In his book, Dr \u0141ukasz Galusek demonstrates how the aspirations for statehood, distinctiveness and self-determination were reflected in architecture and the urban fabric. The publication focuses on cities as forms of national existence in the absence of a state of their own\u2014the \u2018imagined capitals\u2019 referred to in the title. The author paints a picture of nineteenth-century Central Europe, in which stateless nations created their own symbolic centres. Budapest, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Prague and Zagreb were not yet capital cities, but even then they were becoming spaces in which a modern national identity was taking shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This new publication by the International Cultural Centre is a story of ambitions, aspirations and symbols \u2013 of how architecture, urban planning, culture and historical memory helped to build a sense of community. Within the multi-ethnic Habsburg Empire, cities became the \u201chearts\u201d of nations even before they could become official capitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWyobra\u017cone stolice. Miasta monarchii habsburskiej jako centra narod\u00f3w 1815\u20131918\u201d is a book for anyone who wants to understand how nations are formed \u2013 and just how significant cities are in this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book is available to buy at the ICC bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n