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Modern warfare has prompted states to protect collections of cultural property by evacuating them to safe locations at times of war. Building on previously classified documents in archives, inquiries and other sources, this article investigates how planning for such evacuation was carried out in Sweden from 1939 to the 1990s. After the end of the Cold War, existing evacuation plans were finally scrapped. Due to the worsening security situation in the region, Swedish heritage institutions today need to build preparedness anew. It is shown that the evacuation of large volumes of property out of cities for practical reasons never was a realistic scenario, but probably should be restricted to a minimum of carefully selected objects, records and books. The process of selecting, transporting, finding safe locations to take the property to, and determining how to monitor it needs to be carefully planned during peaceful conditions in order to efficiently safeguard the collections in wartime. The relationship between Swedish planning and the 1954 Hague Convention, and how other states can learn from this study, is finally discussed. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 January 2023

When the Second World War broke out states, even neutral ones such as Sweden, sought to protect parts of their cultural property from destruction. This article deals with why and how some treasures belonging to the Church of Sweden were identified and selected for protection against air raids in the Second World War. On his own suggestion the art historian Johnny Roosval was given the task by the National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) to coordinate protective measures on churches by giving advice to dioceses and parishes. Soon he also became attached to the military headquarters, which made it possible for him to provide the armed forces with information about cultural property to be protected, and to forward requests for assistance. Measures taken in Storkyrkan in Stockholm following Roosval’s initiative are studied. The evacuation of the fifteenth-century sculpture Saint George and the Dragon was unique in the sense that the resources allocated did not match the protection of any other cultural object in Sweden during the war years or later. The actions taken reflect an authoritative view on cultural heritage shaped by ideas of national identity and Swedish culture. The sculpture, then, signified the association between ecclesiastical heritage and Swedish national identity that the National Heritage Board was making. From having been largely forgotten, Saint George and the Dragon became – at least in the eyes of Roosval and the National Heritage Board – a symbol of national unity and sovereignty threatened by the war in Europe.

This chapter introduces Kosovo heritage politics and focuses on the consequences and the aftermath of the Kosovo War in 1999. The developments can be understood as conditions characteristic of conflict-time, in which heritage is used to continue a conflict through non-violent means. It is argued that heritage that lacks the potency to contribute to the conflict is forgotten or neglected. In practice, this involves most of the built heritage, thus preventing recognition of a plurality of heritage that could potentially contribute to building a more democratic and culturally diverse state. The case of Mitrovica is presented in more detail. It is a divided town in northern Kosovo in which cultural heritage from different historical periods can be found, which represents or is claimed by different groups in society. Sometimes this heritage is used to position one group against the other. By looking at choices and difficulties in managing heritage assets, we try to understand how historical circumstances influence the possibilities of identifying a heritage shared by several ethnic communities.

The paper analyses the ‘energy savings plan for existing buildings’ (EBB) introduced in Sweden after the first oil crisis of 1973, and how effects of policies on the built heritage were perceived and communicated to a wider public. A conflict between conservation aims and energy efficiency was constructed for the first time in Sweden. The programme was a huge investment made by the government to reduce the import of oil. At first, little consideration was taken to the fact that heritage values might be at risk when giving property owners financial incentives to retrofit their houses. Soon increasing knowledge about the existing building stock showed that older houses were not necessarily energy inefficient. An information campaign launched by protagonists of building conservation encouraged property owners to direct measures to the interiors of buildings, thus saving the exterior character of not just single buildings but also complete neighbourhoods. Towards the end of EBB, the field of conservation had become a more articulated voice when it came to influencing measures aiming at increased energy efficiency. Finally, the paper discusses how values constituted in the 1970s affect policy and practice today. An evaluation of previous policies on energy efficiency in buildings and their effects on energy use and historical values, Sweden 1974-2014

Following a period of unprecedented building in the 1960s and 1970s, the national government of Sweden decided on a programme to promote renovations, refurbishments and extension of older buildings. The programme (abbreviated R.O.T.) was introduced in 1984 and consisted of loans and subsidies for the modernisation of houses older than 30 years, as well as information to home owners and builders on the benefits of home improvement. The target was to modernise 425,000 homes during the period 1984–1993. The programme stated that ‘the energy-saving measures must be intensified’ and ‘all out-dated and the main part of all inadequate apartments should be rebuilt to mod- ern apartments, or be demolished’. By relating the processes that formed R.O.T. to theories of decision-making, this study contributes to a better understanding of how housing policies may affect historical values in the built environment. The study reveals a conflict of interest between stakeholders. R.O.T. developed ad hoc as discourses shifted between interests. Initially, it was presented as a solution for unemployment in the building sector and a social improvement for the poor and elderly. It was not until the late 1980s that a discussion turned to the consequences for historical values. An evaluation of previous policies on energy efficiency in buildings and their effects on energy use and historical values, Sweden 1974–201

Although attacks on cultural property have caused international outcry,our understanding of this phenomenon is still limited. In particular, littleresearch has been directed towards exploring the motivations for suchattacks. Therefore, we ask: What are the motives for attacking sites, buildingsor objects representing cultural heritage? By combining insights from peaceand conflict research with findings from heritage studies we present atypology of motivations for attacking cultural property. We identify four,not mutually exclusive, broad groups of motives: (i) attacks related to conflictgoals, in which cultural property is targeted because it is connected to theissue the warring parties are fighting over (ii), military-strategic attacks, inwhich the main motivation is to win tactical advantages in the conflict (iii),signalling attacks, in which cultural property is targeted as a low-risk targetthat signals the commitment of the aggressor, and (iv) economic incentiveswhere cultural property provides funding for warring parties. Our typologyoffers a theoretical structure for research about why, when, and by whom,cultural property is targeted. This is not only likely to provide academicbenefits, but also to contribute to the development of more effective toolsfor the protection of cultural property during armed conflict. Attacks on Cultural Heritages: Causes and Consequences Examined from a Multidisciplinary Perspective

Attacker på kulturarv: orsaker och konsekvenser sedda ur ett tvärvetenskapligt perspektiv

The paper examines the views of government authorities on heating in historic churches in Sweden from 1918 to 1975, when a government office called Kulturhistoriska Byrån oversaw restorations and other modifications of public buildings with historic values. In this period heating was introduced in most Swedish churches in order to raise the level of comfort of the churchgoers. In the late 1970s there were alarming reports of excessive damages to polychrome wooden art in these churches, which were thought to have been caused by heating. The work of Kulturhistoriska Byrån is analysed in order to better understand how heating technology in churches developed and was applied, and how the office analyzed the situation at different points in time. The general development gradually went from issues of thermal comfort, fire safety and insulation to more attention being paid to damages caused by heating. Despite that heating systems were to be approved before they were installed, later use of these systems escaped central supervision, thus leaving the responsibility of preventing climate induced damages entirely to the individual parishes. Kulturarvet och komforten. Frågan om lämpligt inomhusklimat i kulturhistoriska byggnader under 1900-talet