Heritage is a result of cultural and social constructions rather than received values from the past (Barrere et al. 2015, p 4 p 4). Dark heritage is a concept which is synonymous to heritage that hurts, difficult heritage, heritage of atrocity and places of pain or shame (Magee & Gilmore 2015, p 900). Dark heritage sites (DHS) are places and institutions “that stand as legacy to painful periods in history; massacre and genocide sites, places related to former penal institutions, prisoners of war, battlefields and many more.” (Magee & Gilmore 2015, p 899). DHS management is a structured activity which supports a meaningful and holistic experience for visitors within the context of diverse and complex servicescapes (Magee & Gilmore 2015, p 899).

The overall aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how dark dimensions of the past are expressed within museum management in Västra Götaland. In order to fulfil this purpose, three research questions have been formulated: Which dimensions of dark heritage are highlighted? Which ideological approaches permeate the exhibitions of the dark? How is heritage classified as dark heritage?

The study involved documentary work at Västergötland Museum, Lödöse Museum and the Museum of Gothenburg. The researcher accomplished a documentary work, focusing upon artefacts, information text and multimedia. A qualitative analysis of the data with some inspiration from discourse theory was then carried out. Discourse refers to the meanings and understandings of worldviews that are formed within socio-historical processes (Howarth 2007; Jorgensen & Phillips 2002). Discourse theory provides a framework of how history is constructed and maintained (Howarth 2007). Discourses are transformed and maintained within formal practices and everyday lives (Jorgensen & Phillips 2002, p 12).

The results show: (1) Dark heritage that is highlighted within the three museums refers to war, conflicts, crimes, sanitary problems, death, epidemics, hard living conditions, and unequal treatment of people. (2) The exhibitions were based on a mixture of different approaches, such as romantic chivalry, local separatist/patriotic, socialistic, and peace/ international understanding approaches (Timothy & Boyd 2003, p 27-28). (3) The discourse within society involves classifications of the dark. It is therefore possible to see a cultural pattern of how war, conflicts, epidemics and sanitary problems become dark dimensions.