Ideologization, manifestation and community making 

- Processes of heritage production in two local communities in transition

As the local industry has taken on an increasingly marginalized role in post-industrial small towns, like Surahammar and Timrå, in Central and Northern Sweden, an industrial past has emerged as the more valuable politically, economically but also socio-culturally, to nurture, preserve and identify with in these local industrial communities that undergo transition. This article aims to analyze local heritage production as a use and representation of history. Empirically resting on data collection and analysis of primary and secondary sources, comprising interviews, observations, archives and contextual literature, the article argues that local post-industrial heritage production may involve continuation as well as alterations of processes started in the past industrial society. Also, it comprises local adaptation as well as adjustments on heritage discourses. In conclusion, despite of local differences similarities may, as shown in Surahammar and Timrå, indeed occur in both design and content. This involves a pre-dominance of “non-professional” producers and including and excluding representations of places and people. Furthermore, local heritage provide combined political, economic and socio-cultural arenas of different ideologies as well as sites for creation of shared values and evoking emotions of belonging in diversified communities. In Surahammar and Timrå this has been done recurrently with the use of effective homogenization strategies within the field of heritage, i.e. by emphasizing sufficiently remote pasts to induce temporary but nevertheless efficient “classless and rootless” unity in pride of local place and values.