European Urban Cultural Heritage Management after War

The management of cultural urban heritage monuments in European cities after war is a matter that presents some interesting variations over time.It usually underlines a dual political manifestation, either as an attempt to reverse history, through a form of cultural "recovery" of monuments and encouraging a pre-war statement, either as an attempt to perpetuate the dark memory of the "atrocity" of the enemies through the preservation of the monument in form of a ruin, or in some cases as a kind of "purism" by removing cultural symbols and monuments attributed to war opponents in a process of symbolic reconstruction to support a new political narrative.Cultural properties, as described by UNESCO since 1954, represent a valuable urban asset that despite any political intentions are at serious threat during war times.Almost eight decades since World War II, the war in Ukraine raises forgotten issues for the European Region.The historic centre of the city of Lviv and the Saint Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv, among others, are world heritage sites, registered in the list of UNESCO, all of which various international organisations have expressed serious concerns about their state of survival.This paper aims to demonstrate from past examples the importance of safekeeping-built heritage, from any side of conflict parts, and in this respect highlighting the significance of culture over politics.Analysing thus monuments in recent European history that had suffered serious damage during military operations, as well as demonstrating various means of management that followed, in relation to the political expediency from which these options were dictated, considered in their historical context, while, at the same time, crossreferencing similar practices applied in Ukraine.