Vehicles of Memory. The Past and Power in Old Kraków (Until the End of the 18th Century)

The book is devoted to the culture of memory of the political elites of Kraków in the middle ages and early modern times (until the end of 18th century). The author concentrates on the workings of the city’s “vehicles of memory”: political practices aimed at the making, shaping and institutionalizing of the official memory of the city, whose chief medium were copies of privileges guarded in the city hall. This sui generis politics of memory on the part of Kraków authorities served above all to legitimize the autonomy of the city’s legal and political system. The centre coordinating the work of Kraków’s “vehicles of memory” was the chancellery run by the city council.