LIVING HERITAGE COMMUNITY IN KAZDANGA

Abstract

The article “Living Heritage Community in Kazdanga” is based on the data collected during an expedition in Kazdanga, in the summer of 2023. It includes interviews with residents of Kazdanga parish about its living  heritage, their areas of work and social activity, memories and opinions related to the current culture politics situation in Kazdanga.
The main objective of the article is to find out what is the structure of Kazdanga living heritage community and its role in maintaining the cultural and historical heritage of Kazdanga, as well as what is the motivation behind different community members and what activities they initiate and execute to preserve certain traditions.
When summarizing the main connecting elements of Kazdanga living heritage community that unite those involved in maintaining heritage, and identifying community members at different levels of participation, some relevant problem issues arose, which the interviewed people expressed in the obtained material. Those included the position of Kazdanga parish on the outskirts of Dienvidkurzeme municipality, place and locality, as well as collective past experiences as the main uniting aspects of living heritage community, search for a shared identity that would strengthen networking between community members, and desire to see development of Kazdanga in various areas.