Exploring and understanding attachment to intangible cultural heritage practices: the cases of Silvesterchlausen and Constance Carnival

This paper offers an in-depth examination of how attachment to intangible cultural heritage (hereafter ‘ICH’) is initiated and sustained. By examining two case studies – Silvesterchlausen in the rural region of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland, and Constance Carnival in the urban border area of southern Germany – the study investigates practitioners’ perspectives, examining how individual and collective attachment to these traditions emerges, evolves and is sustained over time. Employing a qualitative methodology, the research is based on semi-structured and episodic interviews with 44 practitioners. The analysis identifies five key themes that elucidate how these traditions function not merely as cultural representations but as dynamic, performative and civic practices. The findings provide a multidimensional and comprehensive perspective on attachment to ICH, suggesting that the strong attachment experienced by practitioners is not attributable to a single element, such as the initial childhood attachment process. Instead, it is suggested that it is the interplay of various components, identified as themes in our research, that fosters the profound attachment observed among ICH practitioners within these two traditions.