The Forgotten Cultural and

Historical Heritage – the

Modern Alternative

Riga is currently the European Capital of Culture. But what is Europe and what is culture? And what is the world? What is “big” and what is “small”? What is important and what is not important?

Like the human organism has a network of blood vessels, the human culture has a network of ideas. They do not have the beginning or the end and each link in this chain is important.

THESE IDEAS ARE TRENDS OF THE WORLD CULTURE

Culture has a common origin and nobody may claim to be the inventor of the wheel.

Different cultures have equal technologies, yet the application thereof historically had different

intensity.

Cultures always have been related through trade, which facilitated exchange of ideas along with the

exchange of goods.

No culture has managed without studying of “other” cultures.

The religious reforms, “heresy” and spiritual oppositions that affected different cultures are very

similar.

Often we acquire in-depth, alternative knowledge of the world through intermediation of other languages

and cultures.

The culture of each separate country is understandable only as synthesis of different

cultures.

Representatives of all cultures have travelled and made notes of “other”

traditions.

Unfortunately, often enough the image of the “strange” emerged as a reflection of the views and

stereotypes of the note-takers. Today we do not have to be angry about such stereotypes but rather

jointly study their different origins.

Hence, serious studies are the result of internationals cooperation.

Many globally important ideas have gained recognition in different civilisations.

Spiritual and secular organisations with significant impact on the global culture processes often enough were equally

important in different civilisations.

Architecture and design are also a result of synthesis of different cultures.

In addition to architecture the cultural landscape heritage is also important.

Cultural landscape is often related to national myths, which in their turn frequently have common literary

inspiration models.

Interest in landscape and nature is closely related to environmental science.