Published: 2025-12-03

Practices, objects and affects as tools in the creation of contemporary heritage by ehtnocultural groups. The example of the Bambers of Poznań

Agnieszka Szczepaniak-Kroll
Journal of Urban Ethnology
Section: Cultural heritage
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/JUE23.2025.006

Abstract

The Bambers (Polish : Bambrzy), descendants of immigrants from Upper Franconia, have been co-creating the cultural landscape of Poznań for three hundred years. They pass down their rich heritage from generation to generation, emphasising various elements that influence the group’s identity. Since the 1990s, they have been experiencing a cultural renaissance, part of the process known as ethnisation. This article analyses, according to Sharon Macdonald’s concept, the actions, objects and affects employed by the Bambers since the systemic transition in Poland to keep up a connection with the past necessary to maintain their heritage. These efforts demonstrate that the Bambers do not merely strive to reconstruct the past, but interpret it to ensure the continuity of their shared identity. Their activities align with contemporary understandings of heritage, which focus on utilising the past for contemporary purposes. The text is based on the author’s own qualitative research.

Keywords:

heritage, places of memory, Bambers, ethnocultural group, use of history

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Szczepaniak-Kroll, A. (2025). Practices, objects and affects as tools in the creation of contemporary heritage by ehtnocultural groups. The example of the Bambers of Poznań. Journal of Urban Ethnology, 23(-). https://doi.org/10.23858/JUE23.2025.006

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