«Wernyhora» i «ukraiński step» jako polskie „lieux de mémoire”

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present figures of Ukrainian legendary bard Wernyhora and the Ukrainian Steppe as Polish places of memory according to the concept of French historian Pierre Nora. In this concept a place or figure can act as a transmitter of national common values or a center around which visions of the past can be formed. Places of memory (lieux de mémoire) are also special kinds of symbols because of their visual character. In the article I try to highlight this based on (mainly) literature of Polish romanticism. A visual character of both figures and its connection with Polish identity and historical discussions make them vital and important motif of Polish past and imaginary.