Fortification monuments in the socio-cultural context: European trends (early modern times and the 19th century)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the cultural significance of urban fortification structures. The methodology of the study includes the use of general logical methods of scientific knowledge: analysis, synthesis, analogy, as well as particular historical research methods: genetic, used to identify the causes and consequences of events, and comparative – to clarify the general and specific in historical processes; In addition, an essential methodological principle of research is the cultural contextualization of fortification monuments, which means treating them as part of the urban cultural landscape. Scientific novelty. The article shows how the urban fortification structures gradually, due to the complex interaction of political, social and economic processes, have become a part of the historical heritage worthy of preservation and study. Conclusions. The article reveals the importance of fortification structures in urban planning practices in Europe, mainly in the case of France, during the early modern times (XVII–XVIII centuries) and ХIX century, in a socio-cultural context. It is shown that in connection with the assertion of absolutist regimes in European states and the growing scale of urbanization, the concept of "open city", freed from fortifications, has spread. However, under the influence of romanticism in Europe in the XIX century fortification monuments were assessed as an essential part of the historical, cultural heritage. A particular methodology was created for the research, conservation, and restoration of suchmonuments.