ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s, we have observed the emergence of a new commitment to restoring destroyed buildings and urban structures in various parts of Europe. The history of architectural reconstruction, however, is much longer. From the Romantic era onwards, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw several waves of more or less historically accurate reconstruction projects. In many cases, these activities were closely associated with political attempts to glorify the past for present-day purposes. Particularly in the eastern part of Europe, the reconstruction of monuments heavily loaded with symbolism has played a significant role in the processes of nation-building as well as reawakening and redefining national identities. This specific notion of reconstruction was triggered by the historical experiences of the countries between Germany and Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as overdue national emancipation after long periods of foreign rule, several regime changes, the devastation of the two world wars, the emergence of new and the rebirth of old states, the frequent shift of borders and population displacement. Ethnic tensions and political strife were often accompanied by the symbolically-motivated destruction of significant monuments, which were perceived by the communities affected as attacks on their national identity.
