The urge for regional identity has not declined in the process of globalization. Rather, heritage is used to develop regional distinctiveness and to charge identities with a past. Particularly helpful for this aim are creation stories, Golden Ages or recent, shared traumas. Some themes such as the Roman era or the Second World War appear easier to appropriate than, for example, prehistory.

This book assesses the role of heritage in the construction of regional identities in Western Europe. It contains case studies on early medieval heritage in Alsace and Euregio-Meuse Rhine,...