Paper short abstract:

Pilgrimage sites represent a landscape element, which, even in highly-secularized Czech society, still retains importance for believers as well as non-religious people. The poster discusses variety of meanings attributed to pilgrimage sites by various communities with different interests.

Paper long abstract:

Pilgrimage sites represent a landscape element, which, even in highly-secularized Czech society, still retains importance for believers as well as non-religious people. Such sites are places, to which certain values are attached and which can become significant symbols and contribute to individual and collective identities. As places of special meaning, pilgrimage sites combine spiritual values, based on religion, with secular values, connected with other dimensions of human values and needs. These arise primarily out of the cultural, aesthetic and economic demands of current society. Pilgrimage sites, perceived as an inseparable part of regional or even national heritage, can be a means of representation for regional communities, a component of their identities, or as an instrument in the commodification of their surrounding area (e.g. as part of regional marketing strategies). The current appearance of a pilgrimage site is a reflection of its importance and the manner of its utilization, but also more general problems, such as the position of a church and the utilization of religious heritage sites in Czech society. The objective of this poster is to discuss the variety of meanings attributed to pilgrimage sites by various communities with different interests. These meanings must be treated not only as a key factor influencing the nature of a given place, but also as a force in the formulation and reproduction of the connections between a given place and the territory, within which it is located.