Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam at Europa-Univeristät Viadrina, Germany

On 26 June, Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam, School of History and Geography, presented at the 10th ENCOUNTER Conference, 'A Sense of Place: Interpreting Manorial Culture in Modern Tourism', which was held at Europa-Univeristät Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.

Jointly organised by the ENCOUNTER (European Network for Country House and Estate Research) network and the Interreg project Baltic Manors Route, the conference brought together researchers and practitioners from across Europe to discuss the role of manor houses as cultural heritage sites and tourism destinations.

The conference explored such topics as: the early modern origins of manor tourism, twentieth-century transformations, heritage narratives, and site-specific approaches to interpreting manorial culture.

A key theme was how to address difficult histories, particularly the darker chapters of the twentieth-century history of manors in parts of Europe, and how these legacies can be interpreted and communicated alongside contemporary heritage tourism.

The conference concluded with a study tour of manors in East Brandenburg, where participants experienced first-hand how historic estates are being transformed into vibrant cultural and tourism destinations.

Karol's conference paper was titled 'Interpreting the contemporary Irish country house: narrative framing and visitor engagement.' It explored how Irish country houses are interpreted in the present day, how those interpretations have evolved over the past several decades, and how they might continue to develop in the future.

Irish country houses are, in many respects, deeply complex heritage sites. They are visually striking and culturally significant, but they are also historically contested. They evoke different meanings depending on who is engaging with them and how they are framed. The key challenge is balancing accessibility with complexity.

Karol's participation in the conference was kindly supported by the Baltic Manors Route project and AHSS Faculty Research Funding.