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Evaluation And Development Opportunities Of The Disused Lutheran Cemeteries Within The Maskulińskie And Pisz Forest Divisions For Thanatourism

Abstract This paper presents the results of a study of 67 disused Lutheran cemeteries situated in the Pisz and Maskulińskie Forest Divisions (the southern part of Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province). An inventory of gravestones and vegetation was compiled, and the types, sizes and geographical coordinates of the cemeteries were determined using a GPS receiver. The paper also presents an evaluation of the cemeteries, illustrated through examples in the Maskulińskie Forest Division. The best preserved and/or most interesting cemeteries are going to be included on a tourism trail.


INTRODUCTION
One element of cultural tourism is thanatourism which focuses on visiting places associated with death (Seaton, 1996). It appears that the protection of disused Lutheran (evangelical) cemeteries and the dissemination of knowledge should be a significant element of this. In the former Olsztyńskie Province, as many as 855 (i.e. 75.2%) out of the 1136 cemeteries established before 1945 were Lutheran (evangelical). In four Masurian districts (Ostródzki, Nidzicki, Szczycieński and Mrągowski), 477 out of 567 cemeteries were Lutheran (evangelical). Therefore, the proportion was higher, and amounted to 84.1%. Most of the cemeteries concerned have been disused for many decades (LEWANDOWSKA 2012).
The disused Lutheran cemeteries in Masuria, when adapted to tourism use, may become perceived today as offering an insight into the complex history of the region, and the resulting ethnic situation before the Second World War. This is because 95.3% of the population within ten Masurian districts, namely Gołdapski, Ełcki, Piski, Mrągowski, Giżycki, Węgorzewski, Olecki, Szczycieński, Nidzicki and Ostródzki, were Protestants. They were both Masurians (Polish-speaking Evangelicals) and, to a lesser degree, of German origin (OLDENBERG 2000).
This paper covers the historical, landscape, and socio-cultural determinants associated with cemeteries in Masuria as well as an evaluation of disused Lutheran cemeteries within the Maskulińskie Forest Division. The research is aimed at establishing a cemetery trail within the Pro-ecological (Promocyjny) Forest Complex 'Masurian Forests' ('Lasy Mazurskie').

LITERATURE OVERVIEW
Dubos states that "the most lasting monument of a particular community is the type of landscape they have created" (1986, p. 26). Based on the physiognomy of the landscape, the state of preservation, and changes to particular components, the kind of people who used to live there can be recovered. One landscape element is the cemetery (KNERCER 2004).
According to K. REMBOWSKA (2002), a cemetery is a product of culture, and gives the cultural landscape a specific character. This is because a cemetery is a significant component of the landscape, with its diverse symbolism depending on the cultural specificity of a particular community.
A local community is established through becoming rooted, and by respecting history and ancestry, (...) since "it is the graves of our fathers that connect us most closely with the land on which we have grown up" (KOWALIK 2006, p. 29). For each community, a cemetery is a special place. There is a view fixed in the consciousness of a society that in a cemetery, the past meets the present (ŁAGUNA 2006), and the community of the living meets the community of the dead (KOLBUSZEWSKI 1996). Furthermore, a cemetery is a source of information on a local community. The same author states that a cemetery is a specific cultural text as it 'speaks volumes' on the fate of its people. It is a reflection of the entire society, its hierarchic character and mentality (THOMAS 1991). In many areas of Poland, particularly following the Second World War, population changes took place, and studies on cemeteries allow the systemising of knowledge on the spiritual and material culture of its then community.
In Polish cultural tradition, a cemetery plays an important role. It is: − a zone of sacrum (a sacred space whose nature arises from the fact that the mortal remains of many generations have been committed to graves and retained there); − archives (a collection of information on the history of local communities); − a museum (a collection of sepulchral works of art reflecting its epoch); − a park (with considerable natural value, a landscape composition brimming over with sadness, melancholy, and reflections on passing away) (MICHAŁOWSKI 2001); − source material in the fields of heraldry, genealogy, and biography; − a source of information on the composition of the community in a particular time; − an element of landscape, full of symbols; − a place identifying non-existing settlements; − a testimony to culture in a particular time (this refers to its state of preservation); − a testimony to a particular event in the history of a community (e.g. epidemics, war); In addition, a cemetery is increasingly perceived as a significant element of spatial development which forms the culture of the space or an image of a settlement unit (TANAŚ 2008).
The proportion of well and averagely preserved disused Lutheran cemeteries in the Forest Divisions within Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province amounts to 30% (state of preservation in 2013). The best preserved are found in the Forest Divisions situated in Masuria (ethnically speaking), where Lutheran communities (although not numerous) have survived until the present day in Szczytno, Strzałowo, Maskulińskie, Pisz, Drygały, Borki, and Ełk.
Based on the large number of disused Lutheran cemeteries, and the attractiveness of the natural environment, Forest Divisions immediately adjacent to each other, namely Pisz and Maskulińskie ( Fig. 1), were selected. In 2002, the Pro-ecological (Promocyjny) Forest Complex 'Masurian Forests' was established. Its area is 118.233 ha and covers, partially or entirely, 12 communes, primarily Pisz, Ruciane-Nida, Świętajno, and Piecki. The lake density of the area concerned amounts to 20.1% (own calculations based on the Economic and Protective Programme for the Proecological (Promocyjny) Forest Complex 'Masurian Forests', 2013, and an environmental map of the 'Masurian Forests' at a scale of 1:100,000). The area is very attractive in terms of its geomorphological structure and natural value, and has a well-developed tourism infrastructure as well as functional tourism trails, hiking, equestrian and cycling routes. The area under study owes its natural wealth to the Puszcza Piska Forest situated at the borders of two different geomorphological formations developed as a result of the activity of the Scandinavian ice-sheet. In the northern part there are areas of end moraines, while in the southern part outwash plains and dunes are predominant. According to Physical Regionalisation of Poland by Kondracki (1998), the complex is situated in the Masurian Lake District macroregion.
The Pro-ecological (Promocyjny) Forest Complex 'Masurian Forests' forms part of the natural tourism potential of Masuria. It is situated in the southern part of the Great Masurian Lake District. Within the 'Masurian Forests', 94 disused Lutheran cemeteries are found. The central and north-eastern part of the complex is occupied by the Masurian Landscape Park established in 1977 covering 53,655 ha.

LOCATION, COMPOSITION, AND TYPES OF DISUSED LUTHERAN CEMETERIES IN THE MASKULIŃSKIE AND PISZ FOREST DIVISIONS
The provisions of religious law did not require Lutheran communities to locate burial grounds in the vicinity of the place of worship. This resulted in greater freedom in the location and composition of cemeteries. German regulations provided that a cemetery should be characterised by a simple spatial arrange- ment, and that both native and ornamental plant varieties should be used. They were required to be located on heights and accentuated in the local landscape by tall plantings, moreover, fencing and a gate were to be provided and the centre of a cemetery emphasized (DŁUGOZIMA 2011). Within the Maskulińskie Forest Division, 21 disused Lutheran cemeteries are found, located within the areas of four communes, namely Mikołajki (9), Ruciane-Nida (8), Pisz (3), and Orzysz (1). In turn, within the Pisz Forest Division, there are 46 disused Lutheran cemeteries. They are located within the administrative boundaries of three communes: Pisz (38), Ruciane-Nida (4), and Biała Piska (4). In as many as a third of the cemeteries in the Pisz Forest Division, either separated or a number of German wartime sections are found commemorating the soldiers killed in action during the First World War. A total of 67 disused Lutheran cemeteries are situated in the area under study established in the 19 th and the first half of the 20 th c. Most of them i.e. 69% of the cemeteries exhibit a poor or very poor state of preservation (Table 1). *L -Lutheran rural cemetery, Ll -Lutheran foresters' cemetery, Lr -Lutheran ancestral cemetery, L+Lr -Lutheran rural and Lutheran ancestral cemeteries, L+kw -Lutheran rural cemetery with a wartime section, Lr+kw -Lutheran ancestral cemetery with a wartime section.
Source: own study based on research and data obtained at the Maskulińskie and Pisz Forest Inspectorates.
Vanished villages are a characteristic aspect of the Pisz Forest Division. There are 30 of them, and cemeteries are the only thing that has remained. The villages, primarily located in the southern part of Pisz Forest Division, adjoining the boundary, were completely looted in 1945-9.
In both the Maskulińskie and Pisz Forest Divisions, six types of disused Lutheran cemetery were identified: 1) rural cemeteries, e.g. Głodowo Duże, commune of Ruciane-Nida, Cudnochy, commune of Mikołajki. These account for the highest proportion i.e. 58.2% of the total under study; 2) rural cemeteries with the burial sites of soldiers from the First World War, e.g. Ruciane-Nida, Wolisko Duże commune of Pisz, Paski Wielkie, commune of Pisz; 3) ancestral cemeteries established in the vicinity of landed estates, e.g. Łuknajno, commune of Mikołajki; 4) ancestral cemeteries with a wartime section, Wejsuny, commune of Ruciane-Nida; 5) foresters' cemeteries, e.g. Wiartel Mały (until 1945, Wiartel foresters' lodge), commune of Pisz, and Pogobie Średnie (until 1945, Białobrzegi foresters' lodge), commune of Pisz; 6) rural cemeteries connected to an ancestral cemetery (a sectioned-off area), e.g. Kulinowo, commune of Mikołajki. The size of individual disused cemeteries located on the area of Forest Divisions varies greatly and ranges from 14 m 2 (Kamień, commune of Ruciane-Nida) to 10,000 m 2 (Zełwągi, commune of Mikołajki). A positive correlation exists between the size of a cemetery and its type. Burial grounds established in the vicinity of large villages were the biggest, while ancestral cemeteries were the smallest, e.g. a cemetery in Łuknajno, commune of Mikołajki, with an area of 62 m 2 . The median size in the Maskulińskie Forest Division amounts to 462 m 2 .
Most often the location of a now disused Lutheran cemetery was selected in highlighted spots in an open landscape i.e. natural heights, artificially raised soil banks, forest margins, and the vicinity of a lake. Moreover, some located on a flat area in the southern part of the Puszcza Piska Forest were accentuated with a small ditch which marked its boundary e.g. Hejdyk, commune of Ruciane Nida, Wądołek, commune of Pisz, and Lipa Przednia, commune of Pisz.
A consequence of an increase in the afforestation of communes following the Second World War is that the current location of cemeteries does not reflect the situation now existing.

COMPOSITION AND VEGETATION OF DISUSED LUTHERAN CEMETERIES WITHIN THE MASKULIŃSKIE AND PISZ FOREST DIVISIONS
A plan of a cemetery in the area under research was most often based on a quadrilateral. The cemetery interior often had a main axis with a cross at the end, usually accentuated by means of an avenue of trees, e.g. small-leaved limes. Masurians selected for their dead the plants which, according to folk beliefs and symbolism, were supposed to protect the burial ground against the powers of evil, or give reminders of the resurrection (GODET 1997, RICHTER 1995, MACIOTI 2006, MAJDECKA-STRZEŻEK 2008. Certain species of herbaceous plants were also of ornamental importance. In cemeteries in the Maskulińskie Forest Division, 198 species of vascular plants and ferns were identified, including 21 tree species, 28 shrub species, and 149 herbaceous plant and dwarf shrub species. Plants most often found are common snowberry (14 i.e. 66.7%), lily of the valley (14 i.e. 66.7%), lesser periwinkle (14 i.e. 66.7%), and common lilac (10 i.e. 47.6%). As regards trees, the following should be mentioned: small-leaved lime (15 i.e. 71.4%), and Norway spruce (12 i.e. 57.1%) (DŁUGOZIMA, DYMITRYSZYN & WINIAR-SKA 2012). Based on research undertaken in the Forest Divisions, it may be concluded that very rare species are found only in a few cemeteries.

METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS OF RESEARCH ON DISUSED LUTHERAN CEMETERIES
Studies on the disused Lutheran cemeteries within Pisz and Maskulińskie Forest Divisions were included overview (research of literature, archival materials, and cemetery record sheets), and empirical (analytical) sections. As part of the analytical research, inventories of disused cemeteries within the Maskulińskie (2011) and Pisz Forest Divisions (2014) were compiled.
The data was set out in accordance with a preprepared original cemetery assessment data sheet. It allowed the authors to describe the location, composition, and architectural details (gate, fencing, forms of gravestones, sculpture and crosses). In addition, general sketches and photographic documentation was prepared. The following were recorded according to form: a cemetery viewed from the outside, gates and fencing, elements of its composition (axes, connections, interiors, circulation, and others), vegetation, and characteristic elements of a particular cemetery. The second part of the data sheet allowed a detailed description of preserved and valuable gravestones, and the copying of preserved inscriptions. Furthermore, studies on the location of cemeteries within the settlement landscape were conducted in order to identify the scenic value of a cemetery, and the landscape-and-cultural value of its surroundings. Their size was measured, and its geographical coordinates recorded using a GPS receiver (DŁUGO-ZIMA, DYMITRYSZYN & WINIARSKA 2012).
Based on King's manual (2004), original and pioneering criteria for the evaluation of disused Lutheran cemeteries were developed (Table 2), carried out from the point of view of their attractiveness for tourism. The following were assessed: location within the landscape (clarity, ease of identification, and attractive location); spatial arrangement (preserved, easily identifiable elements of composition i.e. sections, the main avenue, circulation routes, original fencing, and individual composition as compared to other cemeteries in the Forest Division); gravestones (a large proportion of preserved artefacts, interesting ornamentation, and diverse methods of commemorating the dead); other aspects of value associated with the burial ground (interesting stories, events associated with the cemetery, interesting personages buried in the cemetery, and the genius loci). This study presents the evaluation of disused Lutheran cemeteries in the Maskulińskie Forest Division representative in its relation to the average state of preservation of cemeteries in Forest Divisions within Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province. In Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province, 30% exhibita good or average state of preservation, while in the Maskulińskie Forest Division, it is 33%.
The overall median was six, 30% of the maximum of 20. The following were rated the highest (in relation to 100%): preserved different forms of commemoration of the dead: gravestones, and cast iron crosses (57%); presence of old-growth forest allowing the reconstruction of the cemetery arrangement (57%); clarity of sections (52%); -presence of fencing, most often wooden built by foresters (45%); In turn, the lowest percentage in relation to a 100% score was obtained by:  absence of names known from history (0%); -connection of the cemetery with an avenue or a palace-and-park complex (5%); interesting stories associated with the cemetery (14%); cemetery attractively located (vicinity of lake, elevation, scenic connections with the surroundings), and original design aspects (24% each) ( Table 3). The highest total score was obtained by Lutheran cemeteries in Ruciane-Nida (15 points), Cudnochy (no 2) and Śwignajno (13 points each), Ukta (11), Karwica (9), Łuknajno, Lisunie, and Karp (8 each

SUMMARY
The perception of the cemeteries being disused and lost as a result of an increase in the afforestation and the 'landscape going wild', as elements which codevelop culture, corresponds to observations of such researchers as G. HOLLY (2007)