Landmarks

This publication is part of the results of the European Union’s COST Action A27, “Landmarks – Understanding Pre-Industrial Structures in Rural and Mining Landscapes,” where the acronym COST stands for “Cooperation in Science and Technology,” one of the European Community’s long-standing programs in the fields of science and culture. From 2004 to 2008, the action focused on pre-industrial mining and agricultural landscapes in Europe, their survey, documentation, preservation, and current use. Following a systematic introduction, eight examples of historic agricultural landscapes in England, Ireland, Estonia, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland are presented, followed by seven pre-industrial mining landscapes characterized by different historical periods and various mining sectors in Spain, Italy, Germany, and Great Britain. All contributions address questions regarding the current state of research on these landscapes; they compare the landscapes at the time of their characteristic formation with their present-day appearance; examine the legal frameworks for cultural landscape conservation in the case study landscapes, evaluation models, aspects related to the local population and visitors, and draw a preliminary conclusion regarding the results achieved to date and future development opportunities.