Urban landscape as biographical experience: Pre-war Lublin in the oral testimonies of its inhabitants

For several hundred years, Lublin has developed as a multiethnic city. As a result of World War II and the destruction of the local Jewish community, its urban structure and its cultural landscape were significantly altered. The image of pre-war Lublin emerging from archival documents, pictures, newspaper articles, and individual memories is multilayered. Studies of the oral testimonies of local inhabitants reveal the deeply sensory and cultural components of spatial experiences characteristic of the cultural landscape of pre-war Lublin. This aspect will be presented as a reference point to conduct analyses concerning cultural and social aspects of the perception of Lublin’s urban landscape.