Eco infrastructures and memoryscapes: exploring the intersection of sustainability, politics, and commemoration in Bavaria

Abstract

Infrastructures, understood as tools and processes enabling social phenomena, play a crucial role in memory and commemoration. This paper examines environmental infrastructures shaping the ‘memoryscape’ in Bavaria, Germany. Drawing on approaches from environmental history and landscape studies, it explores how environmental policies and conditions influence urban planning, transportation networks, local economies, and the visibility and accessibility of memory sites. Munich serves as the main case study, with Landsberg am Lech, Kaufering, and Obersalzberg providing supplementary context. Comparative examples from Poland highlight similarities and differences across national settings, demonstrating how environment, infrastructure, and memory interact in shaping commemorative spaces and collective memory.