Cultural Heritage Tourism on the Example of Knightly Traditions and Other Historical Warrior Cultures

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable development of tourism should include the protection of the natural environment, but also of cultural heritage, including the tangible and intangible. Knightly traditions and culture (such as castles) and other historical warrior cultures are an interesting area of research, as well as for cultural heritage tourism. We find here several cultural phenomena—the still-alive traditions of knights or other warriors  (Barber, 1970; Cynarski, 2012b), representing the heritage of different nations. Nowadays, there is a tourist use of these resources, with a necessary care for sustainability. Sometimes they are combined with the practice of martial arts tourism and martial arts studies (Figueiredo et al., 2020; Pawelec, Świder, Cynarski, 2020); other times, with the use of the attractiveness of a historical place or a cyclical event (reconstructions, shows, festivals). The individual objects are monuments to the art of fortifications, history and material heritage. The intangible forms of this heritage are also preserved, such as the martial arts practiced to this day (Cynarski, 2019).

This multifaceted phenomenon or set of issues requires interdisciplinary research. Thus, the scientific framework should be quite wide—from cultural anthropology, through various sociological and/or historical sub-disciplines, to theories of tourism and martial arts (cf. McKercher, du Cros, 2002; Cynarski, Obodyński, Litwiniuk, 2004; Cynarski, 2012a, 2015; Munsters, Melkert, 2015) in connection with the problems of sustainability. It is interesting both for the reality of the functioning of tourism and for scientific research in this field. We can focus more generally on the role of heritage in the fields of material culture, physical culture, and spiritual culture, as demonstrated by martial traditions and martial arts.

The purpose of this collection is to enrich existing knowledge and to address existing gaps. In martial arts, “Self-limitation and self-discipline go hand in hand. The moral path of Budo does not have to borrow ideas from the philosophy of ecologism.” (Bielec et al. 2021). We already know something about ethos of chivalry and this symbolic culture, and how it manifests itself in today's society (cf. Barber 1970; Cynarski, Chała 2015; Cynarski, Szajna 2017; Cynarski 2021). Objects included in the world heritage of mankind and their touristic functioning are examined (Thorsell, Sigaty, 2001; Morice, Liu, Lin, 2020). Cases from China and East Asia are analysed (Cynarski, Swider, 2017; Figueiredo et al. 2020; Skowron-Markowska, Nowakowska, 2021; Wang, 2021), but also from Europe and other countries (Mikos von Rohrscheidt, 2010; Sieber , Cynarski, 2010; Pawelec, Świder, Cynarski, 2020). Importantly, the impact of the tourist use of individual facilities on the functioning of the social and natural environment, including the well-being of the local community (Loulanski and Loulanski, 2011; Skowron-Markowska, Nowakowska, 2021; Wang, 2021), is also taken into account.

I invite you to participate in further, original research by publishing in this thematic Special Issue. Specialists are especially welcome to submit.

References

Barber, R. (1970) The Knight and Chivalry. London.

Bielec, G., Dziadek, B., Borysiuk, Z., & Cynarski, W. J. (2021) Budo in Physical Recreation as a form of Rapprochement to Nature Sustainability 13(12), 6951; doi: 10.3390/su13126951.

Cynarski, W. J. (2012a) Travel for the study of martial arts. Ido Movement for Culture. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology, 12(1), 11-19.

Cynarski, W. J. (2012b) Castles as the heritage of Polish fortification art and as a tourist attraction. Ido Movement for Culture. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology 12(4), 44-55.

Cynarski, W. J. (2015) The systemic-anthropological approach to tourism research. In: W. Munsters, & M. Melkert (Eds.), Anthropology as a Driver for Tourism Research, Garant, Antwerpen – Apeldoorn, pp. 11-21.

Cynarski, W. J. (2019) Anthropology of fighting arts – Munich, Anno Domini 2019. Ido Movement For Culture. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology 19(4), 58–67; doi: 10.14589/ido.19.4.8.

Cynarski, W. J. (2021) Horseback riding in the history of Poland – selected moments and reflections. Sport and Tourism Central European Journal 4(2), 11–24; doi: 10.16926/sit.2021.04.08.

Cynarski, W. J., & Chała J. (2015) Zamki i turnieje: Turystyka pasjonatów kultury militarnej Europy. Turystyka Kulturowa 6(6), 21-35.

Cynarski, W. J., Obodyński, K., & Litwiniuk, A. (2004) Tourist ways of martial arts in Europe – a draft from the borderland of sociology of tourism and cultural anthropology. In: W. J. Cynarski, & K. Obodyński (Eds.), Tourism and Recreation in the Process of European Integration, Rzeszów, pp. 75-81.

Cynarski, W. J., & Swider, P. (2017) The journey to the cradle of martial arts: a case study of martial arts’ tourism. Ido Movement for Culture. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology 17(2), 24–33; doi: 10.14589/ido.17.2.3.

Cynarski, W. J., & Szajna, G. (2017) The nobility of spirit – Homo Creator Nobilis. Towards the anthropology of the knightly way. Ido Movement for Culture. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology 17(1), 1–8; doi: 10.14589/ido.17.1.1.

Figueiredo, A. A., Błach, W., Bujak, Z., Maroteaux, R. J., & Cynarski, W. J.  (2020) Martial Arts Tourism of the “Europe—Far East” Direction, in the Opinion of Grand Masters.  Sustainability 12(21), 8857; doi: 10.3390/su12218857.

Loulanski, T., & Loulanski, V. (Sept. 2011) The sustainable integration of cultural heritage and tourism: A meta-study. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 19(7), 837-862; doi: 10.1080/09669582.2011.553286.

McKercher, B., & du Cros, H. (2002) Cultural Tourism: The Partnership between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management. London: Routledge.

Mikos von Rohrscheidt, A. (2010) Medieval defense objects in Poland as tourist destinations and attractions for cultural tourism. Ido Movement for Culture 10(1), 102-117.

Morice, J.-R., Liu, Yi-De, & Lin, Chi-Fan (2020) Tourism development at World Heritage Site: The case of Loire Valley in France. Tourism & Heritage Journal, 2, 72-92; doi: 10.1344/THJ.2020.2.6.

Munsters, W., & Melkert, M. (Eds.) (2015) Anthropology as a Driver for Tourism Research. Antwerpen – Apeldoorn: Garant.

Pawelec, P., Świder, P., & Cynarski, W. J. (2020) Martial Arts Tourism: Meta-Analysis of Publications from 2005–2020. Sustanability 12(17), 7069; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177069.

Sieber, L., & Cynarski, W. J. (2010), Tourist qualities of Bavaria (Bayern) in the light of systemic and anthropologic conception of tourism. Ido Movement for Culture 10(1), 128-132.

Skowron-Markowska, S., & Nowakowska, M. (2021) Chinese Destinations Related to Martial Arts Tourism from the UNESCO Perspective. Sustainability, 13, 7581; doi: 10.3390/su13147581.

Thorsell, J., & Sigaty, T. (2001) Human use in world heritage natural sites: A global inventory. Tourism Recreation Research, 26(1), 85-101.

Wang, Y. (2021) Research on the Development of Emei Martial Arts Tourism Project Based on Environmental Protection. Journal of Physicas: Conference Series 1802, 022039; doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1802/2/022039.

Prof. Dr. Wojciech J. Cynarski
Guest Editor

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• cultural tourism
• cultural heritage
• cultural anthropology
• martial arts
• fortified castles