Alternative Map of Central Europe – a podcast by the ICC and Radio Kraków

The first episodes of the podcast produced jointly by the MCK and Radio Kraków are now available to listen to. We will be inviting listeners to join us at least once a month for discussions about a region that defies simple definitions. In the first episode of the series on the unfulfilled Eldorado – the history of Galician oil – Dr Beata Nykiel from the MCK’s Institute of European Heritage tells the story; in the second, Dr Łukasz Galusek discusses his book “Wyobrażone stolice. Miasta monarchii habsburskiej jako centra narodów 1815–1918” and demonstrates how architecture, culture and historical memory build a sense of community.

The podcast “An Alternative Map of Central Europe” is a joint initiative of the International Cultural Centre and Radio Kraków. On 26 June 2026, Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, director of the ICC, and Marcin Pulit, editor-in-chief of Radio Kraków, formally signed an agreement on cooperation between the two institutions within the framework of this project. 

In this series of discussions with our experts, we will explore what Central Europe is, how we understand the concept today, and whether it helps us to describe contemporary reality and better understand our own experiences. We will consider whether this imagined and real area confines us within simplified categories, or whether it offers an opportunity for further definition. We will reflect on the definition of Central Europe and examine how many issues it touches upon – straddling history and the present, locality and global processes. Instead of obvious narratives, we will offer a fresh perspective, an alternative map and history of the region, full of unexpected places, ideas and figures.

A tale of an unfulfilled Eldorado and the city as the ‘heart’ of nations

The first episode of the series has been available since 2 June, in which Dr Beata Nykiel discusses the history of Galician oil, the unfulfilled Eldorado, tracing its history from the oil industry boom to its decline. In conversation with Justyna Nowicka, the researcher explores Europe’s first oil rush, which serves as the starting point for a story about a region that not only participated in the processes of modernity but often anticipated them. The history of oil extraction shows that what was considered peripheral could serve as a laboratory for economic and technological change. It is a story that also highlights how many similarities there are between contemporary political conflicts – such as those over oil – and events from over a century ago in our part of the world.  

The subject of the second podcast (available from 16 June) is the cities that became the ‘hearts’ of nations even before they could become official capitals. The topic is explored by Dr Łukasz Galusek, director of the Silesian Museum, who has been associated with the MCK for many years. He draws on his latest book, published by the ICC Publishing House in the Library of Central Europe series. He takes us to the nineteenth-century cities of Budapest, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Prague and Zagreb, when they were not yet capitals but were already becoming spaces where modern national identity was taking shape. Together with the researcher, we examine how cities “speak” on behalf of nations and consider whether the status of a capital city is merely a matter of politics, or whether it is, above all, a matter of imagination and culture. 

In the coming episodes of the podcast, we will hear conversations with Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, director of the International Cultural Centre, as well as Marzena Daszewska, Prof. Jacek Purchla, Dr Monika Rydiger, Natalia Żak, Bartosz Sadulski, the writer Drag Jančar and Prof. Maciej Czerwiński. Each episode will attempt to explore what is most characteristic of Central Europe, but also what is marginal, non-obvious and often overlooked.

The less obvious regions of Central Europe

The starting point will be a story about Galician oil and its impact on modernity, as well as a discussion about the cities where national identity was born; however, there will be many more topics. During the on-air sessions, Prof. Jacek Purchla will discuss Galician myths and the extent to which they remain alive and present in today’s reality. Dr Monika Rydiger and Natalia Żak will explore the world of everyday objects and the existence of a Central European style, taking us into the realm of design.

We will travel to Moravia with Bartosz Sadulski, whilst Drago Jančar and Prof. Maciej Czerwiński will take us to the Balkans with their complex history and the difficult experiences of the 20th century. In our conversations and reflections, we will challenge stereotypes about places and cultures, venture off the beaten track and explore less obvious regions.

Join us on a journey through some of Central Europe’s lesser-known topics and regions!

The first episode of the podcast “An Alternative Map of Central Europe” – a conversation with Dr Beata Nykiel about Galician oil

The second episode of the podcast “An Alternative Map of Central Europe” – a conversation with Dr Łukasz Galusek about imaginary capitals