I fäders spår? : Längdskidåkningens landskap som kulturarv

This article discusses the landscapes of skiing from a heritage and memory perspective. Are there certain landscapes of cross-country skiing that can be seen as a national and/or local heritage? What constitutes these landscapes and how are they portrayed in tourism and marketing today? By the analysis of three examples - Hindås, Vålådalen and Vasaloppet - this article investigates how history and landscape is used to market skiing and to attract (skiing) tourism. How is skiing constructed as cultural heritage and used for present day purposes? The three before-mentioned cases are compared with fourth, Landvetter, a place where cross-country skiing does not have the same historical connection. The conclusion is that ideas about landscapes of skiing unite Vasaloppet, Vålådalen and Hindås, even though the efforts and commercial effects may differ greatly. Another conclusion is that landscapes of skiing (or any sport) are cultural products, and best understood as a form of cultural heritage. Landscapes of sport are now being articulated as sites of cultural heritage, much resembling the articulation process of other previously neglected landscapes of industry, research, cities and other. This articulation implies a broadening of the cultural heritage, a process that risk being paralleled by a commercialization and devaluation of the increasingly inclusive heritage concept. But there are also more positive aspects. The inclusion of landscapes of movement in the cultural heritage can result in both protection and increased attraction, like in the case of the VasaloppsArena.QC 20140430[In the tracks of our fathers? Landscapes of skiing as cultural heritage]Rationell träning. Vetenskapliggörandet av träning för längdskidåknin