Museum Education as an Element of Urban Heritage Management: The Example of the Museum of Krakow (original) (raw)

When we speak of urban and spatial heritage management, we foremostly speakof activities undertaken to protect and preserve this specific type of heritage in the best possible condition. However, the values it carries should have not only historical but contemporary relevance as well. This paper is based on the thesis that conservation measures alone are not sufficient means of protection, and that education and the resulting increase in awareness are key to the increase of public responsibility in the protection of a cultural landscape. Such must also involve the development of a fruitful debate on the harmonious combination between preserving the historical fabric while ascribing valuable features and contemporary functions thereto. City museums are entities that can play an important role in building awareness of values related to an urban setting. In this paper, by analysing the offer of the Museum of Krakow, I will try to answer the questions: to what extent does it meet the demand for education in the context of urban heritage, and how should it be developed in the future to fulfil this task even better?