Historical Buildings and Monuments as Cultural Heritage In Situ—Perspectives from a Medium-Sized City

Abstract

The research presents the results of a survey carried on in Craiova, one of the largest Romanian cities, which contains numerous buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some of which were reconsolidated and brought back to use, while others are still decaying. The aim was to spatially investigate residents’ perceptions of the built heritage in the historical city center of Craiova based on questionnaires and mapping perceptions using the Emotional GIS (EGIS) methodology proposed by Wang (2021) and the extent to which this heritage could be a valuable asset for cultural tourism. The alteration of function as well as the context for part of the historical area of the city center testify to the musealization of the study area. The large number of buildings included on the heritage list outlines the characteristics of a living open-air museum, capitalizing on the heritage in situ.