Muziejaus ir lokalinės istorijos ryšiai genius loci koncepcijos perspektyvoje

ENThe metaphor of genius loci defines what is living and dynamic, and functions as a part of the world inhabited by a certain group. It would seem that the nature of a museum is of an opposite character. The objects that end in a museum lose their link with the primary and dynamic context, with ‘living’ memory, and are distanced from the world for which they were created. And yet the constructive nature of the spirit of the place makes it possible to speak about the interaction between a museum and genius loci. It is not a spontaneously arising feeling or understanding, but a phenomenon created and maintained by material and immaterial elements, in which its creators and ‘consumers’ play an important role. In this case a museum could be seen as one of the spaces of creation, nurture and perception of the spirit of the place. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: Which Lithuanian museums have potential to become “architects” of the spirit of the place? How uniqueness of the place is substantiated in them? Research shows that historical, esthetical and other components of the particular area are the subjects of local, regional, town, memorial, history museums attention. The uniqueness of the place is presented in museums in two ways: through the concepts of unique place for the locals and unique place for all of us. The concepts of unique place for locals means that the place presented as unique, because it is got by nature, inherited, own, intimate, recognizable, and experienced. The second concept unique place for all of us emphasizes the exclusivity, differentness of the place that is important not only for local inhabitants but for all of us. [From the publication]