and on the north-east and east by Lithuania, Lat- via and the Soviet Union. Therefore, in comparison to other European nations, Poland led a longer war (1914–1921) and its true independence lasted only 20 years. On the September 1st, 1939, Adolf Hitler’s troops invaded the country from the west, and on the September 17th, 1939, the Red Army of the Soviet state of Joseph Stalin entered the eastern territories of Poland, thus initiating World War II. 70 The Rupnik Defence Line as a Tourist Destination Dušan Nečak Introduction A little over fifty years ago, as a young man, I came to Gorenja vas in Poljanska dolina, where we built a small weekend house in a village that was already well-developed in terms of tourism. As an aspiring enthusiast of military history, I immediately noticed that the surro- unding area was full of concrete bunkers of different shapes and sizes. Higher in the surroun- ding hills (Hlavče njive, Hrastov grič and Goli vrh, in the area of Žirovski vrh), it was possi- ble to find entrances to partially overgrown tunnels dug into the hill, as well as large concrete formations: bunkers, or in other words, bases. The older inhabitants of the village were able to tell me that these were the remains of the so-called »Rupnik line«, which was never comple- ted and had been built by the Royal Yugoslav Army as a defensive wall in the proximity of the Rapal border with Italy. Over time, my interest in these military facilities increased, especially when I studied and received my degree and doctorate in modern history. I noticed that the villagers had a somew- hat peculiar attitude toward these concrete remains, which had become a constituent part of their historical memory. The village inn owner, Dušan Škrlep, an especially enthusiastic ama- teur researcher and collector of the remnants related to the Rupnik line, was the one who first introduced me to the history of the formation of these forts and the role the villagers had in building the defense line. I completely accepted his idea that these military facilities could be an attractive destination for a widely interested public, i.e. tourists. The tourist association of Škofja Loka came to realize this as well. However, the facilities were in such a condition that it was impossible to promote them as tourist sites, while there was also a need for an accom- panying service, such as serving a meal of army goulash or a person dressed as a soldier of the royal army to guide the tourists. Unfortunately, the local government at that time was not ve- ry enthusiastic about this idea, so it faded away for a while; the same could not be said about the villagers’ eagerness to collect remnants and my interest in the defense line. Among the first visitors of the Rupnik line were four history students from Austria, who were brought there by a professor from Klagenfurt University, following my initiative. With the arrival of Mayor Milan Čadež, the idea of using the Rupnik line as a part of the municipality’s tourism facilities and services started developing actively, as he was also enthu- 71 dar k tour ism siastic about this part of the cultural heritage of the municipality. The municipality attributes great importance to tourism, and the Rupnik line is a part of it. In 2012, the mayor established a commission for the Rupnik line, including experts as well as amateur local village enthusiasts under my presidency: historian Zvezdan Marković, MA, and the local enthusiasts and collec- tors of Rupnik line artifacts, Matjaž Šifrar and Janez Ržek. In addition, Margaret Šifrar, who is responsible for tourism in the municipality, offered the commission indispensable organizatio- nal and logistical support. The municipality also organized two »courses« for Rupnik line gu- ides, in which we participated as »theoreticians«, (historians), and »practitioners«, experts in construction and the position of the defense line. As a historian, I not only prepared the mate- rial for the participants of these courses, but also attempted to provide the audience with a wi- der outline of the time before and after the construction of the Rupnik line. At both events, there were more than twenty participants, which reflects a significant interest in the topic. The technical side of the construction of the defence system was explained by Miloš Habrnal, B. Eng., definitely the greatest expert of the type of technical heritage seen in the Rupnik line. The meeting was not only of a theoretical nature, though. The municipality made a great effort and acquired European and national funds, and in 2011 started renovating and regula- ting access to the largest fort, the underground fort on the ridge, the Goli vrh base. It is com- posed of a tall aboveground bunker and underground tunnels approximately 25 metres deep. The main tunnel is 200 metres long, and inside there are many branches and a well-drained system of small tunnels and halls (a military post with a hospital, warehouses, machine room, etc.). As much as 85 % of the funds were contributed by the EU between 2010 and 2013, and 10 % by the Republic of Slovenia, and 5 % by the municipality. The completion of works, whi- ch was quite expansive, took approximately one year, and the underground fort on the ridge, the Goli vrh base, which is also the main attraction of the Rupnik line, was opened to the pu- blic in 2012. As early as 2011, the municipality declared the underground forts Goli vrh and Hrastov grič to be cultural monuments of local importance. The facility is not only open to the public, but it also serves as a location for other activities as well, such as the boules court in one of the rooms, which hosts competitions. An important logistics and financial challenge was the supply of electricity to one part of the underground areas, which facilitated access to the fort for visitors and provided an oppor- tunity to expand the number of activities inside it. The preparation and realization of the experts’ meeting with the Rupnik line as the main topic, and the setting up of a permanent exhibition in the underground fort on the ridge, the Goli vrh base, gave an important impe- tus to this tourist destination. Both of them were led by the Rupnik line commission, whereas the exhibition could not have been prepared without the tireless and especially physical effort of Matjaž Šifrar, Janez Ržek, Marjeta Šifrar, and a number of anonymous villagers, enthusiasts and collectors unknown to the general public, and the tireless restorer and conservator of the Museum of Gorenjska, Zdena Kramar. Much progress was accomplished by November 2013. In addition to the author of this ar- ticle, the experts’ meeting on 24 November saw the participation of top expert historians, such as Professor Božo Repe, Assistant Professor Damijan Guštin, Zvezdan Marković, MA, and the leading expert in the construction aspect of the Rupnik line, Czech Miloš Habrnal, B. Eng. The public’s response was unexpected for all the organizers as, according to some estima- tes, more than 150 visitors, including from neighbouring municipalities, attended the event. 72 the rupnik defence line as a tourist destination Even more people attended the exhibition opening, which followed the half-day experts’ mee- ting. I believe this was a complete success. We chose the stylized character of the Royal Yugoslav Army soldier as the mascot of the Rupnik line and called him »Škofov Franci«. The name comes from the local names of two farms where the two large bunkers are located. Clearly, our work was – and is – far from being completed. The theme trails must be equipped with informative signs and signposts, we must prepare an informative brochure, organize expert guidance, etc. Moreover, today, the muni- cipality can proudly say it has twenty guides for the Rupnik line, including the mayor. Since September of 2014, we have offered organized guided tours of the Rupnik line fort at Golivrh every first Saturday of the month at 10 a.m. No prior registration is required. Headlamps and suitable clothing and footwear are recommended. The price of the guided tour is €4/person or in accordance with the valid pricelist. Unfortunately, the ice storm of early 2014 prevented further work on the theme trail, whi- ch is currently impassable. The trail leads from Gorenja vas, across Volčja njiva and the Fer- janc homestead, to reach the fort at the Hrastov grič hill. The trail is equipped with attractive theme signs with short descriptions of the bunker construction method and life in that peri- od. The trail takes you along several forts, and there are beautiful spots where one can stop to enjoy the wonderful views of the Škofja Loka Mountains and the Alpine high mountain ran- ge. After visiting the fort, we can take a break at the Javorč cottage (on Saturdays and Sundays) and regain our strength with the hunter’s goulash and other delicacies, or enjoy a real army cassoulet at the Pr’ sedmic restaurant. I am convinced that the Rupnik line tourist destination has every opportunity for intense development, and while mass tourism is not to be expected due to its specific nature, it will at- tract significant numbers of target visitors. Along with other tourism services and facilities in the municipality, it forms a completed unit and the continuation of the tourism tradition to which the municipality has been devoted for several decades. Figure 11: Exhibits at the exhibition of the remains and the time when Rupnik line was built (Source: Municipality of Gorenja vas-Poljane). 73 dar k tour ism Time and Place At the establishment of the first Yugoslav state, the western Slovenian border was not drawn in a manner satisfactory to both sides, and has always been subject to more or less in- tense requests for its modification. After the onset and expansion of the irredentist fascist re- gime in Italy after 1922, the fear became more intense, especially on the Slovenian/Yugoslav side, that there would sooner or later be requests to change the border in Italy’s favor. Relati- ons between Italy and the first Yugoslav state between the wars were never particularly good due to a variety of reasons. When the Italian protectorate over Albania was established in 1926, tensions worsened. The fear and mistrust of the Slovenian people and the Yugoslav state towards the dangers po- sed by Italy deepened in the 1930s, when all three neighbouring countries (fascist Italy, class- -based or clerofascist Austria and Gömbös’ revanchist Hungary) became connected by signing a cooperation and friendship agreement. The fear and mistrust of Slovenians and Yugoslavia reached a peak in the summer of 1934, following an unsuccessful Nazi putsch and the murder of Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss. Standing firmly at Austria’s side during this time was Mus- solini, who was already sending his units to Brenner, which Yugoslavia understood to be a di- rect threat. The Rupnik Line Forts The Yugoslav military leadership did not in fact have any experience in building such forts; however, the friendship agreement and close military collaboration with France led Yu- goslavia to attempt to build a defence line based on the model of the Maginot line. An acce- lerated construction of the so-called »nests« and »field fortifications« as well as other forts took place at this time. The fortification system on the Italian border is composed of three different shapes of forts or fortification methods: 1. From individual large forts or groups of forts on the most important strategic points along the border, which resembled the forts of the Maginot line. The construction of these forts was never completed; 2. From individual battle positions fortified with »nests«; (see: sketches of MG nests from the Archives of the Military History Institute in Belgrade); 3. From fortified field positions in the clearances between large forts, the so-called »case- mates« (Denkschrift, 1942, 107–108). The forts on the line were mostly made of iron and concrete. The iron was supplied under special conditions and in confidence by the Carniolan Industrial Company. Based on suggestions by the French, the line was ex- tended across the slopes where the enemy’s attack was expected. The forts were inter- sected by shafts and different obstacle systems, whereas the most powerful fort was composed of iron-concrete light machine guns, machine guns, and later artillery bun- kers. In fact, the line that is of greatest interest to us, extending from Ratitovec across Blegoš to Žirovski vrh and onwards to Sv. Trije kralji, was one example of such con- struction. The order for the construction of this section between Gorenja vas in Poljan- ska dolina–Srednja vas–Hotavlje and Hlavče Njive beneath Blegoš was assigned to a well-known engineer Ljubljana’s named Dukić as soon as construction started in 1937. The construction of the Rupnik line was an important acquisition for the local popula- 74 the rupnik defence line as a tourist destination tion, as it was the only source of income for many, especially for manual workers, as it is said they had to transport large quantities of the construction material into inaccessi- ble gorges in the Škofja Loka mountains. Men carried up to three sacks of sand and ce- ment to the 900 m peak of Žirovski vrh–Javorč, or the 1562 m high peak of Blegoš on a daily basis. Moreover, according to current estimates, several hundred fortified posi- tions and bunkers were required on the trail at the time (Škrlep, 2010, 1). This was also a significant source of income for various craftsmen. For this part, they used the so-called »group system« with hold points and individual fa- cilities between them. In 1939, while fortifying the Italian border in this area and elsewhere, they built especially strong concrete bunkers leading deep underground on important tactical points, which they called underground »ridge forts« or »bases«. These were several concre- te tunnels, tens of metres long, drilled into the hills, which were supposed to be used as com- mand-observation posts, barracks and warehouses for ammunition and supplies. It was plan- ned for them to be as comfortable and fully equipped as possible. Therefore, this was not a serried concrete fortified line. In other parts of the Rupnik line, it was decided to build inde- pendent strong points, while the directions with the most difficult access were protected by setting up a blocking system (e.g. the Selška Sora Valley). In sections where penetration of ar- moured units was expected, they set up anti-tank trenches, built a broken terrain and set up barricades to block communication. Attentive experts and researchers of the fortifications on the western Slovenian border noticed that no large mine fields were planned in the fortificati- on system. In contrast, they did not set up any fortified facilities on those parts of the Rupnik line that were not easily accessible and strongly overgrown with forests, such as Jelovica, and no fortifications were built in the hinterland of the main fort either (Denkschrift, 1942, 110; Marković, 1995, 117). Figure 12: A typical machine gun bunker on Javorč, a symbol of Rupnik defence line (Source: Municipality of Gorenja vas-Poljane). One of the most important strongholds on the Rupnik line was the Blegoš hill. From this point, the defender has an extensive view over Italy, and the foothills of Hlavče Njive, Žirovski vrh, and Goli vrh. Many stories circulated about the fortified structures and Blegoš. Howe- ver, when the German army reached this area, and made a thorough analysis of the Rupnik li- ne fortifications and published it in the quoted book in 1942, they determined that there was a 29-km long military road leading from Škofja Loka to the mountain pass under Blegoš and 75 dar k tour ism a railway leading to the peak of Blegoš (cca 1.5 km). At the peak of Blegoš, there were seven machine gun bunkers and 12 more battle positions on the surrounding hills. There were no staff bunkers, observation points or barracks for soldiers here. The road and the railway pro- ve, at least according to the German Wermacht source, that further construction of the forts was planned. Based on the documentation found, they thought that strong artillery positions would be built. However, it did not happen (Denkschrift, 1942, 111). Further fortification, however, were built on the line south of Blegoš, which led across Po- ljanska dolina and Trata (Gorenja vas), to Žirovski vrh, which controlled the Žiri area. The fortified line led across the Žirovski vrh ridge, and from there to the hill of Goli vrh. It was he- re where the strongest forts were built. There was an approximately 200-metre long entry chi- selled in the rock, leading to the two mighty concrete machine gun bunkers, and each of the bunkers featured a thirty metre deep stairway leading to dozens of differently shaped spaces above ground, which connected the two bunkers. Work was not fully completed, and in the opinion of the Germans, the fortified system was supposed to be a kind of shelter (»hier war der Ausbaueiner Werkgruppebeabsichtigt«) (Denkschrift, 1942, 114). It can be said with qui- te some certainty that the part of the Rupnik line leading from Blegoš across Poljanska Sora (Trata–Gorenja Vas)–Žirovski vrh–Goli vrh was the most advanced and fortified. Similar plans of heavy fortifications also existed for the section south of Golivrh in the di- rection leading to Sv. Trije kralji and Logatec. These as well were said to be based on French suggestions; however, they were never realized. On this part of the front, only shafts for sta- irways were built, but not the actual forts. Both were noticeably different from the original French plans. In particular, the underground spaces of uncompleted bunkers were much smal- ler and entirely differently shaped. Even further, south of Logatec, the fortified line consisted only of obstacles for armoured vehicles and barbed wire entanglements (Denkschrift, 1942, 115–117). In the following part of the Rupnik line, the blind and thickly overgrown uplands south of Cerknica (Javornik), only a few forts were constructed, but their branches did not le- ad as deeply as the ones in the north. For example, the line in the Blegoš area was only a few metres deep. Further south, the fortified line was unconnected and interrupted at several po- ints. Only in the proximity of the towns of Reka and Suška was the line strengthened and expanded more in depth. North of Reka, the main battle area of the Rupnik line leading along the main road Reka-Zagreb ascended the Kamenjak peak, and from here in the form of moun- tain forts (caverns chiselled into rocks) to the south of Reka, across the slopes of Kras towards the coastal town of Novi. At the beginning of the war, this coastal fortification was only in the construction phase. The Rupnik line did not justify its purpose, and the critics’ warnings about the constructi- on of this line became a reality. The Italian army conquered Ljubljana on 11 April 1941, while there was a somewhat stronger resistance on April 7 and 8 only in the area of Blegoš. 76 The First World War and the Use of Memory in the Landscape of the Isonzo/Soča Front Sergio Zilli For the area that now forms the border between Italy and Slovenia, the First World War was the definitive moment out of the previous two hundred years, a period in which eve- rything changed. Five years of war, the destruction of infrastructure, the change of gover- nment, and territorial shifts were the main elements that drove the Italians and Slovenians who were living in that area to seek new rules for coexistence. The war also marked the first involvement of the Italian State, established just over fifty years earlier. For the first time, all the inhabitants of all the regions encountered one another and collaborated in a single effort of which they all felt a part. To suggest that Italy and the Italians were formed through the- se four years of conflict is not an exaggeration. For this reason, the memory of the First Wor- ld War and, above all, of the dead, represented an important element in Italian society in the decades that followed, and its use became an instrument of economic, social and political con- trol over the territory. Italy entered the war almost a year after its former allies, and the Italian Army fought in the north-east of the country, along the 600 km line that followed the Alps, from Lake Gar- da to the Gulf of Trieste. The most important battles took place at the two ends of this line: in the Dolomite region and in the Isonzo/Soča valley, with the latter location extending to the Karst plateau. The main difference between the two fronts was their differing terrain (mo- untains versus low hills) and their diverse climates, which only permitted year-round activi- ty in the Isonzo valley. For these reasons the battles on the Isonzo/Soča Front were the bloodi- est, and resulted in the highest number of deaths, despite the fact that the fighting there lasted just a little over two years (Isnenghi, 1970; Fabi, 1994; Sema, 1995). Over the course of eleven battles, from June 1915 and October 1917, the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Armies lost mo- re than a million men, including the dead, the wounded and those lost or imprisoned. These losses were concentrated around the battlegrounds of the Karst, and were caused by the sense- less methodology of the battles, as well as the limited space, the frequency of combat, and the impossibility of finding safe refuge during bombings. In addition to these figures, there were 30,000 deaths and 300,000 imprisonments on the Italian side alone, in October 1917, as a re- sult of the Caporetto retreat. 77 dar k tour ism Before 1914, Isonzo and Karst were, from Italy’s perspective, two names that alluded to distant places beyond the eastern border with Austria; somewhere north-east of the count- ry, more or less in the upper part of the Adriatic (Marinelli, 1921; Cattaruzza, 2007). The on- ly familiar place name in that area was, perhaps, Trieste: the city on the sea that was known as a place inhabited by Italians in a German State (Ara, Magris 1982; Apih, 1988; Millo, 1990; Sapelli, 1990; Zilli, 2012). From the outbreak of the war, the names of unknown places, such as Monfalcone, San Martino, Doberdò, Gorizia, Sabotino, San Michele, etc., emerged from that unknown territory and entered into the daily conversation of Italians through stories, de- scriptions in newspapers, from the news and, most of all, the letters that came from the front, as well as the telegrams which announced the death of soldiers (Ermacora, 2005; Maranesi, 2014; Mondini, 2014). In this manner, the knowledge of these new places became necessary and resulted in a need for a new geography that explored and explained this new land. Within the Habsburg Empire, however, those territories were well-known as part of the Adriatische Künstenland (Adriatic coast): the region on the south-west border of the state, formed of the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the city (»Città immediata«) of Trieste and the March (»Margraviato«) of Istria (Aa.Vv. 2009). In particular, all the battles took place wi- thin the County of Gorizia, which stretched from the area near the current border between Italy, Austria and Slovenia, right up to the hills which overlook the port of Trieste, in the spa- ce which today marks the Italian/-Slovenian border. The most significant part of the Isonzo/ Soča Front: the area in which the first battles took place, was the land between Gorizia and the sea (Gortani, 1930; Zilli, 2013a). Fighting was possible here because this zone was the on- ly part of the alpine arc without natural obstacles: it was possible to traverse this area without being inhibited by heavy snow. It was Italy’s objective to penetrate to the mainland of the ene- my territory via this route and from there to arrive in Trieste and Ljubljana. The distance from where the Italian soldiers began to fight in June 1915, after having crossed the Isonzo River and the furthest point of advance, close to Mount Hermada, is nearly ten kilometres. Here, they fought for 28 months without victory on either side, and here hundreds of thousands of soldiers stayed and died until, after the Caporetto retreat, the front moved by more than one hundred kilometres, to the Piave river, within Italian territory. At that moment, the fighting entered Italy, but the Italians continued to believe that the war had previously taken place against the Austrians, in Austrian territory. The general public did not know that the people who lived in those lands were Habsburg subjects, but of Italian and Slovenian nationality. On the contrary, the official propaganda in Italy dedicated much attention to those who had escaped from those lands, and had subsequently volunteered to fi- ght in the Italian army. These people, a few thousand in total, came from Trentino and Vene- zia Giulia and comprised a tiny proportion compared to those who had entered the ranks of the Imperial Army as faithful subjects of the Habsburg reign in 1914 (Todero, 2014). The ma- jority of those living in the Adriatische Künstenland were not in favour of becoming subjec- ts of Italy, and this fact heavily influenced the management of the annexed provinces after the end of the war (Vivante, 1912; Rutar, 2003; Salvador, 2014). There were approximately 5,000,000 Italian soldiers involved in the First World War, of which 560,000 were killed and 1,200,000 were wounded, out of a population of 35,000,000 inhabitants. Almost half of these were involved in the battles of Isonzo, and this was the reason behind the requests for information on those places and events which came from all over Italy. 78 the first world war and the use of memory in the landscape .. The families of soldiers and the dead knew the areas where their loved ones had been sent to fi- ght, where they had died or disappeared (since for many identification or burial was impossible) and finally – where possible – the location of their graves, far from home. The long and nume- rous battles on the Isonzo/Soča Front took place in small spaces, and the vast number of dead produced led to a large number of war cemeteries, built directly next to the trenches (Fabi, To- dero, 2004). These spaces on the front were products of war just like the fortifications and the trenches and, following the peace treaty, they were included in the provinces annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. After having been a subject of interest for those who had heard them talked about during the conflict, they became places to visit for those who wanted to see the battle zo- nes and/or to pay tribute to the tombs of their relatives who had died or been lost fighting. Already by 1919, tourist guides to the battlefields and other places made famous by the war were beginning to be produced, in order to satisfy popular demand. These were published by important national publishing houses (such as the Touring Club Italiano) and by smaller local publishers, with numerous print-runs, reprints and new editions (Aa.Vv 1919; Touring, 1929). Each of these guides featured proposed itineraries around the places of battle, the chro- nology of the events, the actions of the Italian soldiers, and a description of the places where the cemeteries were located and how to find and distinguish them. The popularity of the gu- ides, alongside that of survivors’ diaries, official accounts, and the stories of the journalists in- vited to the front, further fuelled interest in the conquered zones and were essential for get- ting to know these areas. At the same time, the victory conferred a greater value on the soldiers who had died than on the survivors. The dead were celebrated in every village and city in the country, great or small, where monuments and stones were erected in which the names of tho- se who had died in battle were engraved: a substitute for family tombs and the private memory of the dead. In this way, the memory of the war was not only celebrated in an official and pu- blic manner, but it became a perennial part of the urban Italian landscape, which continually recalled those four years which had indelibly marked the life of every Italian family. In additi- on to these memorials, the names of the places of war were introduced into the local place na- mes of every town and city in the country. Even the smallest villages built in the 1930s within the spaces reclaimed in the Agro Pontino, the biggest reclamation work in Italy of the twenti- eth century, had the same names as the places that had become famous from the battles of the Isonzo/Soča Front (Sciarretta, 2014). In practice, in a more or less conscious manner, a territorial marketing campaign within an Italy which was no longer the same as it had been before the war had begun. After 1918, Itali- an society demanded major changes of a political, social and cultural nature, and the two years that followed the peace brought such changes to the country. The expectations, hopes and illusions fed by those four years of overturned the fragile ba- lance within the country and created the conditions for the vast political transformation whi- ch that led to the Fascist regime. In the eastern provinces annexed after the peace treaty, whi- ch included the Isonzo/Soča Front, the upheaval was still greater, due to the movement of power from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Kingdom of Italy, and also due to the si- gnificant changes in the composition of the population, which was caused by the departure of those who were not Italian or Slovenian, and their substitution with people from other Italian regions (Zilli, 2015). Here, in a climate that was far from peaceful, fascism took hold before it did in the rest of Italy, using the methods of obtaining power that, a few years later, would see 79 dar k tour ism fascism control the whole of Italy (Vinci, 2011). In order to reach this objective, the events and outcome of the war were adopted by fascism as a tool and an opportunity for political con- trol, and to impose a particular ideology on the local population. The key part of this action was the transformation of the memory of the war into a celebration of victory. This memory morphed from the view that the war had been a violent and devastating disaster, which had af- fected both sides in more or less equal measure (the »senseless murder«, according to the po- pe of that time, Benedict XV), to one in which there was a victorious side, who had been in the right; and a defeated side, which as such, had to passively accept the choices of the victor. This approach led to the eradication, in the new Italian provinces, of any remnant of the losing state, even though it had governed in those territories for over five centuries, and despi- te the fact that the people who lived there had been, until the final moment, proud citizens of the Habsburg Empire, even if they were Italian or Slovenian nationals. After the expulsion of citizens of other nationalities, there followed the physical removal of the Habsburg memo- ry, from the administrative structures to the place names and, later, personal names, when the Italianization of foreign surnames was imposed (Apih ,1966). Even the most fundamental elements of war were subject to these actions, and great care was taken to ensure that everything which related to the presence of these people among the ranks of the Imperial Army was destroyed. Within the Karst and the Isonzo valley, all the mo- numents built by the Habsburg soldiers were destroyed, even those that memorialised the de- ad outside the cemeteries, and there were no stones or memorials in any village or town in the Adriatische Künstenland to pay tribute to the local men who had died in the imperial uni- form: in stark contrast to the innumerable monuments for Italian soldiers in Italy. Up un- til the end of the 20th century, there was just a single stone, on the hill of San Giusto in Trie- ste, which recorded those in the Habsburg army in the coastal region who had died. Only in the summer 2014 was a modest monument inaugurated in the railway station in Trieste to re- member the tens of thousands of soldiers from the coast who had left from that very station to fight on the faraway eastern front in Galizia. The only celebrations in honour of the soldiers from this area were reserved for those who had abandoned their fatherland – where they we- re considered traitors – to fight as volunteers in the Italian army. These men had streets, squa- res, schools and monuments named after them, and they were commemorated in a wide range of ways: for example, even today in the Museo della Grande Guerra di Gorizia (the Museum of the Great War in Gorizia) there is a list of all the names of the dozens of volunteers of that area who joined the Italian ranks, but there is no reference whatsoever even to the order of magni- tude of how many men from the same county had fought under the imperial banner. There was, therefore, a double and contrasting phenomenon: on the one hand, the local me- mory was denied, and on the other there was a great celebration of the other story, that of the winners: a different memory that signalled the triumph of the new state over the former one (Cumin, 1929; Massi, 1938). A strange aspect of this political use of memory involved the de- ad: the control of memory (both public and private), the war cemeteries and the monuments of the soldiers who were considered the most important (Bortolotti, 1995). Even today, there is no precise count of how many died within the narrow strip of the Isonzo/Soča Front, but the figu- re of 500,000 dead across the two armies can be considered to be near the truth. The vast num- bers of corpses were mostly buried in cemeteries, the majority of which were fairly small and built by the soldiers themselves in the available spaces near the battlefields. These places were predominantly areas viable for farming. Since such spaces are rare in the Karst due to its particu- 80 the first world war and the use of memory in the landscape .. lar terrain, after the end of the war it was necessary to return these areas to civic use. This led to the construction of large cemeteries in which the bodies of the dead were brought and reburied. Examples of such structures include Redipuglia (the first such large cemetery) and Oslavia and Caporetto/Kobarid (later examples), which collected the bodies of almost 150,000 soldiers, ne- arly all of whom were Italian. For the Austro-Hungarian dead, there was only a small designated burial area near Redipuglia with approximately 14,000 graves; while the majority of the (tempo- rary) cemeteries built by imperial soldiers were left as they were. At the same time, the Italian go- vernment began a process of monumentalization of the theatre of war – both on the Dolomite Front and the Isonzo/Soča Front – which involved the construction of imposing structures, ve- ritable signs on the landscape, which introduced a schema of reading the countryside whose on- ly possible interpretation was Italy’s total dominion, even over the inhabitants who did not spe- ak Italian or share Italian culture. The objective was to ensure that these signs were immediately identifiable. The two most famous mountains of the war, located in spaces inhabited by Slove- nians – the Sabotino mountain (680 m) above Gorizia and the San Michele Mountain (270 m) on the Karst – were acquired by the Italian government and declared »sacred zones«. On the top of each mountain, museums of war were constructed, stone paths laid and monuments cre- ated which paid tribute to the the actions of the Italian soldiers, avoiding (almost) all mention of the enemy army: effectively deleting them from memory. A striking example of just such a vi- sible sign was intended for the San Michele mountain, where a double monumental set of stairs was planned in white stone, which would climb, for more than 500 metres, from the riverbank of the Isonzo River to the top of the mountain, culminating in an imposing statue of an infant- ryman on the summit. This monument was blocked just before work began, because the leader of the then government considered it too pitiful and not sufficiently celebratory of the figure of the victor (Fabi, Todero, 2004). In these architectural works, the Italian soldiers were recorded with their names and surnames, their ranks, places of birth, dates of birth and dates of death, while the other soldiers were defined as the »enemy«, and, at most, defined as either Austrian or Hungarian. No mention was made of the presence of the other national groups though they had been recognised and protected as such within the Habsburg Empire. Figure 13: Italian military ossuary in Kobarid/Caporetto, Slovenia (Photo: S. Zil i). 81 dar k tour ism Within these monuments, one stands out (even physically): the cemetery in Redipuglia. Redipuglia is a small village rising out of the western slopes of the Karst, within the Italian part of the former County of Gorizia, which was only involved in the battles during the first weeks of the war (Fabi, 2002). From 1918, on a hill near the town centre, the corpses from the surrounding Italian war cemeteries that had been created during the battles on the Karst we- re collected in a single site. By the early 1930s, there was a total of 100,000 bodies. A structu- re was created, composed of a continuous succession of tombs that stretched from the bottom to the top of the slope in a single spiral route. Every stone was unique, and each had a different inscription so that the individual dead were recognisable and could be distinguished from one another. This cemetery, completed in 1924, was soon considered to be inadequate in light of the image the new Fascist regime wanted to present of the war, since it was overly geared to- wards pity for the dead, rather than celebrating the greatness of victory. In 1938, Benito Mus- solini inaugurated a new memorial in its place, built only a few metres away from the previo- us one, which transformed the entire side of the hill into an imposing set of stairs which were 200 metres high and 400 metres long, in which the remains of the soldiers were contained in identical spaces, with the word »Presente« (»present«) inscribed on every step. The visual impact of this monument, which remains intact to the present day, is strong: it hits the obser- ver and clearly expresses the intentions of the man who called for its creation. Still today, eve- ry November 4th, a senior state official, either the President of the Republic or the Senate; the Head of the Government or of the Ministry of Defence, goes to the Redipuglia monument to celebrate the national day of victory, though the local participation in the event is highly limi- ted in comparison to 25 years ago, when all the steps were covered with thousands of people who had travelled from the whole of Italy to remember the relatives who had died on the Ison- zo/Soča Front (Dato, 2014). Figure 14: Sredipolje/Redipuglia First World War cemetery, Italy (Photo: S. Zil i). Other war museums were opened in the area, including in Redipuglia itself, in Gorizia (with the name, already by 1917, of »Museo della Redenzione«, »The Museum of Redempti- on«), and several towns had their names changed to underline their involvement in the con- 82 the first world war and the use of memory in the landscape .. flict. For example, Sdraussina, a small Slovenian village on the left bank of the Isonzo river, became Poggio Terza Armata, or »small hill«, the point of support for the third regiment of the Italian army: a name that remains today. This network of structures that stand alongside the remains of the war (the trenches, tunnels, caves and armories which survived the battles) became a powerful path of memory that transformed the theatre of war into a sort of macabre tourist attraction. The growing knowledge of a previously unknown area, which had become part of the Kingdom of Italy, developed first with words, stories and images and then through the propa- ganda that formally displayed these places of war, and was used to impose control over the ter- ritory and those living there: in particular on the Slovenians and those »new« Italians who disagreed with Fascist politics (Collotti, 1974; Sluga, 2003; Aa.Vv 2009). The complete power of the regime, which led – from 1923 to 1928 – to the abolition of the Province of Gorizia, the area which contained almost all the sites of memory, allowed this behaviour to extend to the other territorial results of the war. This became a function of Fascist politics, with the aim of imposing a reassessment of the border territories in the rest of the country. It certainly was no coincidence that Mussolini had inaugurated the new Repiduglia Memorial in the same tour of Venezia Giulia in September 1938 in which the racial laws again Jews were announced in Tri- este and the city was proclaimed the new seat of the Italian University (Cossu, Venza, 2014). This series of actions fed the memory of the conflict for the entire inter-war period, main- taining Italy’s interest, and the continuous flow of »tourists« to the places of battle. The lo- cal populations, however, did not seem to appreciate this politics and the choice to introduce such »signs« on the territory. These memorials had denied them a place to pay tribute to the dead who had fought in the Habsburg ranks. Indeed, they had deleted them from public re- cord. The regime’s image was made to coincide with the »official« memory, in which war and Fascism were presented and therefore experienced as two sides of the same coin: this weighed heavily on the local populations (Cumin, 1929; Massi, 1938). Finally, the »signs of war« in- dicated a national difference and imposed a vision of Italian superiority on the citizens of Slo- venian language and culture, who had already been badly affected by the laws prohibitting them from using almost any public institution, including schools, the press, their language, and even their names, which marked them out in Italian territory as »alloglotti« (»allopho- nes«), i.e. people who talked in a different way (Zilli, 2013b). This led to the destruction of se- veral of these monuments during the Second World War, including the alpine refuge built on top of the Nero/Krn mountain (2,245 m), in the upper Isonzo valley, which was destroyed by Yugoslav Partisans precisely because of its symbolic function. In 1947, the new border between Italy and Yugoslavia divided the 1915–1918 front into two parts, and the memories of the First World War began to be used in a new and different way by the two governments that followed the Fascist era (Andreozzi, 2004; Zilli, 2005; Cat- taruzza, 2007; Verginella, 2008; Woersdorfer, 2009). On the Italian side, the continued me- morialisation of the places of the Great War was used to focus on the annexation of thirty ye- ars earlier, and was intended to highlight the loss of territory, and the present government’s starkly different stance to the Italy that had appropriated the land. On the other side, howe- ver, the fact that the »signs« were the work of Italy meant that they fell into oblivion. There was also no attempt to reconstruct the memory of the Slovenian soldiers in the Habsburg Ar- my, since this would have meant re-evaluating an era before the state organisation of the Yu- 83 dar k tour ism goslavs, and so this conflict was forgotten since it was considered extraneous to the new sta- te. On both sides of the border, however, it was significant that this location coincided with the final tract of the Iron Curtain, which divided Europe into two opposing parts, in which it was essential to maintain an active distinction between the internal system and that of the »other«. Along the border, each state deployed vast numbers of armed troops (until the final decade of the 20th century more than a third of the entire Italian Army was stationed in Fri- uli Venezia Giulia). This space came under military control, which focussed on guarding the border, and ensuring there was no unauthorised trespassing, even by civilians, across the mul- tiple border crossings; however, the military had no desire for any discussion of the conflict to move beyond the soldiers and their actions (Baccichet, 2015). In this period, the memory of the events of the First World War declined and, with it, the tourist use of the places of war; however, both sides actively continued to create »signs« in the landscape that outlined the new territorial powers. An example of this new series of si- gns is the city of Nova Gorica, which was built in 1947 in an empty space near to the bor- ders of the old Italian Gorizia within the Yugoslav state. It was designed with the intention of showing the Italians the differences of the new socialist society (Zilli, 2004). Even the sanc- tuary of Monte Grisa on the Triestine Karst, at an altitude of 330m, which was built in 1966, is part of the series: an enormous Catholic church that stands above Trieste, the most secular and multi-faith city in Italy, placed in a dominant position on the gulf and therefore highly vi- sible: a stark warning to the atheist, Yugoslav Istria. A further example was the huge »Nas Ti- to« sign, which was written in block letters made of white stone on the southern side of the Sabotino Mountain, above Gorizia and Nova Gorica. This was created to mark a visit by the president Josip Broz Tito during the early 1970s and remained in place until a few years ago, long after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the birth of the Slovenian Republic. A similar pi- ece of writing on the Slovenian Karst, overlying the valley of the Vipacco/Vipava River, rema- ins visible today. Analogous signs did not stop with the end of the Cold War, their original ca- use. Instead, they continue to appear even in the new millennium. In 2000 near Dosso Faiti / Fajti Hrib, at an altitude of 343m on the Slovenian Karst, the local government of Miren Ko- stanjevica and the Minister for Culture for the Republic of Slovenia oversaw the start of con- struction for a large square tower, more than thirty metres tall, to function as a monument for the »defenders of the western border«. This definition is very strange, since the newly created Republic of Slovenia did not have any interest in celebrating its »defenders«, unless it wished to refer to the Yugoslav era (from which it had distanced itself) or the Habsburg period. In ei- ther case, it was marking its counterposition with Italy, which was probably the actual motive behind the project: a response to the fact that in those years some members of the Italian Go- vernment had openly talked about a revision of the treaty that had introduced the border line in 1947 and therefore sanctioned the loss of those territories. In effect, the monument, which is now called »Cerje«, dedicated to the defenders of the Slovenian homeland and transfor- med into a museum of the First World War, is not very prominent in the Slovenian landscape, but is highly visible from the Friulian plain, from Gorizia and from the Gulf of Trieste: a testi- mony of the way in which these places belong to the Republic of Slovenia. 84 the first world war and the use of memory in the landscape .. Figure 15: The memorial to the defenders of the Slovenian homeland at Cerje, Slovenia (Pho- to: S. Zil i). The memory of the First World War has accompanied the events of the area that is now on the Italian-Slovenian border, throughout the entire 20th century. The disasters and the de- ad of the war have been used for political control of the territory, culminating in the control of the populations who lived there and the construction of a politicised landscape, through the introduction of great »signs«. The events of the battles and the effects of conflict have been recorded, celebrated and studied in a consistently distinct way, according to two approaches that have produced diversified narratives. Even the program of actions put in place for the cen- tenary of the conflict was unable to provide instruments for a shared perspective, which de- monstrates the weight exerted by the legacy of the 20th century, and the risk is that the atti- tude towards the events that dominated the last century will find new fuel. To date, the only moment in which the First World War has been shown to all as it truly was, the death of milli- ons of people, was the visit of Pope Francis to two military cemeteries, one Italian and one Au- stro-Hungarian, in Redipuglia on 13th September 2014, in which every type of rhetoric fled before the reaffirmation of that »senseless murder«. 85 Dark Tourism and Memory Tourism: From Schadenfreude to »Global Citizenship« Elena del ʼAgnese Le culte de la mémoire ne sert pas toujours la justice … (Todorov, 1995) Introduction »The rather emotive label of ‘dark tourism’ has entered academic discourse and media parlance, and consequently has generated a significant amount of research interest« (Stone, 2006). In the decade since that was written, the topic of »dark tourism« has become even more fashionable, the literature more abundant and media attention wider. However, since it is often used to define »an enormous variety of places and experiences« (Sharpley, 2009), »dark tourism«, more than a clearly delineated form of »special interest tourism«, risks be- ing an assemblage of very different practices. For this reason, »the label« is still »rather emo- tive« and the questions mentioned still open. Indeed, »[…] a number of fundamental issues remain, not least whether it is actually possible or justifiable to collectively categorise a diver- se range of sites, attractions and exhibitions that are associated with death and the macabre as ‘dark tourism’« (Stone, 2006). From this standpoint, this paper tackles two basic questions. First, it is aimed at investiga- ting if, taking into account visitors’ emotions more than sites and suppliers, an all-inclusive ca- tegorization is actually analytically valuable; or if it is more helpful to separate »dark touri- sm«, a category to be referred only to travels driven by a taste for death and the macabre, from »memory tourism«, a category that could include all visits to sites of remembrance, animated by educational reasons, or by a demand of heritage and identity. Focusing on this second cate- gory, the paper later devotes specific attention to the different constructions of »memory« in memory tourism, making a specific reference to Tzvetan Todorov’s distinction between lite- ral memory and exemplary memory (1995). In this perspective, it will attempt to demon- strate that while »victim tourism«, directly connected with literal memory and memorials, may represent a divisive experience (Ashworth, 2008), exemplary memory and memorials may be helpful in constructing a tourism for peace, fostering an inclusive feeling of global citi- zenship (Urbain, 2013). 87 dar k tour ism Defining »Dark Tourism« The practice of traveling in order to reach sites where death and suffering are displayed is far from new. Indeed, Rome’s amphitheatres were famous for their gladiatorial games, while visiting places connected with corporal punishments or attending to death sentences were po- pular in medieval times.1 Much more recently, freak shows and other assemblages of human and animal oddities attracted masses of visitors. For this reason, »travel to sites of death and suffering, may simply be an old concept in a new world« (Stone, 2005, 111). Nonetheless, the- re is a basic difference: contemporary »dark tourists« visit places that are somehow connected with violence, or representing violence (like dark fun factories and exhibitions or re-enacted tours of historical events) or even exhibitions of preserved human bodies, but they do not see people dying and suffering in front of them. Therefore, it is possible that they are attracted by the image (and the memory) of violence and death, but not by death and violence themselves. However, trips to this kind of sites have been rising in number in the last decades and, sin- ce the 1990s, tourism studies have been outlining the idea that death and the macabre attract a specific kind of tourism. In 1994, Dann described the »milking the macabre« attitude of many suppliers; in 1996, Seaton started analysing »thanatourism« as a practice. In the same year, Foley and Lennon coined the label »dark tourism«, in order to describe »the presenta- tion and consumption (by visitors) of real and commodified death and disaster sites« (Foley and Lennon, 1996, 198). Currently, dark tourism represents a specific object of a group of re- searchers working under the umbrella of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research 2 of the Uni- versity of Central Lancashire. As stated before, dark tourism, defined as »the act of travel to sites associated with de- ath, suffering and the seemingly macabre« (Stone, 2006), is a label that may cover »a varie- ty of places and experiences«. Consequently, attempts of classification have been made over the years; some trying to differentiate between sites and attractions (Dann, 1998 and Shar- pley, 2009), others between different suppliers. For instance, Stone (2006) provides a »Dark Tourism Spectrum«, based on the shades of »macabreness« of the dark tourism products, from dark fun factories and dark dungeons to conflict sites and camps of genocide (even if the difference between museums of macabre oddities and concentration camps seems so vast that such a classification risks being overly comprehensive). Attempts at categorizing dark tourism on the basis of suppliers is also difficult, since the same supplier may offer different tourism experiences on the same day, or even in the same tour.3 Moreover, dark tourism is sometimes a spontaneous phenomenon and does not need a supplier to be practiced.4 More relevantly, not only can a visit to the same site be offered with different motivations, it can also arouse ve- ry different emotions and be experienced in different ways by different individuals (or even 1 For instance, in 1305, the execution of »Braveheart«, Wil iam Wal ace, was the opening attraction of an impor- tant fair. 2 The iDTR promotes »ethical research into the social scientific understanding of tourist sites of death, disaster or the seemingly macabre«. See http://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/explore/groups/institute_for_dark_touri- sm_research.php 3 Thus, in Krakow the same supplier may offer, on the same day, a visit to Auschwitz, a tour of Old Town and dinner in a typical Polish restaurant. 4 For instance, »hot spot tourism«, i. e. tourism, that is tourism focused on »the sites of recent dramatic and newsworthy events« (Ashworth, 2008) it not usualy organized. Disaster tourism is also often spontaneous, at least in the first phase. 88 dark tourism and memory tourism: from schadenfreude to global »citizenship« by the same individual, in different moments of life). On this basis, spectra of darkness, both based on sites or suppliers, are not considered satisfying by many researchers, who prefer to emphasize the importance of emotions. Figure 16: Tours in Krakow, Poland, include dark tourism destinations (Photo: E. del ’Agnese). Focusing on Emotions »The supply perspective ignores the diversity of the individual’s inner experience and motives, leading, in turn, to a simplified understanding of dark tourism, one which arbitra- rily combines possibly unrelated experiences« (Biran et al., 2011). In this perspective, Seaton (1996) suggests the possibility of outlining a »continuum of intensity« in the emotions con- nected to »dark tourism«, while Seaton and Lennon (2004) recommend operating a basic distinction between Schadenfreude and »the contemplation of death«, that is between »the secret pleasure in witnessing the misfortune of others«5 and the desire to understand death. If the gratification offered by other people’s suffering is perhaps the »darker reason« behind dark tourism, it is not the only one. Indeed, any number of key motivators exist for visiting si- 5 As defined by Schopenhauer (1897), Schadenfreude is »a mischievous delight in the misfortunes of others, whi- ch remains the worst trait in human nature«. 89 dar k tour ism tes associated with death and violence, including the desire to say »I was there« and the »cu- riosity to witness«, both typical of »hot spot tourism« (Ashworth, 2008). More, there are also empathy, educational reasons, identity issues and questions of heritage. »So, […] not all visitations to dark sites are necessarily motivated by a desire to gaze upon the macabre. It is the perception of the site as dark (rather than the site’s attributes per se) which determines whe- ther tourists are motivated to visit by dark motives […] so, not all tourists to sites presenting death are indeed engaged in a dark experience« (Smith and Croy, 2005). Some forms of tourism »associated with death« may also be seen as a continuation of other forms of tourism, connected with heritage,6 national identity, history, diaspora and, ge- nerally speaking, with the creation of a collective memory (Du, Littlejohn and Lennon, 2013). »Indeed, visitors to dark sites may just as easily be motivated by a sense of belonging to a par- ticular community, or conduct visits for educational purposes. In Europe, for example, educa- tional trips to concentration camps and battlefields are often encouraged to teach us about our collective history, however distressing that history might be« (Phelan, 2010). Up against such an impasse, »the literature remains eclectic and theoretically fragile« (Si- mone-Charteris, Boyd, and Burns, 2013). In order to overcome it, we suggest splitting the per- haps unnecessarily comprehensive category of »dark tourism« in two separate analytical ca- tegories. Table 5: Dark Tourism versus Memory Tourism. Dark Tourism Memory Tourism Schadenfreude Tourism Heritage/Identity Tourism Macabre Tourism/Horror Tourism Victim Tourism/Revenge Tourism/ Mea-culpa tourism Hot-spot tourism Edutourism On the basis of the different emotions involved, much more than in reference to sites and suppliers, it is indeed possible to speak about »Dark Tourism« in a proper sense of the phra- se, and of »Memory Tourism«. Following this new categorization, it is possible to consider as »dark tourism« all the travels to sites associated with Schadenfreude motions, the taste for the macabre and horrid as well as the simple desire to »be there«; while visits and pilgrima- ges connected with question of heritage and identity, plus all visits motivated by education rea- sons, can be gathered together under the common label of »memory tourism«. Furthermore, memory tourism is a multifaceted phenomenon, especially if it is concerned with visits to atrocity sites.7 In this case, some visitors are simply interested in historical events and/or are moved by the desire to know the local culture better; but many others do not expe- rience this kind of heritage as a merely cognitive experience (Uzzell, 1989)8, but are emotional- 6 »The findings suggest that Auschwitz hosts a heritage experience rather than a merely dark tourism one, and that alongside site attributes, tourists’ perceptions of the site should be considered in the conceptualization of the tourist experience« (Biran, Poria and Oren, 2011). 7 As with other dark tourism destinations, atrocity sites may also represent for some visitors a moment of curiosity as part of an otherwise entertaining holiday. »To come back from holiday with a digital camera full of skul s from a genocide in a culture you don’t understand, whose language you don’t speak, whose people you probably didn’t interact with beyond ‘put more marijuana on the happy pizza, please’, and real y, all you’ve accomplished is to titil ate your own sense of horror«. See Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum http://www.roadjunky.com/2052/ genocide-tourism-in-cambodia-is-voyeuristic-and-macabre/. 8 For instance, Beech (2000), focusing on Buchenwald concentration camp, identifies two types of tourists see- 90 dark tourism and memory tourism: from schadenfreude to global »citizenship« ly engaged with it, and tend to identify with the victims (or, sometimes, with the perpetrators). As remarked by Ashworth (2008): »[…] historic sites associated with violence can generate two opposite forms of tourism. There is ‘victim tourism’, in which the visitor identifies with the vic- tim, which can become […] ‘revenge tourism’ when an identified perpetrator is blamed. Such identification with victims of past violence may extend into the present, defining and strengthening the solidarity of the victimized group and even justifying the group’s present action. Its converse is ‘ mea-culpa tourism’, in which those identifying with the perpetrators of the violence are motivated by a desire of reconciliation«. Memorials, »Memory« and »Memory Tourism« Historic sites associated with violence, wars or episodes of ethnic or racial persecutions, are usually marked by a public »memorial«, that is a monument, a shrine or a museum, created to honour the victims and to enhance the visitors’ knowledge about the event. In this sense, me- morials are just »representations of the past« mediating »publicly available symbols and me- anings« (Olick, 2007) in the making of a »collective memory«. These representations are hardly neutral. Such a »heritage of atrocity« can be used to evoke powerful emotions, not on- ly because it is a »heritage that hurts« (Uzzell and Ballantyne, 2009), but also because it may often be »dissonant« (Turnbridge and Ashworth 1996) and its meaning contested between different interest groups.9 In these cases, the memorialization of landscapes is a highly politici- zed process and memorial sites, as »representations of the past«, may be subject to manipula- tion by competing parties.10 Moreover, very often the information provided tends to underline the uniqueness of the episode of violence, offering to the visitors who identify with the victims the possibility of per- petuating their perception. Tzvetan Todorov (1995) defines this kind of memory, which invol- ves a singular focus on the one catastrophe being remembered, as »literal memory«. Literal memories only focus on the events relating to the particular experience of horror and do not make any connections of empathy to other atrocities. If the event is unique, the victimized pe- ople may remember the fear and act on that memory. Therefore, »purveyors of such memori- es are only interested in connecting individuals, groups, and other events to the specific suffe- ring in question and, in the process, condemning all those associated with the authors of the original trauma« (Nevins, 2005, 182). There are many risks connected with literal memory, since it mostly assumes continuity between past and present protagonists, perpetuating on one hand, the status of victims, and on the other feeding possible desires of revenge towards the perpetrators. Literal memorials are the ones attracting »victim tourism« and »revenge tou- rism«. Literal memory, however, is not the only possible way of memorializing violence and atrocities. Todorov suggests the possibility of elaborating a different way of remembering the king different experiences, that is those who have no personal attachment to the site, and the people for whom the site carries personal meanings (e.g. people who identify with the victims or with the perpetrators). 9 »The selectivity of potential y heritage source promote certain values systems over others and can result in disinheritance of non-participating social, ethnic or regional groups« (Neugebauer, 2009). 10 For instance, when the Polish communist government nominated Auschwitz-Birkenau to be inscribed in the World Heritage List, it did it »as a site of Polish martyrdom symbolising aggression from the Fascist West.« (Deacon and Beazley, 2007). 91 dar k tour ism past: instead of focusing on the uniqueness of the past experience, it is possible to offer »an ex- plicitly ethical and cosmopolitan dimension through a simultaneous focus on the local cata- strophic event being remembered and on other events of suffering« (Karacas, 2010, 532). This kind of memory is called »exemplary memory« and, differently from literal memory, is open to analogy; so, it may be used as a key to understanding another (but maybe similar) situati- on (Todorov, 1995) and to take from a past event a lesson that can inform present and future practices aimed at combating injustices (Nevins, 2005). Figure 17: Tourists at concentration camp Auschwitz II–Birkenau, Poland (Photo: E. del ’Agnese). Since »the national paradigm continues to reign supreme« in relation to the production of historical memory (Karacas, 2010, p. 537), literal memorials are much more common than exemplary ones, but there are exceptions. For instance, the French village of Oradour-sur-Gla- ne, left depopulated during the Second World War after the massacre of more than 500 civi- lians, has been turned, by recent activities linking it with the Spanish city of Guernica, into a »message of universal peace in a transnational setting« (Leger, 2014). Moreover, in Hiro- shima, the Hiroshima Peace Museum and the other A-bomb related memorials are conceived in order »to enhance capacity to think about war and peace« (Urbain, 2013), and to foster membership of a »global world«, that is to promote »global citizenship«. Focusing on aware- ness becomes, from this perspective, a new goal for tourism, showing that »victim tourism«, »revenge tourism« and even »mea-culpa tourism« may be turned into a new tourism practi- ce, which can be defined as »peace tourism«. 92 dark tourism and memory tourism: from schadenfreude to global »citizenship« Figure 18: Tourists at 9/11 Memorial in New York, U.S.A. (Photo: E. del ’Agnese). Conclusions As we have seen, visiting sites marked by violence may be motivated by a vast range of emo- tions, which may include, but are not necessarily based on, a specific attraction to macabre, darkness and » death«. Visits motivated by the macabre, by simple curiosity towards other pe- ople suffering, or even by Schadenfreude may properly be labelled as »dark tourism«. However, not every visitor to »dark sites« has the same kind of motivations, and not eve- ryone seeks the same emotions. Many visitors to sites of atrocities and violence are motivated by education, by a desire to improve their historical knowledge; others identify with the vic- tims or with the perpetrators. For these »memory tourists«, the visit may involve a strong in- tellectual and emotional participation. Memorials, that is monuments and museums created to honour the victims, play a relevant role in representing the past, mediating symbols and me- anings in the making of collective memory. Such representations may be used to strengthen the group identity of the perceived victims, distinguishing them from the perpetrators (and even creating a desire for revenge). Alternatively, they may be used in an exemplary way, crea- ting a lesson for the present. In this way, memorials, instead of being used as an instrument of division, may become a tool to bring people together (Uzzell and Ballantyne, 2008), fostering a feeling of »global citizenship«. 93 Professional Paper WWI and the Possibilities for Developing Historical Tourism – The Case of the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic Zdravko Likar and Maša Klavora Reading soldiers’ letters, diaries, and military oaths, one simply becomes horrified. Mil- lions of soldiers – adolescents and adult men – swore oaths to their emperors and kings that they would suffer and die for them. With the goal of fighting for their interests and greed, em- perors and kings, generals and politicians sent myriads of men to war only to be slaughtered. War is an abnormal state. Passions are set afire, hostility on one side triggers hostility on the other. All soldiers, irrespective of the side to which they belonged, or the emperor or king for whom they fought, shared a single wish: to survive and to once again see their home and em- brace their nearest and dearest. During the First World War, between 1915 and 1917, the Soča valley and Kras were part of the Isonzo Front. Young and adult men of numerous nations fought and suffered and many lost their lives. Numerous recollections and remains of that period survive (trenches, fortifica- tions, caves, small churches and chapels, memorials, military cemeteries, soldiers’ diaries, let- ters, etc.), constituting a cultural and historical heritage of national and international interest. In 2015, a hundred years will have passed since the places along the Soča River and on the Kras were marked forever by war. The decisive battle of October 1917 made these places, Ko- barid in particular, points of global historical significance. This historical centre – this disas- ter of hundreds of thousands – has to be kept both in collective and individual memory. To serve as a caution! Let these centenaries be an opportunity for today’s generations to join forc- es in their work and sustainable development, and spread a basic value – Peace. The Founding and the Mission of the Kobarid Museum and the Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation The idea of establishing a museum in Kobarid occurred to Zdravko Likar in July 1989 as a way of presenting to the world the turbulent history of Kobarid and entire Soča region. At that time, the small border town was flooded by Italian visitors every day. From the mid- -1960s until 1991, when Slovenia gained independence, the border crossing of Robič was cros- sed daily by more than ten thousand Italian citizens. The idea came to him to offer something 97 dar k tour ism more than just »petrol, meat and cigarettes« to this huge crowd as well as other visitors from all over the world. The organization of the museum is also something special. Initially, it functioned within the framework of the Turistično društvo Kobarid (Tourist Society of Kobarid), but later its organizational forms changed. It is presently a non-profit limited liability company, managed by Jože Šerbec. Figure 19: Kolovrat, crossborder outdoor museum (Photo: T. Petelinšek, archive Fundacija Poti miru). The Kobarid Museum was founded above all to caution that war should never happen again. It has focused on ordinary soldiers plunged into the bloody dance of war. Their youth was destroyed; survivors returned from the war as if grown old: they were disabled, their souls were wounded forever. The museum was founded for them, not for the generals and politi- cians who triggered this unprecedented butchery. It is in charge of movable heritage and il- lustrates how soldiers lived, fought, suffered and died in the Great War. Due to the famous Twelfth Isonzo Battle, the Soča Region and Kobarid became well-known all over the world. Because of its mission and objective stance, the museum has also become well-known in Eu- rope and elsewhere. In order to protect and preserve immovable heritage and to research and develop historical tourism, the »Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation« was established in the year 2000. When restoration works in the Austro-Hungarian military cemetery at the village of Soča near Bovec were completed in July 2000, a commemoration was held there. Because the res- 98 wwi and possibilities for developing historical tourism .. toration of the cemetery was supported by the »Schwarzes Kreuz« organization of Salzburg, important guests from Austria attended the commemoration alongside the Slovenian partici- pants. Zdravko Likar explained to the guests where Austro-Hungarian and Italian positions in the surrounding mountains were located during the Great War, and pointed out that the her- itage of the First World War was very well preserved but not sufficiently promoted. Therefore, it should be brought closer to people and exploited for the purpose of tourism. Anton Jeglič, one of the speakers in the commemoration and the then national secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology, suggested that a programme be made for the reno- vation of the immovable heritage and research and tourist activities be presented. On 18 Sep- tember 2000, a ten-year programme on the evaluation of historical and cultural heritage of the Great War in the Soča Region, i.e. »The Soča Region – the Walks of Peace« was approved by the Slovenian government, which also made a motion that a foundation be established, which took place on 1 December 2000. The founders of the foundation were as follows: Zdravko Likar, Željko Cimprič, Prof. Anton Jeglič, and Prof. Robert Blinc. In addition to the founders, Prof. Petra Svoljšak is also a member of the managing board. In 2011, the Slovenian Government approved a new five-year programme. The implemen- tation of this programme is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the munici- palities of Bovec, Kobarid and Tolmin, different EU projects, and several sponsors. The foun- dation has also been raising increasing amounts of funds on its own. Activities and Development of the Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation As stated in the statutes, the purpose of the foundation is to be beneficial and continuous- ly operational. The basic activities of the foundation are study-research work, the restoration and presentation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Great War, the publication of expert and promotion materials, the historical library of Kobarid, the development of histo- ry tourism in the Soča valley and on Kras, collaboration with Friuli Venezia-Giulia (Italy) and other regions in which the Great War was fought. In its activities, the foundation collaborates with the Scientific Research Centre of the Slo- venian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the public agency SPIRIT Slovenia, the museums of Kobarid, Tolmin and Nova Gorica, the National Museum of Contemporary History Ljublja- na, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia – Nova Gorica Region- al Office, the Slovenian National Committee for the 100th Anniversary of World War I, Tri- glav National Park, universities, various societies, NGOs, municipalities, tourist industry and tourist information centres from Bovec to Komen, and other organizations. On the occasion of the 100th anniversaries of WWI, cooperation with several institutions throughout Europe has also been intensified. In its initial years, the foundation, in collaboration with other organizations, arranged six outdoor museums in situ, i.e. on authentic locations of the Italian and the Austro-Hungar- ian lines of defence, and the Walk of Peace in the Upper Soča Region (the municipalities of Bovec, Kobarid and Tolmin) was opened in 2007. Approximately, twenty-five monuments al- so were restored. The outdoor museums, the trails and some of the monuments have been fur- 99 dar k tour ism nished with information boards (in four languages) and interconnected by means of posts and markings, since the Walk is primarily designed for trekkers and bikers. Information boards are also installed in thirty-two Austro-Hungarian military cemeter- ies, from Log pod Mangartom to Gorjansko near Komen, and to Vipava, and at the Italian charnel house above Kobarid, the German one near Tolmin and at the memorial Church of the Holy Spirit on the Javorca plateau, which bears the European Heritage label. As a lasting memorial to the fallen soldiers, the Foundation and the Museum of Tolmin, in collaboration with Lovro Galić from Zagreb, drew up a register of 22,000 fallen Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who are buried in the Upper Soča Region. Access to this database is possible via the Internet (www.potmiru.si and www.tol-muzej.si), and all the data are also available in two books ( Od Krna do Rombona// From Mt. Krn to Mt. Rombon; and Tolmin-sko mostišče II // the Tolmin Bridgehead II). The foundation has published several scholarly and popular books and publications: The Walk of Peace –a Guide along the Isonzo Front in the Upper Soča Region, V viharju soške, Pri Lušinu, Idrsko 4. junij 1915, Od Krna do Rombona, the historical-tourist map Soška fronta od Rombona do Mengor (1:25,000), Ivan Likar-Sočan, Zgodbe topničarja, the DVD Pot miru, the booklets Muzeji na prostem v Zgornjem Posočju and Vodeni izleti v Dolini Soče and others. From its beginning, the foundation alone or in collaboration with other institutions staged three exhibitions (Walk of Peace: Stories of the Soča; On the Wings of History 1915–1917: Austro- Hungarian Aviation on the Isonzo Front, 1914 – Women on the Eve of the Great War), which al- so toured other places. The foundation organized several expert symposia and events. In 2015, the foundation will publish the following publications: a comprehensive and scholarly book Cvetje–Mengore 1915–1917 by the author Lovro Galić, a guide along the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic, two historical tourist maps in the scale of 1:25,000 for the area of the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic and various minor promotional materials. The Historical Library of Kobarid is continuously updated and currently offers 2100 items in various languages; many of which are registered in the COBISS online bibliographi- cal system. The foundation organizes and develops a service, which offers guided tours of the sites of the Great War and other places along the Soča and on the Kras. To date, it has trained about twenty guides who have added special knowledge about the Isonzo Front and its heritage to their prior knowledge about the local and regional tourist services and facilities. The foundation is one of the most important Slovenian institutions that practices and fos- ters cooperation with the Slovenian national community in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Available to visitors and researchers are the Info-Centre of the Walk of Peace, a souvenir shop with selected local handicraft products, an interactive exhibition on the Walk of Peace, a well-equipped library as well as also study, gallery and conference rooms. In particular, the Info-Centre of the Walk of Peace is the starting point where all informa- tion related to the Walk is available and where skilled local guides can be hired. The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic Some history and tourist societies had already restored and arranged certain sections of the Italian and Austro-Hungarian lines of defence in the Soča Region and the Kras area before the foundation was established. 100 wwi and possibilities for developing historical tourism .. Under the expert guidance of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and in collaboration with several societies, such as 1313, Peski, Mengore, Drežnica, and Kobarid, the foundation first organized six outdoor museums: Ravelnik, Čelo, Zaprikraj, Kolovrat, Mengo- re, and Mrzli Vrh within the municipalities of Bovec, Kobarid and Tolmin. In 2007, the out- door museums, major monuments and memorials of the Isonzo Front, natural points of inter- est, the museums of Kobarid and Tolmin, private museum collections, the Walk of Peace Info Centre, and tourist information centres were connected to form the 100 km long Walk of Peace in the Upper Soča Region, which is uniformly marked and promoted; it was dedicated to the memory of the suffering caused by the First World War and its victims. At the same time, endeavours were also made to preserve the heritage of the Isonzo Front in the Goriška area and on Kras. With the support of the city municipality of Nova Gorica, members of the society named »Društvo Soška fronta« arranged an outdoor museum called »Sabotin – the Park of Peace«. On Kras, members of the Caving Club Temnica and those of the Tourist Society 1. SVIT arranged the »Walks of Peace on the Kras« with the support of the Municipality of Miren Kostanjevica, and later they also erected a memorial at Cerje. The Globočak tourist-recreation society, in collaboration with the Municipality of Kanal, was put in charge of the heritage at Kanal Kolovrat. Figure 20: Fortress Kluže, performance with NGO assocciation 1313 (Photo: FA BOBO, ar- chive: Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju). Important memorials of the Isonzo Front heritage also survive within the provinces of Tri- este, Gorizia and Udine (two Italian charnel houses of Redipuglia/Sredipolje and Oslavia/ Oslavje, Monte San Michele/Debela griža, the Great War Thematic Park near Monfalcone/ Tržič, the Brestovec historical trail, etc.); they have been managed by different organizations for many years. Following the example of the Walk of Peace in the Upper Soča Region, in 2010 the Slo- venian and Italian partners agreed to start preparing the cross-border project »The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic«. It has been devised so as to combine the outdoor muse- ums, charnel houses, military cemeteries, museums and private collections and all other points 101 dar k tour ism of interest, natural beauties, Tourist Information Centres and tourist offer providers along the area of the Isonzo Front. The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic on the Slovenian side has been progres- sively organized since 2011. Through the call for applications from the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Slovenia, in which action the RDO Smaragdna pot/Regional Destination Organization Emerald Trail was the leading partner, a large amount of promotional material was developed for the Slovenian section of the Walk in 2012. Cross-border activities are done within the cross-border project Pot miru/Via di Pace (The Walk of Peace), started in October 2012 and planned to continue until April 2015, with the Provincia di Gorizia as the leading partner, and the foundation as the conceptual leader. Also participating in this project are the municipalities and provinces of Primorska Region (Slove- nia: Kanal, Brda, Nova Gorica, Miren Kostanjevica, Šempeter Vrtojba and Komen) and those of Friuli Venezia-Giulia (Italy: the Provinces of Udine and Trieste, the two Mountain Com- munities and certain municipalities). The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic (about 250 kilometres long) combines the places, institutions and people along the location of the Isonzo Front, all the way from Log pod Mangartom under Mt. Rombon to Duino/Devin and Trieste/Trst. Figure 21: Sabotin-Park of Peace (Source: archive Municipality of Nova Gorica). It starts at Log pod Mangartom near Bovec, runs past the fort of Kluže, the outdoor muse- ums of Ravelnik and Čelo, where it ascends to the mountain pasture Golobar and the outdoor museum Zaprikraj. After the village of Drežnica, it drops past the Italian charnel house to Kobarid where it splits in two, with one branch rising to the ridge of Kolovrat and the outdoor museum there, and the other running past the mountain pastures of Kuhinja and Pretovč to the outdoor museum of Mrzli Vrh, where it descends to the memorial Church of the Holy Spirit at Javorca plateau, and continues to Tolmin and the German charnel house and then to the outdoor museum Mengore. From the outdoor museum of Kolovrat, the Walk runs through Globočak and Kambreško to Mt. Sabotin and Brda, while the other route descends from Kolovrat to Plave where it rises to Prižnica, Vodice and Sveta Gora, and continues to 102 wwi and possibilities for developing historical tourism .. Mt. Škabrijel. The two routes re-join at Nova Gorica/Gorizia, from where the Walk continues across Mt. Markov Hrib and the Vrtojba-Bilje hills to the memorial on Cerje hill and to the Walk of Peace on the Kras. There, the Walk of Peace splits again, and the two branches cross the former border. The branch on the Italian side connects outdoor museums of San Michele/ Debela Griža and Brestovec and Doberdò del Lago/Doberdob, the Italian charnel house at Redipuglia/Sredipolje, and the Parco Tematico della Grande Guerra Monfalcone/Tržič (The- matic Park above Monfalcone), and it ends at Duino/Devin. The branch on Kras connects the throne of Borojević, Pečinka jama (Pečinka Cave), the Austro-Hungarian cemetery of Gor- jansko and other Austro-Hungarian cemeteries with the cross-border Ermada/Grmada, Dui- no/Devin and ends in Trieste/Trst. This project has made it possible that new outdoor museums be arranged and marked with information boards, new trails between these new museums be cleared and marked, new exhibitions about the Isonzo Front be staged and info centres established and various promo- tion materials be made (a guide, brochures, t-shirts, maps, etc.), a film/video be shot and pho- tos taken, and so on. The symbolic mission of this walk is to promote the coexistence and reconciliation of the formerly hostile nations. Another task of the walk is to promote the identity of the area in question and develop historical tourism in the cross-border area along the Soča River and on the Kras. A ceremonial opening of the Walk of Peace took place on 21 March 2015 at the common square Trg Evropa/Piazza della Transalpina, the meeting zone between Nova Gorica and Go- rizia. The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic adds to the evidence of past times in this area that visitors can experience in the museums of Kobarid, Tolmin, Nova Gorica, the Musei provinciali di Gorizia – Museo della Grande Guerra (Provincial Museums of Gorizia – the Great War Museum), Museo della Grande Guerra – Ragogna (Great War Museum of Ragogna), Civico Museo della Guerra per la Pace – Trieste/Trst (Civil Museum of the War for Peace) and in numerous private collections. The study-research activities, which are man- aged by the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, reach wider audiences through the Walk of Peace. Cooperation with the SPIRIT Public Agency, Sector for Tourism, and Tourist and Other Organizations in Developing Historical Tourism in 2014 Through the assistance of the SPIRIT Public Agency, Slovenia, Sector for Tourism, and its cross-border T-lab project, a considerable number of promotional, marketing and connec- ting activities were performed along the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic in 2013 and 2014, since SPIRIT likewise realized the potential of WWI centennials for the promoti- on of Slovenian tourism. A cross-border network of Slovenian and Italian tourist-service pro- viders was formed, which currently numbers 58 members who are interested in the tourism services related to the Great War, or they have already prepared such services. Two workshops were organized (in Kobarid and Nova Gorica) at which these providers developed mutual net- works, prepared joint programmes and at the same time they were afforded some education. A four-language booklet Soča, povej/Soča, do tel was developed, which conveys ideas for visiting 103 dar k tour ism various sites along the Isonzo Front and in its hinterland. SPIRIT issued a call for agencies to prepare cross-border tourist packages that, in addition to the heritage of the Isonzo Front, co- uld also include other types of services. Seven Slovenian and Italian tourist agencies responded and prepared 16 (sixteen) cross-border tourist packages. These were presented at fairs, markets and online. A website was thus created, www.slovenia.info/socapovej, dedicated to this theme and service. The Walk of Peace product and its related services and facilities were also presented at eleven international fairs/markets throughout Europe in 2014. In cooperation with SPIRIT and local tourist organizations (TICs), a number of differ- ent study tours were organized for journalists and tour-operators from various countries, who were interested in WWI-related tourism. Thus, in 2014 the foundation hosted 110 journalists from all over the world and helped 23 tourist agencies from Slovenia, Italy, Croatia and Ger- many to prepare programs; some of them were already carried out in 2014, and even more are planned for 2015. As to the information and experiences, there are even more agencies that include outdoor museums and other heritage along the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic into their programmes, but regrettably, they guide their tourists on their own. Two campaigns that were met with wide-ranging responses were organized by the SPIRIT repre- sentative office in Milan; the first was in June, when Italian journalists were guided through the streets of Milan that are named after the Isonzo Front, and the second in November when the Milan tram was clad in photos of the Isonzo Front heritage and the current tourism ser- vices, and a bunker was set up in the city centre with tourist promotion materials. The intensified promotion and the anniversaries have increased the number of visits to all the most important points along the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic, since visits to all historical places were more numerous in 2014 than in the preceding years. The most rel- evant point, i.e. the Kobarid Museum, which has been keeping statistics on visitors since 1990, registered 61,544 visitors (15,200 more than in 2013) from 80 countries in 2014. In collaboration with SPIRIT, the Kobarid museum and regional and local tourist organi- zations, the foundation has already began to discuss promotional activities for 2015 to be per- formed in the public squares of the countries that showed the greatest interest in 2014: Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain, the Czech Republic. The National Committee for the 100th Anniversary of World War I (2014–2018) The Government of the Republic of Slovenia took the decision to establish the Nation- al Committee for the 100th Anniversaries of World War I (2014–2018) on 23 August 2012. It strives on various levels and in diverse fields of activities to imbue the Slovenian collec- tive memory with the awareness of the importance of World War I for the Slovenes as indi- viduals and as a national community. The years 2014–2018 should therefore not be a period of major celebrations but, rather, an opportunity to strengthen the collective awareness that World War I had an immense impact on the life of each and every Slovenian and the commu- nity as a whole, in terms of not only political changes and consequences but also, and above all, of the diverse experiences that the war brought in its wake. The mission and primary tasks of the National Committee have been defined as follows: 104 wwi and possibilities for developing historical tourism .. 1. to assure coordinated activities through cooperation with cultural institutions, schools at all levels of education, scientific institutions and associations throug- hout the period of 2014–2018; 2. to organize and co-organize events and activities related to the First World War centenaries, with emphasis on state-level events; 3. to cooperate with other national committees, embassies of the Republic of Slove- nia abroad and foreign embassies in Slovenia in planning joint events and activiti- es during the period of the 100th anniversaries of World War I. 4. to ensure a uniform image (the use of the Committee’s logo) of the events and ac- tivities. The National Committee established a web page (100letprve.si / www.hundredWWI.si) under the supervision of the Government Communication Office, which also presents an up- dated calendar of activities and events in Slovenia as well as abroad. The National Committee for the 100th Anniversaries of World War I (2014–2018) is or- ganizing or co-organizing a central state event each year of the centenary period: - In 2014: a state commemoration in honour of dead soldiers and civilian victims of the First World War, under the honorary auspices of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, took place at the central Ljubljana cemetery, Žale, on 9 September 2014. - In 2015: The opening of the »Walks of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic«, Nova Gorica – Gorizia, the square Trg Evrope/Transalpina, on 21 March 2015. - In 2016: A commemoration of the centenary of the Russian chapel building on the alpine road to Vršič. Every year on the last weekend of July, a commemoration ta- kes place there, and high Slovenian and Russian state and ecclesiastic representati- ves attend the event. - In 2017: A concert of the military band and the Ravenna Philharmonic Society with maestro Riccardo Muti, July 2017 at Kobarid. - In 2018: European Convention for Lasting Peace: the National Committee and The Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation would like to invite Slovenian and European representatives to sign a Convention for Lastnig Peace promoted by the Republic of Slovenia. The activities of the committee and the cultural heritage of the former Isonzo Front have been promoted abroad by the SPIRIT Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for the Pro- motion of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Development, Investment and Tourism. Ideas and projects of the Foundation for the period of 2015–2020 Principal ideas for the coming period: - To extend the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic from the Littoral side of the Julian Alps across the Triglav National Park to Gorenjsko (Bohinj) and pre- sent important stories of the hinterland. - To extend the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic to the north and north- west of the Soča valley, to the area of the present-day Carinthia and Tyrol (Austria), 105 dar k tour ism and to Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige (Italy) and thus connect the territory of the one-time South-western Front of the Great War. - To establish connections with the areas of other Great War fronts (Western, Southern, Eastern) and carry out joint promotion, education and other activities. - To make a register of the soldiers who died in the Goriška area and the Kras and a register of Slovenian soldiers on other fronts. - To form a European Peace Alliance. Conclusion The mission and vision of the foundation, as set by the founders in the year 2000, is re- alized on a daily basis. The centenaries of the disastrous Great War are meant to remind and warn people; for the people who live there, they should mean joint efforts and a path for the future. Through the Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic, the foundation connects, devel- ops, reminds and cautions people about the realities of war. Historical tourism (based on the WWI heritage as well) is well developed in many parts of the world, and in some places it is the principal branch of the local economy. Verdun, Somma, Yprès, the Dolomites, Carnia, Mt. Cer, Galicia, the Carpathians, Kobarid, the Soča Region, the Kras are just some of the best known places and areas where world history was written. Historical tourism is very well developed in the area of the one-time Western Front. Histori- cal tourism is one of the principal sources of income for the inhabitants from Verdun to Yprès. The Soča Region and the Kras boast even greater natural and historical potentials, and histor- ical heritage has been much better preserved here. Historical tourism in our region could play by far more crucial role than it does today. The foundation, in collaboration with numerous partners, strives to make historical tour- ism one of the major sources of income for the inhabitants of the Soča Region and the Kras. The mission of the museum and the foundation is to convey the message that peace and friendship should reign among nations. Naturally, the primary priority is to keep alive the memory of the thousands who suffered and died along the clear waters of the Soča. Let this be in our memories! The »Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation« Gregorčičeva 8 5222 Kobarid Slovenija www.potmiru.si info@potmiru.si Telephone: +386 (0)5 389 0166, +386 (0)5 389 0167 106 Appendices Appendix 1: Conclusions of the International Workshop Dark Tourism: Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development (October 2–4, 2014) 1. Dark Tourism of WWI tourist destinations is alive and well as the industry conti- nually develops new and enriches old travel destinations; excellent examples, such as the Walk of Peace, Cerje, Kobarid Museum, Rupnik’s Line, Vallo Alpino have, among others, been discussed in classrooms and on field workshops; 2. Dark tourism research is relatively recent (1990s) and lacks international discussi- on: basic theory needs to distinguish between grey to dark(er) travel destinations and motives; the methodology of research is to be improved either in the existing centre (iDTR: Philip Stone) or new centres of academic/scientific studies of dark tourism; 3. From the marketing point of view the naming of this tourism experience (Dark Tourism) needs to be changed. At the international workshop, the following terms have been named: Memory Tourism, Peace Tourism, Thanatourism, Historical Tourism, Tourism of Reconciliation; 4. The experience of dark tourism has increasingly moved towards »Disneyficati- ons«, as it increases the number of »live shows« and re-enactments, much to the disappointment of historians and academics; we all have a great responsibility in managing dark sites in a way that maintains the utmost respect for the people who were the victims of these events. This extends to public sector agencies, the priva- te sector and to academics researching the phenomenon of dark tourism. This is a moral responsibility, and we owe it to the victims to ensure that dark sites are never over-commercialized; 5. Local residents and municipalities embrace dark tourism presented in any way; they appreciate the increase of working places, the increase in visitors and commo- dities related to culinary and other to tourism related services; 109 dar k tour ism 6. Tourists visiting dark tourism destinations increasingly appreciate not only the educational part of the experience (museums, memorial sites, etc.) but in particu- lar the complexity of the tourism amenities offered, which would include active participation in hiking around places of previous conflicts, disasters, and macabre places (for example: overnight in trenches); 7. At present, in particular in the Italian-Slovenian borderland, dark tourism tourist destinations lack tourist infrastructure, especially accommodation amenities; tou- rists also complain that some dark tourism sites are constantly closed, and the in- terest to visit has to be announced well in advance at appropriate associations and/ or municipalities; 8. The experience of dark tourism at dark tourism sites, if explained in adequate way (as history is understood in the 21st century) could help in understanding the com- plexity of the ethnic, national and world history; the one-sided interpretation, often inspired by the past and/or present politics of a nation-state, has to be omit- ted; 9. WWI tourism sites are particularly popular not only due to the centennial anni- versary (and it will last for another five years), but also because the war and disasters of that period are in a »safe historical distance« on which historians have already made a consensual interpretation and dark tourism can offer »neutral« perspecti- ves, focusing on the tragedies of everyday people, military and otherwise; 10. The WWI tourism destinations in the Slovenian-Italian borderland are particu- larly popular, as the geopolitical situation is oriented towards reconciliation and in consensual interpretation of history since for the first time in two centuries; the Walk of Peace (from the Alps to the Adriatic) is an excellent example of bipartisan co-operation in the dark tourism destination development; cross-border co-opera- tion still needs to be improved and markets outside the immediate neighbourhood explored; 11. In particular, the Karst and the Upper Soča/Isonzo area (Tolmin, Kobarid, Bo- vec) is (because of the increase of visits) in desperate need of hotel accommodati- ons, while the restaurant amenities are already adequate; 12. International workshop Dark Tourism: Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tra- gedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development (October 2–4, 2014) will re- sult in proceedings: authors should send their text before December 1, 2014 to the organizing committee, technical information on the form will be distributed in two weeks; publishing is planned for February 2015. In Koper/Capodistria, October 4, 2014. 110 appendix 1: conclusions of the international workshop Figure 1: Cerje tower. Field work: WWI Soča/Isonzo battlefields. Greetings by Komen and Miren-Kostanjevica mayors (Photo: M. Rodela). Figure 2: Piazza del a Transalpina/Trg Evrope, Gorizia – Nova Gorica cross-border square (Photo: M. Rodela). 111 dar k tour ism Figure 3: Kobarid, WWI Museum – workshop activity (Photo: M. Rodela). Figure 4: Kobarid, WWI Museum – president of the Walk of Peace Foundation Mr. Zdrav- ko Likar welcomed workshop participants (Photo: M. Rodela). 112 Appendix 2: First World War and the War's Aftermath – Excursion Guide Compiled by Anton Gosar Introduction The Battles of Isonzo/Soča In 2014, the world is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, and a year later, Slovenia will commemorate the centenary of the Isonzo Front, which is con- sidered to have been one of the toughest battles fought in one of the most beautiful alpine valleys – the valley of the emerald green Soča River. On this important anniversary we wish to present this important historical heritage. The area of the upper valley of the Soča River – considered one of the most beautiful, emerald colored rivers in Europe – was part of the Isonzo Front during the First World War. The battles are considered to have been one of the toughest battles of the First World War due to its mountainous terrain. Numerous trenches, fortificati- ons, caves, memorials and military cemeteries have survived from this period, with this impor- tant cultural and historical heritage represented by several museums, the great outdoors and ex- hibitions. Today, their stories, feelings and stories form the backbone of the Walk of Peace from the Julian Alps to the Adriatic, which is run by the Walk of Peace Foundation. The trail is marked uniformly, and is suitable for hikers and cyclists alike. Major attracti- ons can be accessed by car or bus. The Path of Peace is the perfect choice for those who want to actively spend their free time taking in the magnificent views and the beauties of nature, learning about history and culture, meeting the locals, experiencing life there nowadays and ta- sting the local delicacies. At the headquarters of the Foundation in Kobarid, a new interacti- ve information centre has opened its doors. The centre serves as an excellent base for exploring the paths of peace; only a few meters away lies the recognized and garlanded Kobarid Muse- um, which offers visitors the most comprehensive account of the Isonzo Front, mountain warfare in the Julian Alps and the 12 Isonzo battles. The world-famous American writer, Ernest Hemingway, chose the Isonzo Front to be the scene of action for his historical novel »A Farewell to Arms«. Despite the fact that Heming- way did not fight on the Isonzo front, there is a possibility that he visited these places after the war. This is demonstrated by the photo of a young American soldier, which local residents cla- 113 dar k tour ism im is Hemingway himself. The novel »A Farewell to Arms« contains many autobiographical elements. Some are true and some are fiction The Battles of the Isonzo (known as well as »Soška fronta«) were a series of 12 battles be- tween the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies 1917, mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia and, later, in Italy incorporating the territory up to the river Piave. In April 1915, in the secret Treaty of London Italy was promised by Allies the territory of Austro-Hungarian Empire which was mainly inhabited by ethnic Slovenes. The Italian army wanted to penetrate into central Carniola, present-day Slovenia, taking Ljubljana and therewith threatening Vienna. The area between the northernmost part of the Adriatic Sea and the sources of the river Soča (Isonzo) thus became the scene of twelve successive battles. The Isonzo campaign comprised the following 12 battles: - First Battle of Isonzo: 23 June–7 July 1915 - Second: 18 July–3 August 1915 - Third: 18 October–3 November 1915 - Fourth: 10 November–2 December 1915 - Fifth: 9–17 March 1916 - Sixth: 6– 17August 1916 - Seventh: 14–17 September 1916 - Eight: 10–12 October 1916 - Ninth: 1–4 November 1916 - Tenth: 12 May–8 June 1917 - Eleventh: 19 August–12 September 1917 - Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo: 24 October–7 November 1917, known as the BAT- TLE OF CAPORETTO Figure 1: Map of the Italian Front (Accessible at: http://www.firstworldwar.com/maps/ graphics/maps_43_italy_caporetto.jpg). 114 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide By the autumn of 1915 one mile had been won by Italian troops, and by October 1917 a few Austrian mountains and some square miles of land had changed hands several times. Ita- lian troops did not reach the port of Trieste. The mountainous 400-mile length of the Front was almost everywhere dominated by Austro-Hungarian forces, the Austrians had namely fortified the mountains ahead of the Italians’ entry into the war on 23 May 1915. The Soča (Isonzo) Valley was the only practical area for Italian military operations during the war. De- spite the huge effort and resources poured into the continuing Isonzo struggle the results we- re invariably disappointing and without real tactical merit, particularly given the geographical difficulties that were inherent in the campaign. Cumulative casualties of the numerous bat- tles of the Isonzo were enormous. Half of the entire Italian war casualty total – some 300,000 out of 600,000 – were suffered along the Soča (Isonzo). Austro-Hungarian losses, while by no means as numerous were nevertheless high at around 200,000 (of an overall total of around 1.2 million casualties). More than 30,000 casualties were ethnic Slovenes, majority of them being drafted in the Austro-Hungarian Army, while Slovene civil inhabitants from the Go- rizia and Gradisca region also suffered in hundreds of thousands because they were resettled in refugee camps where Slovene refugees were treated as state enemies by Italians and several thousands died of malnutrition in Italian refugee camps. Figure 2: Austro-Hungarian supply line over the Vršič Pass (October, 1917) (Source: German Federal Archive, Picture 146-1970-073-25 (Deutsches Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1970-073-25)). The Beginning of the First World War On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Au- stro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sa- rajevo by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosnian Muslim) coordinated by Danilo Ilić. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Au-115 dar k tour ism stria-Hungary’s south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins’ motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia. The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then decla- red war. Figure 3: The June 28, 1914, assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip set off a chain of events that ended in the outbre- ak of WWI (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/wor- ld-war-i-history/pictures/world-war-i-leaders/franz-ferdinand-archduke-of-austria-and-his-wife- -sophie-duchess-of-hohenberg). Figure 4: Gavrilo Princip (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ga- vrilo_Princip#/media/File:Gavrilloprincip2.jpg). On top of these Serbian military conspirators was Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence Dragutin Dimitrijević, his right-hand man was Major Vojislav Tankosić, and the spy was Ra-de Malobabić. Major Tankosić armed the assassins with bombs and pistols and trained them. 116 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide The assassins were given access to the same clandestine network of safe-houses and agents that Rade Malobabić used for the infiltration of weapons and operatives into Austria-Hungary. The assassins, the key members of the clandestine network, and the key Serbian military con- spirators who were still alive were arrested, tried, convicted and punished. Those who were ar- rested in Bosnia were tried in Sarajevo in October 1914. The other conspirators were arrested and tried before a Serbian court on the French-controlled Salonika Front in 1916–1917 on unrelated false charges; Serbia executed three of the top military conspirators. Much of what is known about the assassinations comes from these two trials and related records. The Alps-Adritic Region between 1900–2000: The Excursion Route Coastal Places and Regions between Wars. PORTOROŽ – PORTOROSE Portorož (literally »Port of Roses«) is an urban coastal settlement in the Municipality of Piran, Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with appearance of first health resorts. In the early 20th century it became one of the grandest seaside resorts in Europe, along Opatija (Croatia) and Grado (Italy), all in 1914 part of the Austrian Litto- ral. It is now a major gambling centre and one of the country’s largest tourist areas. Located in the centre of the town is the Hotel Palace, once one of the most important resorts for the Au- stro-Hungarian monarchy, and currently one of the finest hotels between Venice and Du- brovnik. The history of the settlement is directly connected to that of the neighboring town of Piran. Due to rising power of the Venetian Republic, the settlement of Pirano signed a trade treaty with Venice. One of the first religious orders who came to this area were the Bene- dictines. In the 12th century, the broader region already had four monasteries, and even more churches. One of the most important roles in the history of the settlement was the monastery of Saint Laurence, where the Benedictines healed rheumatic illnesses and other diseases with concentrated salt water and saline mud. Figure 5: Palace Hotel in 1915 (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Razglednica_Portoro%C5%BEa_1915_%283%29.jpg). 117 dar k tour ism The Venetian and consequently the short French rule ended in 1813. A period of econo- mic growth followed during the Austrian rule, with enlargement of trade and locally impor- tant salt pans. In the aftermath of WWI, the Treaty of Rapallo determined the Istrian peninsula to be from part of the Kingdom of Italy. Under the royal and then fascist rule, the area found itself amidst economic decline and civil conflicts. In the Second World War, the area hadn’t seen much action, although the important industrial hub of Trieste suffered multiple bombings. In the aftermath of the war, the settlement found itself in the United Nations-administered Free Territory of Trieste. After the dissolution of the Trieste state it became a part of Yugoslavia. Since the disintegration of the named multi-ethnic federation in 1991 the Piran municipality and the Primorska region are part of the Republic of Slovenia, member of the European Union. In the second half of the 19th century, the leaders of the Pirano municipality and local doctors decided to stimulate tourism in the region, by offering health treatment by concentrated salt water and salina mud. In 1890 the predecessor of the famous Hotel Palace was built. The Austrian ministry of interior affairs declared the settlement to be a health resort. In 1909 the era of construction of private villas ended with opening of a much bigger building for stan- dards at the time; the »Kurhotel Palace«. At the initial opening ceremony in 1910 the Ho- tel Palace was already named »the most beautiful hotel on the Adriatic coast«. The hotel was equipped with most modern therapeutic accessories, and for the needs of high importance guests a casino was built. In 1902 The Parenzana Railway system was introduced which increased the popularity of the region, but was later dissolved because of decreased interests. Figure 6: Palace Hotel in 1957. (Source: Večer). The thriving community was halted by WWI, and a few years after the war (in which they came under the Italian rule). In the whole interwar period the settlement was slowly regaining its former glory when the Second World War severely crippled it again. The crisis lasted until 1968 when renovations and new constructions under the new entity of Yugoslavia began to take place along the whole region. In this time they began to build the settlement’s infrastructure with the casino doing the bulk of the investments. In the 1970 new hotel complexes were constructed on the Bernardin peninsula and a marina was inaugurated. Within Slovenia, 118 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide Portorož has become one of the most important tourist sites in the country (300.000 visitors; 1.1 Million bed nights). Figure 7: Hotel Palace in 2014 (Source: Dr. János Korom). KOPER – CAPODISTRIA Koper (pop. 25.000) is the administrative capitol of the 47 km long coastal area of Primor- ska, on the Istrian peninsula. Port of Koper is the major contributor to the economy (22 Million BRT of shipment) of the nation-state of Slovenia. Koper is also one of the main road entry points into Slovenia from Italy, Koper also has a highway and rail connection with the capital city, Ljubljana. The Latin name of the town is Capris (= goat). In 568, Roman citizens of nearby Trieste fled to Capris due to an invasion of the Lombards. Since the 8th century Koper was the seat of a diocese. One of Koper’s bishops was the Lutheran reformer Pier Paolo Verge- rio. Trade between Koper and Venice has been recorded since 932; in 1278 it joined the Re- public of Venice. When Trieste became a free port in 1719, Koper lost its monopoly on trade, and its importance diminished further. According to the 1900 census, 7,205 Italian, 391 Slovenian, 167 Croatian, and 67 German inhabitants lived in Koper. Assigned to Italy after Wor- ld War I, at the end of World War II it was part of the Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste, controlled by Yugoslavia. Most of the Italian inhabitants left the city by 1954, when the Free Territory of Trieste formally ceased to exist and Zone B became part of Socialist Federal Re- public of Yugoslavia. With Slovenian independence in 1991, Koper became the only commercial port in Slovenia. The University of Primorska is based in the city; the Faculty of Tourism Studies TURISTICA in Portorož is member. TRIESTE Trieste (Slavic: Trst; pop. 205.000) is a city and Adriatic seaport of Italy. Trieste grew into an important port and trade hub in the 17th and 18th century when Emperor Charles VI de- clared the city a duty and tax-free port. The reign of his successor, Maria Theresa of Austria, marked the beginning of a particularly flourishing era. The construction of a deeper port ma- de Trieste the only sea port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and led to the influx of entre- preneurs and merchants from all over the Mediterranean. Maria Teresa’s policy of religious tolerance allowed the different religious communities to practice openly and build their own places of worship. Following the Napoleonic Wars, Trieste returned to the Austrian Empi- 119 dar k tour ism re in 1813 and continued to prosper as the »Imperial Free City of Trieste«. It became the ca- pital of the Austrian Littoral region, the so-called »Kustenland«. The city’s role as the main Austrian commercial port and shipbuilding center was later emphasized by the foundation of the Austrian Lloyd merchant shipping line in 1836, whose headquarters stood at the corner of Piazza Grande (now Piazza Unità d’Italia).The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, brou- ght the city closer to the Indies and the Far East. By 1913 Austrian Lloyd had a fleet of 62 ships. The modern Austro-Hungarian navy used Trieste as a military base and it’s shipbuil- ding. The construction of the first major trunk railway in the Empire, the Vienna-Trieste Au- strian Southern Railway, was completed in 1857, and was a valuable asset for trade and the su- pply of coal. In the beginning of the 20th century, Trieste was a cosmopolitan city frequented by artists such as James Joyce, Italo Svevo, Sigmund Freund, Ivan Cankar, Thomas Mann and Julius Kugy – just to mention a few as they regularly visited the so-called »Austrian Riviera« (Caf- fee San Marco). The particular Italian Friuli dialect, called Tergestino, was the dialect of the majority of the population, German was the language of the Austrian bureaucracy and Slove- nian was the language of the surrounding villages. Since the last decades of the 19th centu- ry, the number of speakers of Slovene steadily grew, reaching 25 % of the overall population of Trieste municipality in 1911. Viennese architecture and coffee houses still dominate the stre- ets of Trieste today. At the beginning of the 20th century, Trieste and the city of Trento (Adi- ge Valley) became the main seat of the »irredentdist« movement which aimed to annex to Italy all the lands that were historically inhabited by Italian people. After World War 1 and as Austria-Hungary disintegrated, Trieste was transferred to Italy (1920) along with the whole Julian March (the Venezia Giulia). The annexation, however, determined a loss of importan- ce for the city, both strategically and commercially. Trieste was governed by the fascist regime of Mussolini and a forced Italianization took place. During WWII, the German Nazi Regime annexed the city to the Operation Zone of the Adriatic Littoral. As a consequence, the Slove- ne ethnic group (at the time about 25 % of the population) and the Jewish community suffe- red racial discrimination culminating in their deportation to the only concentration camp on Italian soil built in a suburb of Trieste, the »Risiera di San Sabba« (Rižarna). The German forces capitulated on May 2, 1945 as Yugoslav forces (Yugoslav Partisans) formed their own military administration for 40 days and were intent on annexation of the city and its hinter- land. They began to arrest members of the Italian community (who were anti-communists) and many were exterminated in the Karst and thrown into hinterland Dolinas (Vrtače) - cal- led Foibe. Under diplomatic pressure of the Western Allies, Yugoslav troops were forced to wi- thdraw from the city on June 12. BAZOVIZZA – BAZOVICA is a village above Trieste. Regarding the culture of remem- brance, this place is significant for two monuments which can be found there. The first one, the Foiba di Basovizza, is an Italian monument with a museum and a couple of memorials to the victims of the Yugoslavian partisans. The other one is the Slovenian anti-fascist monument for the so called »Heroes of Bazovica«, the Slovene victims of fascism during the interwar pe- riod. The monument is dedicated to four young men who belonged to the so-called TIGR movement and were killed in 1938 by the Italian fascists. TIGR is an acronym for Trst-Istra- -Gorica-Rijeka, i.e. those areas that fell under Italian rule after 1918, and which the Slavic po- pulation wanted to annex to the new Yugoslav state. At that time a great push to denationa- 120 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide lize and actually Italianize the Slovenian community took place in the karst region, against which one of the first antifascist movements in Europe developed; the four men memorialized at Basovizza were a part of it. During World War II and after the so called heroes of Bazovica became a symbol for fighting fascism. The monument includes Slovenian and ex-Yugoslavian emblems and flags even though it is in Italy. Foiba di Basovizza includes several smaller monu- ments and a museum for the estimated several thousand victims, mostly Italians, killed by par- tisans at the end of the WWII (May 1 – June 12, 1945, the so-called »quaranta giorni«), in the forty days of the Yugoslavian administration of Trieste. Although Slovenes and Croats we- re also among the victims it is mostly the Italians who create a narrative at this place. Basovizza has become emblematic for recent attempts at both ethicizing the events at the end of the war and leveling the crimes of fascism against those of communism. It is most im- pressive to walk just several hundred meters, literally, and find two sites of remembrance that have such opposite and exclusive functions. Yet, for those who care to listen, the sites talk to one another. The two memory sites at Basovizza are among the most vivid of those we visit in terms of illustrating selectivity of memory and how it is constructed, nurtured, and chan- ged over time. Interestingly also is that two separate commemoration events take place here even though the two monuments of Bazovica/Basovizza are very close to each other; there are no links whatsoever between these two places and, in a certain way, a Slovenian-Italian men- tal border has been created and kept alive because of the ways in which these commemorati- ons are held. TIGR, as the insurgent organization of Trieste, Istria, Gorica and Rijeka (T.I.G.R.) was established in September 1927 by a group of Slovene and Croat liberal nationalist activists. Their main objective was resistance to brutal fascist Italianization of the area that Italy gain- ed in the Rapallo (1920) and Rome treaties (1924). TIGR is considered one of the first anti- -fascist resistance movements in Europe. Narodni dom, the home of the Slovene Communi- ty in Trieste and the center of other Slavic groups in town, was burned down by the Fascist squads in June 1920. The situation was further worsened by the rise of the Fascist movement which inaugurated widespread violence against Slovenes and Croats. In the spring of 1921, se- veral episodes of anti-Slavic and anti-socialist violence took place in Istria, culminating in va- rious rebellions in response. These included the Istrian rebellions of Slovenian and Croatian peasants in Marezige and in the Proštinska buna in Southern Istria, as well as those of Croati- an and Italian socialist miners in Labin (the so called Labin Republic/Repubblica di Albona) against Fascist incursions. Eventually, these revolts were suffocated with the intervention of the Italian army. In 1923, the use of Slovene and Croatian languages was forbidden in public offices, post offices and public transportation, and a school reform was approved which even- tually caused in 1928 the suppression of all Slovene and Croat schools in the Julian region (as well as German schools in South Tyrol). Further Italianization was carried out against Slavic names, surnames, the names of set- tlements. The use of Slovene and Croat language was prohibited in churches in 1928. Slove- nes and Croats who didn’t agree with this policy were taken to prison camps while many other Croats and Slovenians emigrated. Between 1927 and 1930 TIGR launched numerous attacks on individual members or supporters of the National Fascist Party (both Italian and Slovene) and also killed several border guards, military personnel, and members of the Italian police forces. Several kindergartens, established in Slovene villages in order to Italianize them, were 121 dar k tour ism burned down. In the Gorizia region TIGR focused mostly on propaganda and on illegal edu- cation. They cooperated with Catholic organizations. On February 10, 1930, in the headquar- ters of the newspaper Il Popolo di Trieste the editor was killed by a bomb and three journali- sts were injured. Il Popolo di Trieste was well known as Fascist newspaper. In 1930 the Italian fascist police discovered some TIGR cells. Numerous members of the organization were sen- tenced at the First Trieste trial – four of them (Ferdo Bidovec, Fran Marušič, Zvonimir Miloš and Alojzij, Valenčič), charged with murder, were sentenced to death and executed at Basovi- ca/Basovizza near Trieste. TIGR has recently received official credit for their role in the re- sistance, but only from the Slovenian authorities. In 1997, Slovenian President Milan Kučan symbolically awarded TIGR with the Gold venerable symbol of freedom of the Republic of Slovenia. Figure 8: Bazovica/Basovizza – Monument of the TIGR heroes (Source: unknown. Accessi- ble at: http://www.cnj.it/VALORI/Bazovica/IMG_1572.JPG). FOIBA/E. The term »foibe« is an expression, which is used in Istria and Italy to describe the common karstic pits of this region. So, foibe is actually a geographical term for dolinas (vr- tače) which became extremely emotionally and politically charged as a result of the incidents that happened in these karstic pits in Istria in the period of 1943–1945. In 1943, when Italy under Mussoloni collapsed partisans (Slavic and Italian) murdered presumed former collabo- rators (Italians, Slovenes and Croats) without trial. The victims were being thrown alive or al- ready dead into the foibe. The stated numbers of victims in this period vary extremely – from estimates of 5000 to 20 000 victims. The murders were most likely a political cleansings, mo- tivated by intentions of revenge and national anger. The »foibe-massacres« have a different meaning in the culture of remembrance of the different national groups. It is important to no- te that the process of »Holocaustisation« was not only initiated by the Italian Radical Right, but also by politicians of the Left and others. In general, it is therefore ascertainable that the myth of the foibe was supported and initiated by broad levels of the Italian population. One fact, however, is completely ignored: the Italian fascist collaboration. The Foiba of Basovizza museum is a symbolic expression of the many foibas in Istria and Karst. In this context, the re- 122 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide membrance of the Foiba di Vines, which is located in Eastern Istria (Croatia), or Foiba Lokve, which is located in the Karst (Slovenia) are just another historical memory of many revisited. All these places of memory were conducive to establishing the foibe as a symbol. The foibe do- es not only represent the Italians, who were thrown into the karstic pits, but all the Italians that suffered in any way from the actions of the Yugoslav partisans. That also explains why the issue of the foibe is so strongly connected with the exodus of the Italians (esolo), which happe- ned until the middle of the 1950s. The foibe is thus a metaphor and a symbol for the Italians as victims and for the »loss« of territory on the Italian Eastern border (Istria, Dalmatia); fa- scist crimes are not part of this story. TRIESTE (cont.) Trieste was an important spot in the struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs after the Second World War. The city is still a great centre for shipping (54 Million BRT), and known worldwide through its port, coffee export, shipbuilding and finan- cial services. Figure 9: A view of Trieste in 1885 (Source: Horst F. Mayer, Dieter Winkler: In al en Häfen war Österreich. Edition S, Wien 1987). Italy, which entered World War I alongside the Allied Powers, having been promised substantial territorial gains that included the former Austrian Littoral and western Inner Car- niola, annexed the city of Trieste after the war, according to provisions of the 1915 Treaty of London and the Italian-Yugoslav 1920 Treaty of Rapallo. Whereas only a few hundred Italians remained in the newly established South Slavic state, a population of half a million Slavs, of which the annexed Slovenes were cut off from the remaining three-quarters of total Slove- ne population at the time. Trieste had a large Italian majority and had more ethnic Slovene inhabitants than even Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana at the end of 19th century. The Italian lower middle class – who felt most threatened by the city’s Slovene middle class – sought to make Trieste a »città italianissima«, committing a series of attacks led by Black Shirts against Slovene-owned shops, libraries, and lawyers’ offices, and even the Trieste National Hall (Narodni dom), the building central to the Slovene community. By the mid-1930s several thousand Slovenes, especially members of the middle class and the intelligentsia from Trieste emigrated 123 dar k tour ism to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and to South America. Despite the exodus of Slovene and German speakers, the population in the city increased due to internal migration of Italians from other parts of Italy; furthermore, several thousand ethnic Italians from Dalmatia moved to Trieste. With the annexation of Yugoslavian »Province of Ljubljana« by Italy in April 1941 and the subsequent deportation of 25,000 Slovenes, which equaled 7.5 % of the total populati- on of the Province, the operation, one of the most drastic in Europe, filled up Rab concentra- tion camp, Gonars concentration camp, Monigo (Treviso), Renicci d’Anghiari, Chiesanuova, and other Italian concentration camps where altogether 9,000 Slovenes died, the World War II came close to Trieste. Under German occupation, in 1944, the only concentration camp wi-th a crematorium on Italian soil was built in a suburb of Trieste, at the Risiera di San Sabba. Around 3,000 Jews, Slavs and Italian anti-Fascists were killed at the Risiera while thousands of others were imprisoned before being transferred to other concentration camps. The city saw intense Italian and Yugoslav partisan activity and suffered from Allied bombings. The city’s Jewish community was deported to extermination camps where most of them perished. On May 1, Allied forces of the Yugoslav Partisans’ 8th Dalmatian Corps arrived and to-ok over most of the city, except for the courts and the castle of San Giusto where the German garrisons refused to surrender to any force other than New Zealanders. The 2nd New Zea- land Division continued to advance towards Trieste along Route 14 around the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea and arrived in the city the following day. The German forces surrendered on the evening of May 2 but were then turned over to the Yugoslav forces. The Yugoslavs held full control of the city until June 12, a period known in the Italian historiography as the »for- ty days of Trieste« (see above). Figure 10: Yugoslav Army entering Trieste (May 1945) (Source: http://www.starerazglednice. si/post/37207196518/poslana-razglednica-7-3-1948-v-zakljucnih-bojih). After an agreement between the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito and the British Field Mar- shal Harold Alexander, the Yugoslav forces withdrew from Trieste which came under a joint British-U.S. military administration. The Julian March was divided between Anglo-American and Yugoslav military administration until September 1947 when the Paris Peace Treaty established the Free Territory of Trieste. Trieste was declared an independent city state under the protection of the United Nations as the Free Territory of Trieste. The territory was divi-124 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide ded into two zones, A and B, along the Morgan Line established in 1945. From 1947 to 1954, the A Zone was governed by the Allied Military Government, composed of the American »Trieste United States Troops« (TRUST), and the »British Element Trieste Forces« (BET-FOR). Zone A covered almost the same area of the current Italian Province of Trieste, except for four small villages south of Muggia, which were given to Yugoslavia after the dissolution of the Free Territory in 1954 (London Memorandum of 1954). Zone B remained under the military administration of the Yugoslav People’s Army. The final border line with Yugoslavia, and the status of the ethnic minorities in the areas, was settled bilaterally in 1975 with the Treaty of Osimo. This line now constitutes the border between Italy and Slovenia. Battles of WWI (The Isonzo/Soča Front Line) DOBERDO DELLAGO – DOBERDOB. Doberdò del Lago is an Italian municipality located about 30 kilometres of Trieste and about 11 kilometres south of Gorizia. It is inhabited predominantly by Slovenes. Before the First World War, Slovene-speakers comprised almost the totality (around 99 %) of the population. In the 1971 census, 96 % of the inhabitants were Slovene-speaking. Since then, the number of Slovenes has slightly fallen, mostly due to the increased immigration of Italian spe- akers from neighboring towns of Monfalcone and Ronchi dei Legionari. Today, an estimated 86 % of the inhabitants belong to the Slovene ethnic minority. In September 1947, the village was reincorporated into Italy, and was included in the Province of Gorizia. Between the mid 1950s and the late 1980s, Doberdob was one of the electoral strongholds of the Italian Com- munist Party, although a significant proportion of the electorate also supported the Slovene Union, the democratic party of the Slovenes in Italy. Since the 1990s, the vast majority of the population has supported one of the left-wing political parties. Figure 11: Hungarian cemetery in the near of Sredipolje/Rediplugia Doberdo, Italy (Source: Bálin Zoltán, www.baltan.fw.hu. Accessible at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AUT- -HUN_Cemetery_Doberdo.jpg). The whole area was the scene of fierce fighting between the Austro-Hungarian and the Italian Armies during the First World War. The village was completely destroyed during the Battles of the Isonzo. More than a fifth of the population lost their lives as a consequence of 125 dar k tour ism the war. During World War I, the village was the scene of the Battle of Doberdò. Since many Slovene soldiers fought in the battle as soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Army. A popular war song Doberdob with the verse »Doberdob, slovenskih fantov grob« (»Doberdò, the grave of Slovene lads«), made the name of the village known all across the Slovene Lands. In 1940, the Slovene writer Prežihov Voranc chose the name of the village as the title for one of his best-known novels, Doberdob (undertitled: »The War Novel of the Slovene People«). Wi-th this novel, Doberdò became the central symbolic place of the Slovene victims in World War I. Doberdò is also a symbolic place for the Hungarians, since many of them died in the battle fighting in the Austro-Hungarian Army. In Hungary, there is a popular war song with the name Doberdó, reminiscent of the battle. In May 2009, a chapel commemorating the Hungarian victims of the Battles of the Isonzo was inaugurated in the hamlet of Visintini (Slovene: Vižintini) with a trilingual, Italian-Hungarian-Slovene inscription. The WWI Memorial Places on the Karst MUNICIPALITY OF MIREN – KOSTANJEVICA is a municipality in western Slove- nia, on the border with Italy. It is part of the Goriška region of the Northern Slovene Littoral (Severna Primorska). The municipality’s is located in the lowest part of the Vipava Valley and in part on the Karst Palteau. Historically, the area was connected with the neighbouring village of Savogna d’Isonzo (Sovodnje ob Soči), which was left in Italy after the Paris Peace Tre- aty of February 1947. Since the second half of the 19th century, Miren has been a commercial center and a center of light industry, strongly linked to the Gorizia and Monfalcone (Sloveni- an: Tržič) urban areas. Kostanjevica na Krasu, on the other hand, is a center of a larger under populated rural area located on the high Karst plateau. In the local self-government reform of 1994, the two centers united to form a single municipality. Since 1947, both localities ha- ve gravitated towards the Nova Gorica – Šempeter conurbation, where many locals commute daily. Miren has a border crossing into Italy. CERJE. The memorial to the defenders of the Slovenian homeland stands on Cerje hill on the western edge of the Karst Plateau, featuring a panoramic view of the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, the Friulian lands, the Dolomites, the Julian Alps and the Vipava Valley. The initiative to build this memorial dedicated to those who fought and were killed in this territo- ry came from TIGR, a patriotic organisation. Both the location and the content design of the memorial were subject to careful consideration. The memorial was designed as a seven-storey fortress connecting the past with the future. The seven floors take the visitor on a walk thro- ugh landmark periods of Slovenian history, spanning from prehistoric times to the periods of the world wars and the war for Slovenia’s independence, the top floor offering a panoramic platform which symbolizes a view into the future. The museum’s collection is currently still being prepared, but the memorial has been open to the public since the multimedia exhibiti- on on the Isonzo Front opened on the occasion of the International Day of Peace on 21 Sep- tember 2013. Walks of Peace in the Karst region (in the immediate vicinity of the Memorial) take you along peaceful, unspoilt areas of the Karst Plateau on a tour of some of the most fascinating monuments and other structures from the rich legacy of WWI. They run far from the main roads, along the existing earth tracks, paths and former military roads. All trails are well ma- intained and marked, and are suitable for hikers, bikers and horse riders. Visitors can choose 126 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide between more or less demanding tours, and embark on a longer or shorter route across the pla- teau, offering beautiful views of both the expanse of sea and Alpine peaks. The Isonzo/Soča Valley – Monuments and The Walk of Peace SABOTIN – PEACE PARK .The mountain ridge of Sabotin is without question a pla- ce worth visiting due to its turbulent history. Sabotin, cut from the peak of Sveta Gora by the Soča (Isonzo) Valley, standing proudly on his own overlooking Brda (Collio) and the Karst, the Alps and the Gulf of Trieste, There are six routes leading to the top. But Sabotin is best known for being an important stretch of the Isonzo Front during the First World War. Beca- use of its location overlooking the town of Gorizia, it was a key defensive point for the Austro- -Hungarian army against Italian attacks in 1915 and 1916. Due to its strategic position abo- ve the Soča, this hill near Gorica/Gorizia was an important Austro-Hungarian stronghold on the right river bank. In the sixth Soča battle in August 1916, Italian troops took Sabotin, the- reby securing their advance to Gorizia. The hill is crisscrossed by a system of trenches and ca- ves built by the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies to fortify their positions. Particularly interesting are the systems of caves on the ridge, which after the battle were used as artillery positions. Soldiers from many a nation participated in the battles on Sabotin, fighting for ei- ther the Italian or the Austro-Hungarian side. After the Second World War, the state border between Italy and Yugoslavia ran along the narrow Sabotin Ridge, making the hill only partly accessible; this changed with Slovenia’s independence. Border markers, bunkers and guardho- uses line the ridge. Today, the caves by the former Yugoslav guardhouse have been cleaned up and may be visited. A visitors’ info-point has been set up in the guardhouse, offering informa- tion on natural features and on the history of Sabotin, and there is also a museum collection devoted to both the First World War, especially the Isonzo Front, and the war for Slovenia’s independence. The Sabotin Peace Park offers visitors the opportunity not only to relax in bea- utiful surroundings, but also, with its caves and trenches from the First World War, to take ti- me to reflect on the absurdity of war and violence. Its aim is to become a messenger of peace and peaceful coexistence among nations. JAVORCA – THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (EU Heritage). The Memori- al Church of the Holy Spirit is located in a stunning natural environment on the Polog Plate- au in the Julian Alps. The building of the Church was linked to events on the Isonzo Front and constructed between 1 March and 1 November 1916; the Church, financed from volun- tary contributions, was built by soldiers of the 3rd Mountain Brigade, a battle unit of the XV Austro-Hungarian Corps in memory of their fallen comrades. The building was designed by Viennese architect Remigius Geyling (1878–1974), who also arranged its decoration. The lower section of the church is of stone, while the upper part of the construction is of larch that the soldiers carried from the valley and processed at the site. There is a monumental staircase leading to the church. The exterior of the church features a bell tower with a sundial, and the imperial crest together with the painted and stylised coats-of-arms of the 20 provinces that made up the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The bell bears the inscription PAX (peace). The in- terior of the church is divided into three parts. A major distinguishing feature of the church is the Art Nouveau style in which it is painted and decorated. The idea of the Memorial Church is symbolised in the oak pages of a wooden book atta- ched to the nave walls; 2,565 names of those who fell in surrounding battlefields were scor- 127 dar k tour ism ched into this memorial book. Oak panels bear the inscribed names of soldiers who had fallen by the beginning of August 1916. Most of these soldiers are buried at the military cemete- ry near Tolmin. The Memorial Church is not only a cultural jewel; it also conveys a symbo- lic message of unity and peace: »Ultra cineres hostium ira non superest – Hatred should not be pursued beyond the grave.« As in wartime, when it offered sanctuary to soldiers of vario- us nationalities and religions, in present time, too, the church serves as a house of worship and is visited in large numbers by people of various nationalities and religions. It stands as a rem- inder of the horrors of war, and calls for reconciliation, inner and lasting peace. The Memori- al Church of the Holy Spirit has been proclaimed a cultural monument of national importan- ce, and is the only sacred place in Slovenia featuring the Art Nouveau style in its entirety. In 2007, it was awarded the European Heritage Label under the intergovernmental initiative. Figure 12: Church of the Holy Spirit, Javorca (Photo: T. Ovčak; Source: http://hislovenia. blogspot.com/2013/07/the-walk-of-peace-from-alps-to-adriatic.html). KOLOVRAT CROSS-BORDER OUTDOOR MUSEUM. Many consider Mt Kolo- vrat – rising above the right bank of the Soča between Kobarid and Tolmin and descending towards the Veneto region – one of the most scenic ridges in Slovenia: a splendid panoramic view stretches from the Kanin and Krn ranges and the Banjška Plateau to Mt Sveta Gora and across the Friuli lowlands to the Adriatic sea. This site evokes almost one century-old memo- ries and allows us to look at one of the Isonzo Front battlefields. It was here that the seemingly impenetrable third Italian line of defense called the ‘linea d’ armata’ was constructed. But the German troops overran the positions as early as the evening of the first day of the last Soča battle, on 24 October 1917. A viewing pavilion was built within the »Reshape 2012 project« by a cultural association from the Province of Udine, which rises over the long Kolovrat ridge. A wooden pavilion with two »main entrances« opening in the direction of Italy and Slovenia is situated on the border line; it was designed as a place for reflection on co-existence and relations between nations. It is a very good example of cross-border cooperation and the ability to overcome historical divi- sions; it is not merely a platform for viewing the beauties of nature, but also a reminder to eve- ryone that there is no future without a culture of debate and cooperation. Part of the pavilion is built from waste wood, thus underlining environmental issues and calling for economy and simplicity. 128 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide Figure 13: Outdoor Museum Kolovrat (Source: Walk of Peace Foundation). THE KOBARID MUSEUM is dedicated to the events of the First World War on the Is- onzo Front. It presents two and a half years of warfare in the Upper Soča Valley, and devotes particular attention to the twelfth Soča battle, known as the Battle of Kobarid. The Muse- um features numerous interesting exhibits, a relief model of the Soča River Basin, an extensive photographic archive, a model cave and a documentary film presenting one of the largest mo- untain battles ever fought. The days of these painful trials were poignantly described by Er- nest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. But for Erwin Rommel, the battle was an important milestone in his brilliant military career. In addition to the rich documentary and photographic materials and other exhibits of the museum, experienced guides provide a subtle insight into the social, economic and political structure of the society of that time and help to reveal the absurdity and deeply unethical nature of the war. The Museum also offers a timeli- ne of Kobarid’s history from pre-historical times to the present. Figure 14: Kobarid Museum (Source: Kobarid Museum). The Museum also presents the history of Kobarid from the prehistoric period to the pre- sent, and hosts numerous visiting exhibitions. The number of visitors makes Kobarid Muse- 129 dar k tour ism um among the most visited museums in Slovenia. In 1992, it was awarded the highest Sloveni- an award granted to museums, the Valvasor Prize; in the following year, the museum received a Council of Europe Museum Prize. Kobarid Museum is also an ideal point of departure for organized sightseeing tours along the Kobarid historical trail, through outdoor museums and across the one-time battlefields in the high mountains, where, by prior arrangement, your exploration will be made all the more worthwhile by the input of knowledgeable guides. THE KLUŽE FORTRESS. The external appearance and purpose of Kluže Fortress often changed through its history. It was built at the narrowest part of the Koritnica Valley to block the strategically important passage. The first wooden building was erected by the Venetians in the second half of the 15th century to defend the Venetian Republic against the Turks. At the beginning of the 16th century, when it came under Habsburg rule, the first stone fortress was built and was renovated several times thereafter. In 1797, in the Napoleonic period, the French army burnt down and destroyed the medieval fortress. The most recent, present for- tress was built under the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1881 to 1882. It was called Flitscher Klause/Bovške Kluže. The fortress was designed to control the passage from the Bovec Basin through the Predel Pass to the interior of the Empire. The Isonzo Front line was in the imme- diate vicinity. The steep walls of Mt Rombon sheltered the fortress from direct Italian shel- ling. The headquarters and support echelon were located there; it was also used as a first-aid station. A number of defensive and supply facilities were added, such as a small power plant, water pump, observation posts with searchlights, etc. Today, Kluže Fortes houses a permanent museum collection and occasional exhibitions. In summer, it becomes an important cultural centre offering numerous events. Figure 15: Kluze Fortress (Photo: D. Žagar; Source: http://socahiking.com/gal ery/). The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo/Soča Valley The Battle of Caporetto In August 1917 Paul von Hindenburg decided that to keep the Austro-Hungarians in the war the Germans must help them to give the Italian army a severe beating. In September three experts from the Imperial General Staff led by the chemist Otto Hahn went to the Isonzo 130 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide front to find a site suitable for a gas attack. They proposed the quiet Caporetto sector, whe- re a good road runs west through a mountain valley to the Venetian plain. A new 14th Ar- my was formed, with nine Austrian and six German divisions, commanded by a German, Ot- to von Below. Foul weather delayed the attack for two days, but on 24 October there was no wind and the front was misted over. At 02:00, 894 metal tubes (Gaswurfminen) dug into a reverse slope were triggered electrically to simultaneously fire canisters containing 600 ml of chlorine and phosgene gases, smothering the Italian trenches in the valley in a dense cloud of poison. Knowing that their gas masks could protect them only for two hours or less, the de- fenders fled for their lives, though 500–600 still died. Then the front was eerily quiet until 06:00 when all the Italian wire and trenches to be attacked were peppered with mortar fire. At 06:30, 2200 artillery pieces opened drumfire, many targeting the valley road along which reserves were advancing to plug the gap. At 08:00 two large mines were detonated un- der strong points on the heights bordering the valley and the infantry attacked. Soon they pe- netrated the almost undefended Italian fortifications in the valley, breaching the defensive li- ne of the Italian Second Army. To protect these attacker’s flanks Alpine Troops infiltrated the strong points and batteries along the crests of the adjoining ridges, Mount Matajur and the Kolovrat Range, playing out their telephone lines as they advanced to maintain contact wi-th their artillery. They made good use of the new German model of a light machine gun, light trench mortars, mountain guns, flamethrowers and hand grenades. The attackers in the valley marched almost unopposed along the excellent road toward Italy, some advanced a remar- kable 25 km on the first day. The Italian army beat back the attackers on either side of the sec- tor, where the central column attacked, but von Below’s successful central penetration threw the entire Italian Army into disarray. Forces had to be moved along the Italian front in an at- tempt to stem von Below’s breakout, but this only weakened other points along the line and invited further attacks. 2nd Army commander Luigi Capello was Italy’s best general but was commanding while bedridden with fever. Realizing that his forces were ill-prepared for this attack and were being routed, Capello requested permission to withdraw back to the Tagliamento. He was overru-led by Cadorna who believed that the Italian force could regroup and hold out. Finally, on 30 October, Cadorna ordered the majority of the Italian force to retreat to the other side of the Tagliamento. It took the Italians four full days to cross the river, and by this time the German and Austro-Hungarian armies were on their heels. By 2 November, a German division had established a bridgehead on the Tagliamento. About this time, however, the rapid success of the attack caught up with them. The German and Austro-Hungarian supply lines were stret- ched to breaking point, and as a result, they were not able to launch another spearhead to poc- ket part of the Italian army against the Adriatic. Cadorna was able to retreat further, and by 10 November had established a position on the Piave River. Italian losses were enormous: 10,000 were killed, 30,000 wounded and 265,000 were ta- ken prisoner. Erwin Rommel, then an Oberleutnant, captured 1,500 men and 43 officers with just 3 riflemen and 2 officers to help. Austro-Hungarian and German forces advanced more than 100 km in the direction of Venice, but they were not able to cross the Piave River. Although to this point the Italians had been left to fight on their own, after Kobarid (Caporetto) they were reinforced by six French infantry divisions and five British infantry divisions as well as sizeable air contingents. However, these troops played no role in stemming the advancing 131 dar k tour ism Germans and Austro-Hungarians, because they were deployed on the Mincio River, some 60 miles behind the Piave, as the British and French strategists did not believe the Piave line co- uld be held. The Piave served as a natural barrier where the Italians could establish a new de- fensive line, which was held during the subsequent Battle of the Piave River and later served as springboard for the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, where the Austro-Hungarian army was finally defeated after four days of stiff resistance. The People of the Battle of Isonzo. LUIGI CADORNA. Luigi Cadorna was born in Verbania Pallanza, Piedmont in 1850. At fifteen he entered the Turin Military Academy. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of artillery in 1868. As Colonel commanding the 10th Regiment of Ber- saglieri from 1892 Cadorna acquired a reputation for strict discipline and harsh punishment. He wrote a manual of infantry tactics which laid stress on the doctrine of the offensive. Pro- moted to lieutenant general in 1898 Cadorna subsequently held a number of senior staff and divisional/corps command positions. On the eve of Italy’s entry into World War (1915) he was close to peace-time retirement age and had a history of differences with his political and mili- tary superiors. When Italy entered the war in May 1915 on the side of the Entente, Cadorna fi- elded thirty-six infantry divisions composed of 875,000 men, but with only 120 modern artil- lery pieces. Cadorna launched four offensives in 1915, all along the Isonzo River. The goal of these offensives was the fortress of Gorizia, the capture of which would permit the Italian armies to pivot south and march on Trieste. All four offensives failed, resulting in some 250,000 Italian casualties for little material gain. Cadorna would ultimately fight eleven battles on the Isonzo between 1915 and 1917. Figure 16: Luigi Cadorna (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://italianmonarchist.blog- spot.com/2012/05/marshal-of-italy-luigi-cadorna.html). On October 24, 1917, a combined Austro-Hungarian/German army struck across the So- ča (the Isonzo River) at Kobarid (Caporetto). Cadorna’s disposition of most of his troops far forward, with little defense in depth, contributed greatly to the disaster. During the course of the war Cadorna dismissed 217 officers, and during the Battle of Caporetto, he ordered the 132 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide summary execution of officers whose units retreated. One in every seventeen Italian soldiers under his leadership faced a disciplinary charge during the war and 61 percent were found gu- ilty. About 750 were executed, the highest number in any army in World War I. The new Ita- lian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando replaced Cadorna with the General Armando Diaz. Cadorna was appointed as the Italian representative to the Allied Supreme War Council set up in Versailles. After the war, there was an enquiry held by the Italian government to inve-stigate the defeat at Caporetto. It was published in 1919 and was highly critical of Cadorna, at that time a bitter man busy with writing his memoirs who claimed that he had no responsibi- lity for the defeat, despite fleeing to Padua during the battle and abandoning the entire Itali- an Second Army to its fate. Nevertheless, he was made a Field Marshal (Maresciallo d’Italia) in 1924 after Benito Mussolini seized power. Field Marshal Cadorna died in Bordighera in 1928. SVETOZAR BOROJEVIĆ VON BOJNA. Boroević was born on 13 December 1856 in the village of Umetić, in the Austrian Military Frontier in present-day Croatia. His father was a Grenzer (border guard) officer. He was baptized in the Orthodox Church. The accounts on his nationality differ. Boroević himself stated once that he was a Croat and that Cro- atia was his homeland. The Encyclopædia Britannica called him »a Serb Orthodox fronti-ersman«. Serbian historiography view him as Serb and in the 1989 Croatian biographical lexicon he was described as »of Serb Grenzer family descent«. Boroević joined cadet school and studied at the military academy in Graz. He advanced quickly through the ranks and became a commander in the Croatian Home Guard. He distinguished himself in the Austro- -Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878 and was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant in 1880. In 1904 he was promoted Major General, a year later he was created a Hungarian nobleman (since Croatia was one of the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown) with the attribute von Bojna by the Emperor & King. In 1908 the monarch made him Field Marshal Lieutenant (Feldmarschallleutnant). He became the commander of the Sixth Corps in 1912 and remained commander of it until WWI. Figure 17: Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://sl.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Svetozar_Borojevi%C4%87_von_Bojna#/media/File:Svetozar_boroevic_von_bojna.jpg). 133 dar k tour ism In early September 1914 he became commander of the Third Army, and in early October he liberated Przemysl. His troops then pul ed back to hold positions around Limanowa, at the Du- kla mountain pass, and elsewhere on the Carpathians, stopping the Russians from breaking out on the Danube. The Russian counter-offensive in February and March 1915 almost managed to push Boroević’s Third Army back towards Hungary, but they managed to hold just enough for the German reinforcements to arrive and save the already endangered Budapest and Bratislava bridgehead. They then proceeded to join the general Austro-Hungarian-German offensive and pushed back the Russians. Boroević was in 1915 sent to the new Italian front. There Boroević be- came the Commander of the Fifth Army, with which he organized a defense against the Itali- ans and broke countless offensives. Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Chief of Staff recommended that they fall back and avoid trying to defend the better part of today’s Slovenia, claiming it was indefensible. Boroević persisted with thirty of his detachments, maintaining that the Slovenes would stand their ground when faced with the defense of their own country. This appealed to Emperor Francis Joseph and he was given command on the Soča (Isonzo) front. Boroević’s troops contained eleven Italian attacks and he was hailed as the Knight of Is- onzo in Austria-Hungary, while his soldiers adored him and called him »naš Sveto«. In 1917 he rose to the position of commander of the Southwestern Front, which was later renamed »Army Group Boroević«. In January 1918, he opposed Hungarian proposals to split Austria- -Hungary’s Army into separate Austrian and Hungarian units. He became Field Marshal in 1918, and was also awarded numerous medals, including the highest order for Austro-Hungarian soldiers, the Military Order of Maria Theresia. He led to defeat the southern prong of the last Austro-Hungarian offensive at the Battle of the Piave River. The front was maintained until end of October 1918, when the Italian army launched the decisive offensive of Vitto- rio Veneto and non-Austrian troops left their positions following the secessions of their nations from the dual monarchy (Czechs and Slovaks on October 28, South Slavs on October 29, Hungary on October 31). After that Boroević fell back to Velden, where he sent a telegram to the Emperor offering to march on Vienna to fight the anti-Habsburg revolution in the imperial capital. Boroević was retired by December 1, 1918. Figure 21: Tomb of field marshal Svetozar Boroëvić von Bojna on Vienna Zentralfriedhof, Austria (Source: unknown. Accessible at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grab_ von_Svetozar_Boro%C3%ABvic_von_Bojna_auf_dem_Wiener_Zentralfriedhof.jpg). 134 appendix 2: first world war and the war's aftermath – excursion guide After the demise and disintegration of Austria-Hungary, Boroević decided to become a ci- tizen of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He was not welcome despite offering his services to the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. So he stayed in Carinthia, his personal belongings, which were on transport in Slovenia, were confiscated there. Boroević could not understand the mean treatment he had to experience, − the only field marshal the Southern Slavs had ever produced, as he wrote in his memoirs. He died in a hospital at Klagenfurt, his body was transferred to Vienna where he was entombed at the Central Cemetery. The grave had been paid for by the former emperor Charles, who lived in Switzerland then. He could not take part in the funeral, since he had been banished from Austria for his lifetime by the Habsburg Law. ERNEST HEMINGWAY. At the time of Hemingway’s graduation from High School, World War I was raging in Europe, and despite Woodrow Wilson’s attempts to keep Ameri- ca out of the war, the United States joined the Allies in the fight against Germany and Austria in April, 1917. When Hemingway turned eighteen he tried to enlist in the army, but was de- ferred because of poor vision; he had a bad left eye that he probably inherited from his mother, who also had poor vision. When he heard the Red Cross was taking volunteers as ambulance drivers he quickly signed up. He was accepted in December of 1917, left his job at the paper in April of 1918, and sailed for Europe in May. Hemingway first went to Paris upon reaching Europe, then traveled to Milan in early June after receiving his orders. The day he arrived, a munitions factory exploded and he had to car- ry mutilated bodies and body parts to a makeshift morgue; it was an immediate and powerful initiation into the horrors of war. Two days later he was sent to an ambulance unit in the town of Schio (Piave River) where he worked driving ambulances. On July 8, 1918, only a few we- eks after arriving, Hemingway was seriously wounded by fragments from an Austrian mortar shell which had landed just a few feet away. At the time, Hemingway was distributing choco- late and cigarettes to Italian soldiers in the trenches near the front lines. The explosion knoc- ked Hemingway unconscious, killed an Italian soldier and blew the legs off another. What happened next has been debated for some time. In a letter to Hemingway’s father, Ted Brum- back, one of Ernest’s fellow ambulance drivers, wrote that despite over 200 pieces of shrapnel being lodged in Hemingway’s legs he still managed to carry another wounded soldier back to the first aid station; along the way he was hit in the legs by several machine gun bullets. Whe- ther he carried the wounded soldier or not, doesn’t diminish Hemingway’s sacrifice. He was awarded the Italian Silver Medal for Valor with the official Italian citation reading: »Grave- ly wounded by numerous pieces of shrapnel from an enemy shell, with an admirable spirit of brotherhood, before taking care of himself, he rendered generous assistance to the Italian sol- diers more seriously wounded by the same explosion and did not allow himself to be carried el- sewhere until after they had been evacuated.« Hemingway described his injuries to a friend of his: »There was one of those big noises you sometimes hear at the front. I died then. I felt my soul or something coming right out of my body, like you’d pull a silk handkerchief out of a pocket by one corner. It flew all around and then came back and went in again and I wasn’t dead any more.« Hemingway’s wounding along the Piave River in Italy and his subsequent recovery at a ho- spital in Milan, including the relationship with his nurse Agnes von Kurowsky, all inspired his great novel A Farewell To Arms. 135 dar k tour ism Figure 22: Ernest Hemingway with Agnes von Kurowsky, the nurse who became the inspira- tion for the heroine of A Farewell to Arms (Source: Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library And Museum, Boston). When Hemingway returned home from Italy in January of 1919 he found Oak Park dull compared to the adventures of war, the beauty of foreign lands and the romance of an older woman, Agnes von Kurowsky. He was nineteen years old and only a year and a half remo- ved from high school, but the war had matured him beyond his years. Living with his parents, who never quite appreciated what their son had been through, was difficult. Soon after his ho- mecoming they began to question his future, began to pressure him to find work or to further his education, but Hemingway couldn’t seem to muster interest in anything. 136 Appendix 3: Workshop Partners Fundacija »Poti Miru v Posočju« Gregorčičeva ulica 8 5222 Kobarid Kobariški muzej Gregorčičeva ulica 10 5222 Kobarid Občina Komen Komen 86 6223 Komen Občina Miren-Kostanjevica Miren 137 5291 Miren Pokrajinski muzej Koper Kidričeva ulica 19 6000 Koper 137 Abstracts in Slovenian Povzetki v slovenščini KONCEPT TEMAČNEGA TURIZMA Anton Gosar Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za turistične študije – Turistica Obala 11a, SI-6320 Portorož, Slovenija E-mail: anton.gosar@fts.upr.si Območja naravnih katastrof, prizorišča bitk in vojaških spopadov ter pobojev, prizorišča terorističnih dejanj, pokopališča in grobovi znanih osebnosti so od nekdaj deležni pozorno- sti oziroma obiskov posameznikov ter turističnih skupin. Še več: ponekod so omenjeni kra- ji oziroma zgodovinska prizorišča postala kar turistična destinacija sama po sebi. Turistične agencije jih vključujejo v redne oglede mest in regij, ponekod so postale kar središčna atrak- cija turističnega potovanja. Svetovno znana pokopališča, spomeniki vojnim žrtvam in heroj- skim braniteljem (domovine, naroda, ideologije), koncentracijska taborišča in skupna grobišča (»polja smrti«) vsako leto pritegnejo na milijone obiskovalcev. To je turizem, ki informira in izobražuje, obuja spomine in ponuja podoživljanje preteklega (tragičnega, nečloveškega, heroj- skega), v vsakem primeru pa ima elemente »spektakla groze«. Ne glede na to, ali gre za učin- ke narave ali za rezultate zgodovinskih dogodkov oziroma družbeno-političnih »nesmislov«, vsem je skupna temačnost in skrivnostnost oziroma bolečina in/ali smrt. Destinacije temačnega turizma so klasični repertoar slovenskih in svetovnih turističnih agencij. Obisk Neaplja sovpada z obiskom Pompejev, obisk Krakowa vključuje ogled koncen- tracijskega taborišča Oswiencin (Auschwitz), izlet v Kijev sovpada z obiskom Černobila, turi- stično vodenje po New Yorku vsaj za pol ure zastane ob Točki nič (Ground Zero), obisk San Francisca ne more miniti brez obiska otočka Alcatraz itd. Po drugi strani pa vsak izmed nas, kot radovedni turist, ne more mimo rimske nekropole v Šempetru v Savinjski dolini, veliča- stne grobnice Taj Mahal v Agri (Utar Pradeš/Indija), pariškega pokopališča Pere Lachaise (Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf) ali washingtonskega predmestja Arlington, kjer so pokopani Ken- 139 dar k tour ism nedyjevi. Plačane obiske bojnega polja pri Waterlooju so si nekateri angleški plemiči privošči- li še za časa bitke (1815), meščani pa so lahko le leto kasneje v organiziranih skupinah prihaja- li na kraj Napoleonovega poraza. Založba Lonely Planet v svoji izdaji The Blue List vse od leta 2008 izpostavlja kraje, ki jih je tako ali drugače zaznamovala tragedija in so vredni obiska. Težko rečemo, da je »temačni turizem« nova zvrst turizma in da odkrivamo nišo v po- nudbi »nacionalne dediščine« oziroma v »zgodovinskem turizmu«, ki bi jo bilo vredno tr- žno razvijati. Naj spomnimo le na množične in organizirane obiske Sutjeske, Jasenovca in Dedinja (»Hiša cvetja«) iz naše polpretekle zgodovine. V anglosaški literaturi se je za zvrst tu- rizma, ki se v celoti ali delno usmerja v turistične destinacije trpljenja in smrti, uveljavil pojem »Dark Tourism«. V lani objavljeni hrvaški enciklopediji turizma navajajo izraz »mračnjaški turizam«, v katerega podzvrst uvrščajo »tana turizam« (tanatoturizam), ki specifično obrav- nava obiske grobnic in pokopališč ter spominskih obeležij. V slovenski turistični literaturi se še nismo dokončno opredelili glede termina, saj tehtamo med pojmi mračni, temni in temačni turizem – ob predpostavki, da bomo termin tanato turizem uporabljali le za grobišča. Na območju Posočja in Krasa je leta 2007 nastala Pot miru, že poprej pa v Kobaridu Muzej prve svetovne vojne, ki so ga v preteklih dveh desetletjih kar dvakrat razglasili za Evropski mu- zej leta. Pot miru je muzej na prostem, ki priča o bitkah med prvo svetovno vojno in je posve- čen spominu na padle vojake; uvrščen je v katalog najpomembnejših kulturno-zgodovinskih turističnih atrakcij v Sloveniji. Slovenski označbi, »destinacija temačnega turizma« oziroma »destinacija tanaturizma«, obe ustanovi nasprotujeta in svoj marketinški koncept zagovarjata v okviru širšega aspekta »zgodovinskega turizma«. 140 abstracts in slovenian/povzetki v slovenščini ZAHODNA FRONTA: VOJNA DEDIŠČINA, SPORNE RAZLAGE IN TEMAČNI TURIZEM Stephen Miles University of Glasgow, School of Interdisciplinary Studies Crichton University Campus, Dumfries DG1 4ZL, United Kingdom E-mail: stephen.miles@glasgow.ac.uk Čeprav lahko zahodno fronto z vidika ponudbe dojemamo kot kraj smrti in trpljenja, se porajajo tudi vprašanja, ali se lahko tudi turiste, ki obiskujejo to območje, dojema kot »temač- ne«. Analiza glavnih značilnosti turističnega obiska kaže, da je to območje spominska kraji- na in da igra ta otipljiva vojna dediščina tudi pomembno vlogo. Izkušnja obiskovalcev se izka- že za globoko in pomenljivo, kar je v nasprotju s pogledom prejšnjih komentatorjev, ki trdijo, da je turizem površinska dejavnost. Raziskave na tem področju se nadaljujejo, in sicer na pod- lagi analize empiričnih dokazov, pridobljenih s pomočjo preteklih štipendij, in tudi avtorjevih lastnih terenskih izkušenj. Zaključimo lahko, da imajo turisti na tem področju obširen in po- gosto kompleksen nabor izkušenj ter tem lokacijam pripisujejo raznolike pomene. Ti vključu- jejo družinsko zgodovino, nacionalizem, hobije in željo po ogledu krajev, kjer je nastajala zgo- dovina. Poleg tega te izkušnje niso vedno temačne, saj so lahko tudi pozitivne in poživljajoče ter privedejo do družbeno ugodnih učinkov. Možno je torej, da obstaja semantični problem pri besedi »temačen«, saj ima slednja lahko zavajajoče konotacije. Iz tega izhaja predlog, da tu ne gre za temačni turizem. 141 dar k tour ism TRŽENJE ZA NAMENE TEMAČNEGA TURIZMA: PRIMER OSTANKOV PRVE SVETOVNE VOJNE, BOJIŠČ IN SPOMINOV NA SOŠKO FRONTO Chiara Beccalli University of Trieste, Department of Political and Social Sciences P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy E-mail: cbeccalli@units.it Igor Jelen University of Trieste, Department of Political and Social Sciences P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy E-mail: jeleni@sp.units.it Moreno Zago University of Trieste, Department of Political and Social Sciences P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy E-mail: zagom@sp.units.it Delo, ob analizi izkušenj obiskovalcev muzejev prve svetovne vojne v Gorici in Kobaridu, obravnava potencialne argumente, s katerimi se turistični operaterji srečajo pri trženju turiz- ma, povezanega z ostanki prve svetovne vojne. S standardizacijo turizma na področju vojnih ostankov pogosto tvegamo, da bi s tem povzročili izgubo svečanosti in pomembnosti ter te objekte spremenili v nekaj umetnega. Počasen in izkustveni pristop k turizmu, skupaj z novi- mi tehnologijami, bi lahko turističnim operaterjem pomagal pri oblikovanju ponudbe, ki bi izboljšala kakovost, povečala specifičnost krajev in vključila veččutno izkušnjo, kjer sta navdu- šenje in igra pomembna elementa pri učenju in ustvarjanju nepozabnih trenutkov. 142 abstracts in slovenian/povzetki v slovenščini DEDIŠČINA SOŠKE FRONTE IN NJENI POTENCIALI ZA RAZVOJ TURIZMA Matjaž Klemenčič Univerza v Mariboru, Filozofska fakulteta Koroška cesta 160, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenija E-mail: matjaz.klemencic@siol.net Miha Koderman Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za humanistične študije Titov trg 5, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenija E-mail: miha.koderman@fhs.upr.si Turizem je gospodarska panoga, ki jo običajno enačimo z zabavo, rekreacijo in počitkom. Znotraj tega razvejanega sektorja pa se poleg svetovnih čudes, eksotičnih tropskih letovišč in vrveža milijonskih prestolnic v središču posameznikove pozornosti pogosto znajdejo tudi tra- gični kraji in območja, povezana s smrtjo. Zdi se, da tudi koncentracijska taborišča druge sve- tovne vojne, skupinske grobnice in prizorišča masovnih pokolov, ki predstavljajo najtemnejša poglavja človeške zgodovine, ne morejo ubežati množičnemu obiskovanju, ki v te kraje in ob- močja letno privablja na milijone ljudi. Tako imenovani »temačni turizem«, ki se navezuje na obiskovanje krajev, zaznamovanih s smrtjo, se je šele v zadnjem desetletju uveljavil kot pomem- ben segment znotraj turistične panoge, čeprav bi lahko tudi, denimo, obiskovanje rimskih ka- takomb in piramid v Gizi, ki so že v 19. stoletju privabljale popotnike in (avan)turiste v odda- ljene kraje, nedvomno povezali z začetkom razvoja te turistične podzvrsti. Tragične zgodovinske kraje, ki beležijo množični obisk in bi jih lahko povezali s tovrstno obliko turizma, lahko najdemo tudi na območju Slovenije. Znaten del jih je zaznamovanih s prvo svetovno vojno in soško fronto, ki je močno zarezala v prostor med Alpami in Jadranom. Dediščina prve svetovne vojne predstavlja pomemben privlačnostni dejavnik, ki povečuje pre- poznavnost območja in se vse pogosteje vključuje v lokalno turistično ponudbo. V prispevku analiziramo zgodovinski pomen soške fronte, s posebnim poudarkom na izbranih primerih spomenikov iz tega obdobja: Ruski kapelici pod prelazom Vršič, Kobariškem muzeju, nemški kostnici v Tolminu ter vojaških pokopališčih v Gorjanskem in Sredipolju/Redipuglii. Ob tem se osredotočamo na potenciale omenjenih obeležij za turiste in obiskovalce, še posebej tiste, ki prihajajo iz držav naslednic habsburške monarhije, Italije in Rusije. 143 dar k tour ism ZAPUŠČINA PRVE SVETOVNE VOJNE – POTENCIAL ZA RAZVOJ ZELE- NIH DOGODKOV IN PROGRAMOV TEMAČNEGA TURIZMA Tadeja Jere Jakulin Univerza na Primorskem, Fakulteta za turistične študije – Turistica Obala 11a, SI-6320 Portorož, Slovenija E-mail: tadeja.jerejakulin@upr.si Aleksandra Golob Predel 13, SI-3240 Šmarje pri Jelšah, Slovenija E-mail: aleksandra.golob@gmail.com Zapuščina prve svetovne vojne – spomin in oživljanje potencialov temačnega turizma predstavlja priložnost za razvoj destinacije temačnega turizma občine Komen, ki je bila sre- dišče južnega bojišča v času prve svetovne vojne. Med prvo svetovno vojno je bila soška fronta del šeststo kilometrov dolge linije, ki je tekla od prelaza Stelvio na švicarsko-italijansko-avstrij- ski tromeji preko Tirolske, Dolomitov, Karnijskih in Julijskih Alp, zgornjega Posočja, goriške regije in Krasa do Jadranskega morja. Južno bojišče soške fronte je v letu 1915 vključevalo Ko- men in njegovo okolje. Z namenom oživitve okolja, ki pomeni potencial za razvoj temačnega turizma, je Univerza na Primorskem ustvarila evropski projekt v obliki poletne šole in z izvir- nim naslovom: »3R for Cultural Tourism« oziroma »Remnants of First World War (WWI) – Research, Renovation and Rejuvenation of Cultural Tourism Sites« ali v prevodu: »3R za kulturni turizem« oziroma »Zapuščina prve svetovne vojne – raziskava, renovacija in pomla- jevanje kulturnega turizma okolja.« Med kulturno-turističnimi programi so študentje razvili dva programa, namenjena temač- nemu turizmu: 1. Povratek Soške fronte, katerega glavni namen je bil organizirati prevoz in prireditve za manjše in večje skupine turistov na zgodovinskih prizoriščih prve svetovne voj- ne, sicer po istih gramoznih poteh, ter simulacija vojaškega življenja (Borojevićev prestol, zidni napisi); 2. Zgodbe iz jam in kavern, katerih glavni namen je bil pomlajevanje področja občine Komen in dvigovanje zavesti lokalnega prebivalstva o razvoju potencialov temačnega turizma na način, ki bi predstavljal dodano vrednost obstoječim atrakcijam, kot so jame, vojaška prizo- rišča ter pokopališča iz obdobja prve svetovne vojne. Programi so osnova za nadaljnji razvoj regije, vključno z aktivnim sodelovanjem lokalne skupnosti in z oblikovanjem prostorskih modelov revitalizacije destinacije temačnega turizma južnega bojišča soške fronte, kot na primer vojaški kamp polega jame Jerihovica in muzej zgo- dovine Gorjansko. 144 abstracts in slovenian/povzetki v slovenščini OD GALICIJE DO ALP – POLJSKI SPOMIN NA »ITALIJANSKO FRONTO« V PRVI SVETOVNI VOJNI Stefan Bielański Pedagogical University of Kraków Ul. Podchorążych 2 30-084 Kraków, Poland E-mail: mediterraneum@up.krakow.pl To delo prikazuje geopolitične spremembe Poljske od poznega 18. stoletja do izbruha prve svetovne vojne. Pod vodstvom sil, ki so razdeljevale Poljsko, sta izrazito vlogo igrali Krakovska republika (Rzeczpospolita Krakowska, 1815 do 1846) in morda predvsem Galicija (1867– 1918), avtonomna pokrajina avstro-ogrskega cesarstva (z glavnim mestom Lvov), ki je vključe- vala tudi zahodno Galicijo s Krakovom kot drugim glavnim mestom. Ob izbruhu prve svetovne vojne leta 1914 so tako imenovane centralne sile (Nemčija in Avstro-Ogrska) skušale izvesti geopolitičen projekt, imenovan »Mitteleuropa«. Že leta 1916 so razglasile ustanovitev nove Kraljevine Poljske, kar je bilo očitno povezano s političnima re- žimoma v Berlinu in na Dunaju. Dokončno je Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republika Poljska) po- novno pričela obstajati z 11. novembrom 1918 kot neodvisna država, zaveznica zahodnih dr- žav (primarno Francije), in kot prepreka napredovanju sovjetskega boljševizma. V tem kontekstu bi se moralo obravnavati poljsko sodelovanje v prvi svetovni vojni. Kar je pomembno – tudi za zgodovinski spomin na prvo svetovno vojno –, je prisotnost poljskih vo- jakov in oficirjev iz avstrijske Galicije na italijanski fronti (od leta 1915 naprej) ter v bojih v Al- pah (dogodki so prikazani tudi na neobjavljenih fotografijah, posnetih med prvo svetovno voj- no na italijanski fronti). 145 dar k tour ism RUPNIKOVA OBRAMBNA ČRTA KOT TURISTIČNA DESTINACIJA Dušan Nečak Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta Aškerčeva 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija E-mail: dusan.necak@guest.arnes.si Avtor najprej opisuje pot do današnjega stanja, ko je Rupnikova linija postala ena osrednjih turističnih destinacij občine Gorenja vas-Poljane. Preteči je moralo kar nekaj desetletij in inve- stirati je bilo treba kar nekaj evropskih, državnih in občinskih sredstev, da si je danes mogoče Rupnikovo linijo in njene najpomembnejše utrdbe ogledati z vodičem po dveh – krajši in dalj- ši – tematskih poteh. Pomemben zagon tem prizadevanjem so na eni strani nudili prebival- ci teh krajev, ki so spoznali pomen teh ostankov kulturne dediščine za njihovo zgodovino, na drugi strani pa tudi župan in vodstvo občine, ki je spoznalo pomembnost teh objektov za tu- ristični razvoj občine. Znaten delež k obema spoznanjema je prispevala tudi županova komi- sija za Rupnikovo linijo, ki jo vodi avtor tega prispevka. Ta v nadaljevanju na kratko oriše kraj in čas nastanka te utrdbene črte in predstavi njen potek ter objekte na odseku, ki poteka skozi občino Gorenja vas-Poljane. 146 abstracts in slovenian/povzetki v slovenščini PRVA SVETOVNA VOJNA IN UPORABA SPOMINA NA OBMOČJU SOŠKE FRONTE Sergio Zil i University of Trieste, Department of Humanities P.le Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy E-mail: zillis@units.it V prvi svetovni vojni se je italijanska vojska borila predvsem na dveh frontah: prva je bila v Alpah, med Tirolsko in Benečijo; druga je bila na vzhodni meji tistega časa, na Soči in Krasu, vzdolž pasu ozemlja, kjer poteka današnja meja med Italijo in Slovenijo. Bitke na soški fron- ti so bile najbolj krvave in so povzročile največje število smrti in poškodb, predvsem pa tiste, ki so najbolj presunile italijansko javno mnenje. Prvič so se Italijani seznanili z imeni nekate- rih ozemelj, ki jih prej niso poznali, in jih povezali z vojno, v kateri so se borili njihovi znanci. Obseg pokola je bil zelo velik in večina javnega mnenja ni upoštevala, da so se vojaki bori- li na območju, ki je bilo deloma poseljeno z Italijani in je bilo tedaj pod vladavino Habsburža- nov. Istočasno so tudi poskušali ne razmišljati o tisočih vojakih, ki so umrli na majhnem kosu zemlje, ki je bil na najširši točki širok manj kot deset kilometrov. Prostor je bil preplavljen z de- setinami vojaških pokopališč, ki sta jih zgradili obe vojski. Italijanska pokopališča so po vojni postala mesta, ki jih je obiskovalo na tisoče sorodnikov mrtvih vojakov iz vse države. Obisk se je še povečal, ko so vsa ta ozemlja postala del Italije, po sporazumih v letih 1919 in 1920. Potreba po racionalni ureditvi grobov je postala priložnost za reorganizacijo nekdanjega vojnega območja in preoblikovanje romanja preživelih v pot spomina. Spomin na vojno in nje- ne katastrofe se je tako preoblikoval v praznovanje zmage. Hkrati je bila Italija priča osvajanju novih ozemelj. Italijanska vlada se je odločila zgraditi vrsto spominskih grobišč, vojnih muze- jev, spomenikov in spominskih kamnov za italijanske vojake. Čeprav se je večina mož na novih ozemljih borila v habsburški vojski in čeprav so bili prebivalci okupiranih ozemelj Italijani in Slovenci, so ta prikazovala prisotnost italijanskih zmagovalcev in avstro-ogrski poraz. Oblikovanje temačnega turizma je tako postala priložnost za izkaz nacionalizma in za- nikanje lokalnih identitet. Na ozemlje so postavili pomembne znake, zlahka vidne s prostim očesom, kot nekakšne bucike, ki se jih namesti na zemljevid, zaznamujoče pokrajino. To je bila zmagovalna politična izbira, ki je postala primer političnega upravljanja z ozemljem. To je tra- jalo skozi celotno dvajseto stoletje in tudi še v začetku novega tisočletja in to dejstvo je danes (brez kakršnih koli diskusij) sprejeto med praznovanji stoletnice velike vojne. 147 dar k tour ism TEMAČNI TURIZEM IN SPOMINSKI TURIZEM: OD KONCEPTA SCHADENFREUDE DO »GLOBALNEGA DRŽAVLJANST- VA« Elena del ’Agnese University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Sociology and Social Research Via Bicocca degli Arcimboldi 8 20126 Milano, Italy E-mail: elena.dellagnese@gmail.com Definicija »temačnega turizma« kot »potovanja na kraje, povezane s smrtjo, trpljenjem in z navidezno srhljivim« (Stone, 2006) »zajema ogromno različnih krajev in izkušenj« (Shar- pley, 2009). Z vidika krajev in destinacij so se oblikovale različne kategorizacije in že dalj časa je uspešno v delu klasifikacija lokacij, ki razlikuje na primer »nevarne kraje« od »mučnih po- tovanj«, (Dann, 1988, in Sharpley, 2009). Tudi z vidika ponudbe in kakovosti izkušenj, ki so na voljo, lahko prepoznamo številna razlikovanja, Stone (2006) pa podaja spekter temačnega turizma (»Dark Tourism Spectrum«), temelječ na stopnjah »srhljivosti«, ki jih ponujajo pro- izvodi temačnega turizma. Veliko manj zadovoljujoča so razlikovanja, na voljo glede občutkov, ki se skrivajo za razlogi za obisk, glede na to, da lahko isti kraj posamezniki doživijo povsem različno. S tega vidika Seaton (1996) najprej nakaže prisotnost »kontinuirane intenzivnosti« pri doživetih čustvih, pozneje pa Seaton in Lennon (2004) predstavita razlikovanje med kon- ceptom »Schadenfreude«, »skritim zadovoljstvom ob doživljanju tuje nesreče«, in »razmi- šljanja o smrti«, željo po soočenju in razumevanju smrti. »Kljub tem poskusom ostaja literatura eklektična in teoretično krhka« (Simone-Charte- ris, Boyd in Burns, 2013). Te razlage vsekakor ne pokrivajo vseh možnih razlogov, saj lahko ne- katere oblike turizma, »povezane s smrtjo«, dojemamo tudi kot nadaljevanje drugih oblik turizma, povezanega z dediščino, nacionalno identiteto, diasporo in, splošno gledano, obliko- vanjem skupnega spomina (Du, Litteljohn in Lennon, 2013). Da bi prebrodili podobne teža- ve, bomo »temačni turizem« kot vsevključujoč analitični sestav najprej skušali razdrobiti ter ga izvzeti iz dveh ločenih kategorij: »turizma grozot« (ki se nanaša na oblike turizma, vezane na »pokrajine strahu«) in »spominskega turizma« (vključno z vsemi oblikami obiskov »kra- jev pripadnosti«). Posebno pozornost bomo pozneje namenili nekaterim študijam »spomin- skega turizma«, osredotočenim na različne načine, ki bi lahko pripomogli k prenosu skupnih emocij in skupnih identitet na eni strani, a tudi zavedanja in globalnega državljanstva na dru- gi (Yoko Urbain, 2013). 148 abstracts in slovenian/povzetki v slovenščini PRVA SVETOVNA VOJNA IN MOŽNOSTI RAZVOJA ZGODOVINSKEGA TURIZMA – PRIMER POTI MIRU OD ALP DO JADRANA Zdravko Likar Ustanova »Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju« Gregorčičeva ulica 8, SI-5222 Kobarid, Slovenija E-mail: info@potmiru.si Maša Klavora Ustanova »Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju« Gregorčičeva ulica 8, SI-5222 Kobarid, Slovenija E-mail: info@potmiru.si V zgodovinskem kraju Kobarid je leta 1990 spontano nastal Kobariški muzej, kot želja skupine krajanov kobariškega območja, da svetu pokažejo burno zgodovino Kobarida in vsega Posočja. Ustanova »Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju« je nastala leta 2000 na pobudo Vlade RS, ki je sprejela desetletni program »Posočje – Poti miru« kot nacionalni in mednarodni pro- jekt, leta 2011 pa še nadaljnji petletni program, torej do 2015. Fundacijo upravlja uprava, ka- tere predsednik je Zdravko Likar, člani pa so: univ. prof. dr. Anton Jeglič, dr. Petra Svoljšak, mag. Miloš Bizjak in Željko Cimprič. Obe instituciji se ukvarjata z ohranjanjem, raziskovanjem in predstavljanjem prve svetov- ne vojne, a s to razliko, da se Kobariški muzej posveča premični dediščini soške fronte, Fun- dacija pa predvsem nepremični, ki je ostala v hribih, dolinah, na frontnih črtah in v zaledju. Fundacija v sodelovanju s številnimi slovenskimi in italijanskimi javnimi in zasebnimi organi- zacijami gradi Pot miru od Alp do Jadrana, ki se začne v Logu pod Mangartom pod mogoč- nim Rombonom, konča pa v Devinu ob Tržaškem zalivu. Povezala bo posamezne muzeje na prostem, vojaška pokopališča, zgodovinske poti, spominske cerkve in kapele, obeležja, muzeje, turistično-informacijske centre in ponudnike ter naravne in druge kulturne znamenitosti na obeh straneh meje. Otvoritev Poti miru bo 21. marca 2015 na Trgu Evrope/Transalpini med Novo Gorico in Gorico. Obe instituciji se trudita za razvoj zgodovinskega turizma ter s svojimi aktivnostmi vpliva- ta na prepoznavnost Kobarida. Pot miru pa s svojim poslanstvom in vizijo ter v sodelovanju z drugimi lokalnimi in nacionalnimi turističnimi organizacijami uresničuje čezmejno sodelova- nje, prepoznavnost in razvoj Posočja, Benečije, Goriške, Krasa/Carso in spodbuja ustvarjanje enotnega turističnega prostora, ki je izredno raznolik in privlačen, zato verjamemo, da je turi- zem največja priložnost tega območja. Stoletnice prve svetovne vojne še povečujejo obisk zgodovinskih in spominskih krajev. 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Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnic- two Naukowe. 165 Index Boyd 90 A Brook 25 Acerbi 67 Bruno 40 Alexander 37 Bugarič 54 Andersson 60 Burns 90 Andreozzi 83 Andriessen 67 C Apih 78, 80 Cappellano 67 Ara 78 Cattaruzza 78, 83 Arcodia 60, 61 Cecil 25 Ashworth 54, 87, 88, 90, 91 Cenacchi 67 Audoin-Rouzeau 39 Chronis 30 Chwalba 65 B Cimpric 37 Baccichet 84 Clout 28 Baldwin 47 Cohen 33 Ballantyne 91, 93 Collotti 83 Batowski 65 Cossu 83 Bauman 40 Costa 40 Beazley 91 Cremers 41 Becker 39 Croy 90 Beech 91 Cumin 80, 83 Benton 25 Biaett 60 D Biran 28, 32, 89, 90 Dąbrowski 65, 69 Blunden 22 Dann 88 Bobrzyński 65 Dato 82 Boorstin 31 Deacon 91 Bortolotti 80 16 1 7 6 dar k tour ism Derejczyk 65 Jere Lazanski 54 Dickson 60, 61 Du 90 K Dunkley 30, 31 Karacas 92 Dybkowska 65 Kawalec 64 Dyer 21 Klavora 45 Korstanje 33 E Kumaniecki 65 Eco 31 Kundera 40 Ermacora 78 L F Laing 61 Fabi 77, 79, 81, 82 Langes 67 Fabietti 36 Leger 92 Foley 19, 88 Lennon 19, 88, 89, 90 Frew 36 Leslie 54 Lipiński 65 G Litteljohn 90 Getz 58, 59, 60, 61 Lloyd 22 Gierowski 65 Longworth 22, 25 Gillen 34 Lowenthal 29 Golob 59, 61 Lundberg 60 Goodall 54 Gortani 78 M Gough 28, 30, 37 Maczek 66 Grdina 45 Magris 78 Grosfeld 65 Mair 61 Mancini 40 H Maranesi 78 Halbwachs 36 Marinelli 78 Holmes 22 Marković 72 Holzer 64, 65 Martina 37 Horner 54 Massi 80, 83 Matera 36 I McGilvary 66 Iles 28, 30, 34 Mikelič Goja 54 Isnenghi 77 Miles 19, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 36 Ivankovič 61 Millo 78 Molenda 65 J Monballyu 23 Jansen-Verbeke 36 Mondini 78 Jegou 40 Musgrave 60, 61 Jelen 34 Jere Jakulin 55, 59 168 index Silkin 25 N Simone-Charteris 90 Nećak 46 Slade 30 Neugebauer 91 Sluga 83 Nevins 91 Smith 37, 40, 90 Spizzo 41 O Stone 19, 24, 32, 37, 43, 54, 59, 87, 88 Olech 65 Suleja 64 Olick 91 Swarbrooke 54, 58 Oren 28 Szymczak 65 PPajewski 65 ŠŠkrlep 71 Paris 60 Pederson 30 T Pellegrinon 67 Tarlow 54 Phelan 90 Thomas 54 Pieri 67 Todero 78, 79, 81 Poria 28, 32 Todorov 87, 91 Potomski 66 Touring 79 Turnbridge 91 R Tyrell 60 Raj 60 Rauchensteiner 45 U Repe 46 Urbain 87, 92 Reynolds 21, 23 Uzzell 91, 93 Richards 54 Roszkowski 65 V Ruhanen 59, 60 Vandaele 23 Rutar 78 Venza 83 Rydel 65 Verginella 83 VianelliI 67 S Vinci 80 Salvador 78 Vivante 78 Sapelli 78 Schindler 45 W Schopenhauer 89 Waitt 60 Schramm 65 Weixlbaumer 34 Sciarretta 79 Wende 36 Seaton 19, 23, 24, 30, 54, 55, 88, 89 Wereszycki 65 Sema 77 White 36 Shackley 27 Whitford 59, 60 Sharpley 32, 37, 45, 47, 54, 87, 88 Wierzbieniec 64 Sheffield 21 Wilson 21, 29 Sigala 54 169 dar k tour ism Winter 30, 31 Woersdorfer 83 Z Zago 40 Zaszkilniak 64 Zilli 78, 79, 83, 84 Ž Żaryn, J. 65 Żaryn, M. 65 Żywczyński 65 170 Prispevki v zborniku se lotevajo obravnave zanimive tematike, ki je povezana s turističnim obiskovanjem območij, na katerih so se v preteklosti dogajali tragični dogodki, povezani z vojnami, naravnimi in drugimi nesrečami, tragedijami pa tudi obiskovanjem spomenikov znanih osebnosti in podobnim. Sicer se turistična potovanja, povezana s tovrstnimi motivi, izvajajo že desetletja (nekatera celo stoletja), je pa na drugi strani sam termin »dark tourism« oziroma »temačni turizem« v strokovni terminologiji relativno nov. Začeli so ga obravnavati sredi 90. let prejšnjega stoletja v anglosaksonskem svetu, in tokrat prvič v Sloveniji. Doc. dr. Uroš Horvat Pri obiskovanju in doživljanju prostorov temačnega turizma gre za fascinacijo s temno platjo človeka in družbe kot tudi za željo po boljšem razumevanju zgodovine in lastne preteklosti ter spoštovanje do umrlih. Prispevki pokažejo, da je temačni turizem zelo heterogen pojav – glede motivov turistov, njihove percepcije obiskanih »turističnih območij«, narave »turističnega proizvoda« . . Posebna kakovost publikacije je sodelovanje strokovnjakov iz različnih držav in z različnih strokovnih področij (geografija, zgodovina, sociologija .. ), kar je imelo za rezultat osvetlitev pojava temačnega turizma z različnih perspektiv. Pričujoče delo tako ponuja priložnost za poglobljeno seznanitev s to tematiko, ki je relevantna in prisotna tudi v Sloveniji, hkrati pa opozarja na potrebo po nadaljnjem ukvarjanju z njo. Doc. dr. Dejan Cigale UP IN SVET – Mednarodna vpetost Univerze na Primorskem: operacijo delno financira Evropska unija iz Evropskega socialnega sklada ter Ministrstvo za izobraževanje, znanost in šport. Operacija se izvaja v okviru Operativnega programa razvoja človeških virov za obdobje 2007-2013, razvojne prioritete 3: Razvoj človeških virov in vseživljenjskega učenja, prednostne usmeritve 3.3: Kakovost, konkurenčnost in odzivnost visokega šolstva. 9 789616 963282 Document Outline Gosar, Anton, et al. (2015). Dark Tourism: Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development. University of Primorska Press, Koper (Front Cover). Gosar, Anton, et al. (2015). Dark Tourism: Post-WWI Destinations of Human Tragedies and Opportunities for Tourism Development. University of Primorska Press, Koper (Title Page). Colophone Contents List of Tables Table 1: Results of a survey of a commercial coach tour to the Western Front – April 2010 Table 2: Main tools used in the museums of Kobarid and Gorizia Table 3: Dark Tourism potentials Table 4: The diversity of events depending on the type of events Table 5: Dark Tourism versus Memory Tourism List of Figures Figure 1: The Western Front. Figure 2: Tyne Cot Military Cemetery near Ypres. Figure 3: The names of the missing at Tyne Cot. Figure 4: The Menin Gate, Ypres. Figure 5: Trench reconstruction at Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Zonnebeke. Figure 6: The cemetery of Gorjansko is the largest cemetery of the First World War in Slovenia. Figure 7: Rates of Locations. Figure 8: Responsible (sustainable) events. Figure 9: The highest military location on Mount Ortler. Figure 10: 30 cm mortar in the Pustar Valley. Figure 11: Exhibits at the exhibition of the remains and the time when Rupnik line was built. Figure 12: A typical machine gun bunker on Javorč, a symbol of Rupnik defence line. Figure 13: Italian military ossuary in Kobarid/Caporetto, Slovenia. Figure 14: Sredipolje/Redipuglia First World War cemetery, Italy. Figure 15: The memorial to the defenders of the Slovenian homeland at Cerje, Slovenia. Figure 16: Tours in Krakow, Poland, include dark tourism destinations. Figure 17: Tourists at concentration camp Auschwitz II–Birkenau, Poland. Figure 18: Tourists at 9/11 Memorial in New York, U.S.A. Figure 19: Kolovrat, crossborder outdoor museum. Figure 20: Fortress Kluže, performance with NGO assocciation 1313. Figure 21: Sabotin-Park of Peace. Appendix 1 Figure 1: Cerje tower. Field work: WWI Soča/Isonzo battlefields. Greetings by Komen andMiren-Kostanjevica mayors. Figure 2: Piazza della Transalpina/Trg Evrope, Gorizia – Nova Gorica cross-border square. Figure 3: Kobarid, WWI Museum – workshop activity. Figure 4: Kobarid, WWI Museum – president of the Walk of Peace Foundation Mr. ZdravkoLikar welcomed workshop participants. Appendix 2 Figure 1: Map of the Italian Front. Figure 2: Austro-Hungarian supply line over the Vršič Pass. Figure 3: The June 28, 1914, assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Figure 4: Gavrilo Princip. Figure 5: Palace Hotel in 1915. Figure 6: Palace Hotel in 1957. Figure 7: Hotel Palace in 2014. Figure 8: Bazovica/Basovizza – Monument of the TIGR heroes. Figure 9: A view of Trieste in 1885. Figure 10: Yugoslav Army entering Trieste (May 1945). Figure 11: Hungarian cemetery in the near of Sredipolje/Rediplugia Doberdo, Italy. Figure 12: Church of the Holy Spirit, Javorca. Figure 13: Outdoor Museum Kolovrat. Figure 14: Kobarid Museum. Figure 15: Kluze Fortress. Figure 16: Luigi Cadorna. Figure 17: Svetozar Boroević von Bojna. Figure 21: Tomb of field marshal Svetozar Boroëvić von Bojna on Vienna Zentralfriedhof,Austria. Figure 22: Ernest Hemingway with Agnes von Kurowsky, the nurse who became the inspirationfor the heroine of A Farewell to Arms. Introduction Scientific Papers Anton Gosar ■ The Concept of Dark Tourism Introduction Regional Character The Concept Conclusion Stephen Miles ■ The Western Front: War Heritage, Contested Interpretations and Dark Tourism Introduction The Western Front: History and Tourism The Western Front in Its Dark Tourism Context A Commemorative Landscape Commemorative Practice The Physical Heritage of the Western Front Visitor Experiences and the Meanings Previous Empirical Research on the Western Front A Survey of Coach Tour Passengers to the Western Front Discussion and Conclusion Chiara Beccalli, Igor Jelen, and Moreno Zago ■ Marketing for Dark Tourism Purposes: The Case of WWI Remnants, Battlefields, and Memories on the Isonzo-Soča Front The Standardization of War: Some Marketing Reflections Basic Characteristics of War Remnants Marketing The Normalization of the War Concrete Realizations and Applications: Product and Place in WRT Marketing Case Study: The WWI Museums on the Isonzo-Soča Front Territory and Memory The Emotional Dark Elements in the Gorizia and Kobarid Museums Dark and Slow Tourism: An Experimental Approach to the WWI Offer The Slowness and the Experiential Dimension The ICT for the WWI Experiential Tourism Matjaž Klemenčič and Miha Koderman ■ The Isonzo/Soča Front and Its Potentials for Development of Tourism Introduction Historical Background of the Isonzo/Soča Front Tourist Sites and Potential Tourist Sites along the Isonzo/Soča Front The Russian Chapel The Kobarid Museum The German Ossuary in Tolmin Gorjansko and Redipuglia/Sredipolje First World War Cemeteries Conclusion Tadeja Jere Jakulin and Aleksandra Golob ■ Remnants of WWI – Dark Tourist-Sustainable Eventsand Programs Potentials Introduction As Time Goes By: Heritage, Cultural, Special Interest and Dark Tourism Potentials for Dark Tourism of Southern Battlefield Dark Tourism Potentials and Two Related Sustainable Tourism Programs Sustainability of the Events Related to the Southern Battlefield of Isonzo Conclusions Stefan Bielański ■ From Galicia to the Alps – Polish Memory of »the Italian Front« of WWI Historical Background Galicia – The Autonomous Province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Polish Cause during the First World War Galician Soldiers in the Service of Franz Josef, Austro-Hungarian Emperor The Battle of the Dolomites (1915–1917) and Family Memories Soldiers of Piłsudski on the Italian front From Italian soil to Poland... Rebirth of the Polish state (1918–1921) Dušan Nečak ■ The Rupnik Defence Lineas a Tourist Destination Introduction Time and Place The Rupnik Line Forts Sergio Zilli ■ The First World War and the Use of Memory in the Landscape of the Isonzo/Soča Front Elena dellʼAgnese ■ Dark Tourism and Memory Tourism: From Schadenfreude to »Global Citizenship« Introduction Defining »Dark Tourism« Focusing on Emotions Memorials, »Memory« and »Memory Tourism« Conclusions Professional Paper Zdravko Likar and Maša Klavora ■ WWI and the Possibilities for Developing Historical Tourism – The Case of the Walk of Peacefrom the Alps to the Adriatic The Founding and the Mission of the Kobarid Museum and the Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation Activities and Development of the Walk of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic Cooperation with the SPIRIT Public Agency, Sector for Tourism, and Tourist and Other Organizations in Developing Historical Tourism in 2014 The National Committee for the 100th Anniversary of World War I (2014–2018) Ideas and projects of the Foundation for the period of 2015–2020 Conclusion Appendices Appendix 1: Conclusions of the International Workshop Appendix 2: First World War and the War's Aftermath – Excursion Guide ■ Compiled by Anton Gosar Introduction The Battles of Isonzo/Soča The Beginning of the First World War The Alps-Adritic Region between 1900–2000: The Excursion Route Coastal Places and Regions between Wars Battles of WWI (The Isonzo/Soča Front Line) The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo/Soča Valley The Battle of Caporetto The People of the Battle of Isonzo Appendix 3: Workshop Partners Abstracts in Slovenian/Povzetki v slovenščini List of References Index A B C D E G H I J K L M N O P R S Š T U V W Z Ž