Researching Transnational Cultural History, 1300-1570

Movement - Encounter – Conflict 

Researching the transnational cultural history of Eastern Europe in the transition from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period

The project will examine the art history of Eastern Europe in the pre-modern period in order to visualise the complex developments in their shared cultural history using selected objects. The greater region between the Baltic, the Black Sea and south-east Europe will be analysed from 1300 to 1570, when cultural cornerstones developed, but also those tensions that became decisive for the whole of modern history. 

The exploration of cultural heritage is especially well suited to emphasising positive values of memory and human creativity. This is important in view of the war in Ukraine, but also in view of a growing lack of knowledge about the past. Thirty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the public perception of Eastern Europe still presents numerous blind spots. A large region, which for centuries was central to the European continent’s historical, territorial and intellectual development as well as the exchange of ideas and goods, is still marginalised in the minds of many Europeans. It is often seen as »foreign«, »Eastern« and as not belonging to a common and plural European culture. This is the special significance of this project, which is targeted at a broader audience beyond academia. 

As an art and cultural history project, the developments outlined above will be illustrated using selected objects. These will serve as examples to create a basis for orientation in an area that is confusing, not least because of its linguistic diversity. These objects will include some of the most significant urban developments and buildings as well as works of fine and applied arts. The knowledge generated in the project is to be made available to a large public thanks to various publication formats.