(Non)dangerous heritage: How the themes of city tours reflect processes of cultural appropriation (a case study of the Kaliningrad region)

The article examines the processes of cultural appropriation — the adoption of artifacts, forms of cultural expression, and other elements of a foreign culture, as well as various modes of adapting heritage and integrating it into everyday life. Using the example of the Kaliningrad region, it is shown how complex relations with German cultural heritage influence both the work of urban activists engaged in preserving and restoring historical sites and the organization of city tours. The authors come to the conclusion that, despite the region’s high tourism potential, there are many competing ways of perceiving German heritage. City tours, to some extent, facilitate the appropriation of cultural heritage. In particular, one can observe not only a focus by tour agencies and private guides on medieval history and narratives of military glory, but also the emergence of various leisure formats in which city facades become attractive backdrops without direct references to historical events. Such adaptations may lead to a fragmented or distorted understanding of the region’s history, avoiding both idealization and demonization yet lacking a holistic perspective. Recently, more niche excursion routes and stories that reveal the history of the region in all the diversity of its cultural and historical layers have become popular. This model of appropriation is directly related to the practices of caring for monuments, their preservation by activists and their presentation as aesthetically appealing and socially engaging objects. The tourism product reflects shifting tastes, changing notions of authenticity and its display, and more broadly the overall strategy of appropriation.

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