Cultural Heritage in Spatial Planning

The cultural heritage objects of each country should have a major impact on the development of space. Unfortunately, most often the investment needs prevail and only the most precious historical objects are protected. Thus often a monument is preserved, but its surroundings (which put it in context) are lost forever. This article addressed the issues of cultural heritage in relation to the spatial planning system in Poland. The legal bases for the protection of monuments and their compounds are discussed along with statutory requirements for space planning. On selected examples located in Warmia and Mazury (Poland) an analysis of the planning records connected with the protection of cultural heritage is also presented. The authors refer to the effectiveness of these records and their actual executive power, as well as indicate the needed legal changes leading to historical objects having a real impact on the change in land use planning.