Conference Transregional Territories – Crossing Borders in the Time of Ferdinand I.

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Habsburg Monarchy in Central Europe, founded in 1526 by Ferdinand I, the Institute of History at the Faculty of Arts of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, and the Institute of Historical Sciences at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, University of Pardubice, will host an international scholarly conference entitled Transregional Territories – Crossing Borders in the Time of Ferdinand I. / Transregionale Territorien – Grenzüberschreitungen in der Zeit Ferdinands I., to be held on 8–9 September 2026 at the Congress Centre of the Český Krumlov State Castle.

The conference aims to explore the ways in which cross-border movements of people and ideas helped shape the structure and character of the Central European monarchy ruled by Ferdinand I. His reign was marked by efforts to consolidate Catholic faith, centralize political authority, and defend against the Ottoman threat. By adopting a methodological approach inspired by the pioneering works of Robert J. W. Evans, Alfred Kohler, Ernst Laubach, Claude Michaud, Paula Sutter-Fichtner, and the catalogue of a Viennese exhibition edited by Wilfried Seipel, the conference seeks to offer a less conventional perspective on Ferdinand I’s rule. The working languages of the conference are German and English.