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Historical and Contemporary Challenges for Central and Eastern European Cities

Narrating Contested Urban Space

  • Open Access
Historical and Contemporary Challenges for Central and Eastern European Cities cover

Historical and Contemporary Challenges for Central and Eastern European Cities

Narrating Contested Urban Space

  • Open Access
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Pre-order. Available Nov 13 2025
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Description

This open access edited collection offers interdisciplinary perspectives on cities shaped by shifting borders and contested identities. Rooted in the study of spatial and social re-appropriation, this monograph invites readers to rethink the urban experience in Central and Eastern Europe, a region defined by political discontinuities and rich linguistic and ethnic diversity.

Using the concept of the city as a relational construct that bears the potential to transcend spatial hegemonies, Historical and Contemporary Challenges for Central and Eastern European Cities explores attempts to homogenize, categorize, and eliminate differences in history and present day, while also examining artistic and spatial practices that challenge the former. The essays delve into the interplay between official discourses and marginalized voices that challenge established hierarchies, uncovering both the conflicts and synergies that emerge in multiethnic and multilingual environments. Featuring original research from scholars in history, architecture, cultural studies, and linguistics, this volume highlights the value of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding urban spaces. It offers fresh insights into how Central and Eastern European cities navigate their layered identities, fostering a deeper understanding of the region's dynamic and complex urban narratives.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe.

Table of Contents

Introduction

By Elisa-Maria Hiemer and Anna Seidel

Part I. Institutionalized Narratives on Urban Spaces

Chapter 1: Larisa Kangaspuro: Negotiating Space and Sovereignty in the Russian Empire: Finnish Katajanokka (Nokka) Prison in XIX Century

Chapter 2: Szilveszter Csernus-Lukács and Éva Lovra: From Maria-Theresiopel to Subotica – Gradual Reinvention of A (Habsburg) Hungarian Metropolis to a Yugoslav one From the Perspective of Urbanology

Chapter 3: Tabita Redepenning: Szczecin's 'Lost' City Center: Competition and Center Pluralization in Tourist Maps

Chapter 4: Anastasiia Bozhenko, Olesya Chagovets: Kharkiv as a Citadel on the Frontier: Reimagining the City during the Full-Scale Invasion of the Russian Federation

Part II. (Re)Imagining Central Europe in Literature, Music, and Film

Chapter 5: Natallia Prystupa: The Image of Czech and Slovak Cities in the Memories of Belarusian Writers

Chapter 6: Alina Bako: Bucharest Literary History: from Turkey's Small Paris to Little Paris

Chapter 7: Svetlana Vassileva-Karagyozova Reinventing the Polish City of Walbrzych through Film.

Chapter 8: Ruben Höppner: From the Invisible Ghetto to the Big Stage: Czech Gangsta Rap as a Narrative of Contested Urban Spaces

Part III. Voicing the Margins: Practices of Claiming Urban Space

Chapter 9: Anna G. Piotrowska: The Role of Romani Musicians in Post-War Krakow, or, a Few Words about Krakow's Unobvious Romani Legacy

Chapter 10: Aleksej Tikhonov: The So-Called “Russian Shop” in Berlin, Vienna, and Zürich: Diaspora-Identities in Urban Linguistic Landscapes between Commerce and Geopolitics

Chapter 11: Katharina Tyran: South Slavic Semiotic and Linguistic Landscapes in Vienna: Contested Memories and Nationalistic Narratives in the Public Space

Chapter 12: Pavel Voinitski: Minsk's Purity: A Negative (Re)Branding Case of the Last European Dictatorship's Capital

Conclusion - Anna Seidel

Notes on the Contributors

Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Nov 13 2025
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 256
ISBN 9781666971309
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 20 tables
Dimensions 229 x 152 mm
Series Interdisciplinary Studies on Spatial Dynamics and Marginalization in Central and Eastern Europe
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Elisa-Maria Hiemer

Elisa-Maria Hiemer is senior researcher at Freie U…

Anthology Editor

Anna Seidel

Anna Seidel is a lecturer and researcher at the In…

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