Die böhmischen Länder in den Wiener Zeitschriften und Almanachen des Vormärz 1805 - 1848. Teil II

The memory of cultural processes in Central Europe is intimately connected to the evolution of literary language, national literatures and the preservation of national identity in the first half of the 19th century. This development was of lasting importance also for the self-image of Slavic cultures in Central Europe. Traumatic collective experiences of wars, totalitarianism and economic coercion the young nation states had to cope with in the 20th century, triggered mechanisms of cultural exclusion and dissociation. The commemoration of shared cultural tenets was suppressed and strategies for constructing national identity were pursued. The Viennese Vormärz-Slavica Project encompasses a study of Metternich-era Viennese-issued non-political periodicals of scholarly nature and for entertainment, focusing on the collection of references to Slavic countries and cultures. So far four volumes have been published: 1990: References to Russia in Viennese Vormärz- Periodicals (1805-1848); 1992: References to Poles and Ruthenians in Viennese Vormärz-Periodicals (1805-1848); 1994: References to the South Slaves in Viennese Vormärz-Periodicals (1805-1848); 1998: Supplement to Vol. I; 2004: References to Upper Hungary (Slovakia) in Viennese Vormärz-Periodicals (1805-1848); the material in these volumes is arranged in the form of a critical inventory, according to the topics Literature and Writing, Linguistics, Philosophy / Athetics / Rhetorics, History, Educational Institutions, Religion, Law, Political Economy, and Natural Sciences. The fifth volume covers the references to the Bohemian lands (present day Czech Republic) and their cultural ties with Vienna. Part I (Literature and Writing) is in the process of printing. Part II presented here does comprise the references to Linguistics, Philosophy / Esthetics / Rhetoric, History and the Educational Institutions in the Bohemian Lands. The widespread readership of the Viennese periodicals were permanently informed about these important parts of the Empire as a lot of works on the history of Bohemia, often of short length, got published, announcements of death notes concerning Bohemian notabilities and learned men from Bohemia or Bohemian origin were printed, as scholarly books from the Bohemian provinces got reviewed, as columns provided information about the public life. The material shows that the intellectual influx from the Bohemian Lands to Vienna was of a considerable scope and that the Bohemian society was on a comparatively high level in terms of educational and scholarly output. The study evaluates Viennese periodicals as repositories of memory, compiling a critical survey and inventory of the relevant material, shedding light on a Central European region as a transnational space of communication (Moritz Csky) fostered by the periodical press of the imperial Capital. It is a contribution to the Czech collective memory concerning the most important period of "national revival". The study can also be considered a new archive of Viennensia.