Toponymic politics and the role of heritagisation in multiethnic cities in Romania

Although scholars have made considerable progress in understanding the dynamics of heritagisation and toponymic politics, research is yet to explore how these may interact with each other. Drawing on a mixed-methods comparative qualitative study, this paper explores the politics of place naming and multilingualism in the context of heritagisation in three multiethnic cities in Romania: Târgu Mureş, Oradea and Baia Mare. We argue that the recent trends of heritagisation introduce a new element in the politics of place naming in ethnically diverse cities. Heritage becomes inclusive when it loses its importance in the power struggle between minority and majority political representatives. Once…