Micropolitics of Landscape. Power and Control in the Invisible Spaces (1750–1950s)
Landscapes have long served as more than mere physical terrains; they are dynamic arenas where sovereignty, cultural identity and power are negotiated and contested across epochs. Yet beneath these grand narratives lies a hidden history of smaller, seemingly insignificant spaces—viewpoints, walking paths, water channels, rural boundaries and infrastructural byways—that were central to the exercise of subtle forms of control. This transepochal panel explores how these “invisible” landscapes became sites of micropolitical power between 1750 and the 1950s, revealing the mechanisms by which control over land, water and access shaped and underlined approaches to social order and sovereignty on local, regional and national scales. Drawing on case studies from across Europe, the contributions investigate how local conditions served as instruments of authority and regulation or as places of resistance and resilience. By bringing attention to the micropolitics of landscape – often overlooked in discussions of landscape and power (Mitchell, Warnke, Guldin) – this panel uncovers the micro-architectures of power that sustained broader systems of governance, offering a new perspective on the relationship between space, authority and sovereignty in European history.
To facilitate an engaging and thought-provoking discussion, the three presentations will be given consecutively, each lasting 15 minutes. Art historian Prof. Dr. Vera-Simone Schulz (Leuphana University of Lüneburg), an expert in transcultural landscape history, will select micropolitical intersections from the talks and moderate a 45-minute discussion with the panelists and the audience.
This paper investigates how scholars of the Accademia Etrusca di Cortona in Grand Duchy Tuscany employed archeology to protest state intervention in the Val di Chiana. The study highlights how seemingly mundane elements, such as drainage ditches and soil, were (re-)conceptualized as archeological sites and thus micropolitical arenas for negotiating power between state and local authorities. Furthermore, it emphasizes the scholars’ efforts to preserve their historical identity through the intellectual and practical negotiation of their historic landscape, offering fresh insights into the intersections of archeology, politics and environmental change.
In early 20th-century Norway, artist John Savio offered a profound reflection on Sámi identity, using Northern Norwegian landscapes as a stage for micropolitical power dynamics. His woodcuts portray the symbiotic relationship between the Sámi people, reindeer and the landscape as an interconnected whole, dissolving the boundary between nature and culture – meahcci. Through this, Savio critiqued the Norwegianization laws that sought to erase Sámi identity by fragmenting landscapes into distinct, controlled realms. This paper examines the reindeer as a central figure in the negotiation of the Norwegian landscape, presenting an alternative perspective that foregrounds Sámi views.
This paper examines hiking trails as significant yet often overlooked sites of power. It reveals how grassroots organizations, connected to regional and national histories, shaped European cultural landscapes by navigating diverse spatial claims across shifting political regimes and borders. By focusing on transborder hiking trails developed by German hiking associations since the 1950s, the paper offers new perspectives on the history of nation-building. It demonstrates how the everyday practice of hiking and the material act of marking trails in contested territories contributed to the creation of regional, national and European landscapes.