Abstract
The American tradition of devoting substantial quantities of public resources to the acquisition and preservation of battle sites is generally foreign to European nations. Many battlefields in Europe are unmarked or have few monuments. Preservation efforts at most of the remaining sites have concentrated upon relatively small portions such as isolated structures or natural vistas. Cemeteries are at times integral elements of these landscapes. Selected battlefields in Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic provide varied examples of European landscape preservation and commemoration. It is argued that the often minimal preservation efforts in Europe reflect an ideological landscape of modern political and social concerns.
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Blades, B.S. European Military Sites As Ideological Landscapes. Hist Arch 37, 46–54 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03376610
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03376610