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, 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:

8 September 2026

Opening and Welcome

Keynote

• Violet Soen (Leuven), The Central European Monarchy and Low Countries under Ferdinand I and Charles V 

I. Political, Military and Religious History

• Ronald G. Asch (Freiburg im Breisgau), Reinventing Kingship in the Early 16th Century – England and France in Comparison
• José Eloy Hortal Muñoz (Madrid), Reality or Myth: The Reception of the Burgundian Ceremonial and Courtly Structure at the Habsburgs Courts during the 16th Century
• Elena Taddei (Innsbruck), „quibus in aula nostra Cesarea“. Kaiser Ferdinands I. Kulturkontakt mit den oberitalienischen Fürsten
• František Schwarz (České Budějovice, Paris), Crossing Borders by Marriage. The Marriages of Ferdinand I´s Daughters and Transregional Cultural Exchange
• Václav Bůžek (České Budějovice), Der Oberstkanzler des Königreichs Böhmen Joachim von Neuhaus zwischen Land, Hof und Reich in der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts
• Kateřina Pražáková (České Budějovice), The Wettin Intelligence Networks in the Schmalkaldic War
• Vítězslav Prchal (Pardubice), Ferdinand I and the Integration Efforts of Military Logistics during the Reign of the First Habsburgs on the Bohemian Throne
• Josef Hrdlička (České Budějovice), Reformation ohne Grenzen? Entstehung und Gestaltung des religiösen Wandels in der Habsburgermonarchie unter Ferdinand I.
• Rostislav Smíšek (České Budějovice), Ferdinand I in the Political Thought of Central European Baroque Nobility

Concert at the Castle – Music at the Court of Ferdinand I (music ensemble Dyškanti lead by Martin Horyna)

9 September 2026

II. Economic and Cultural History 

• Petr Vorel (Pardubice), Attempts at Monetary Integration of Central Europe in the Time of Ferdinand I
• Stefan Hanβ (Manchester), Hair Literacy, the Global Imaginary, and Habsburg Ideology, c. 1500–1565
• Barnabás Guitman (Budapest), Gegenseitige kulturelle Einflüsse in der christlichen und osmanischen Armee auf dem ungarischen Schlachtfeld in der Zeit Ferdinands I.
• Pavel Marek (Pardubice), Ritterorden der hispanischen Welt in der mitteleuropäischen Monarchie Ferdinands I.
• Jakub Kalivoda (České Budějovice), Hungarian Coaches and Spanish Stallions at the Courts of Ferdinand I. and his Sons
• Annemarie Jordan Gschwend (Lisboa, Zürich), Exotica, Bezoars, and Portraits: Cultural Exchanges between Lisbon and Vienna under Ferdinand I
• Renate Leggatt-Hofer (Wien), The Residences of Ferdinand I in Vienna and Prague as Hubs of International Cultural Exchange: Manifestation of Dynastic Power and Imperial Politics in Architecture
• Elisabeth Reitter (Ambras), Grenzübertritt auf Einladung. Offizielle Mobilisierungsstrategien zur Anwerbung von Künstlern und Handwerkern unter Ferdinand II. (mit Vergleichen zu Ferdinand I.)

Scientific supervision of the conference

Kommunikation und Fachinformation für die Geschichtswissenschaften

• Transregional Territories. Crossing Borders in the Time of Ferdinand I – program
• Transregional Territories. Crossing Borders in the Time of Ferdinand I – poster