After the Battle of Mohács in August 1526, where the Ottoman army decisively defeated the Hungarian army, Hungarian Kingdom entered a long period of continuous fighting that persisted across the following centuries. Amid these events, the struggle for the royal crown between Ferdinand I of Habsburg and John Zápoľský (Zápolya) also took place. The conflict resulted in many casualties, but it also brought power to new nobles, such as John Katzianer, the commander of the Habsburg forces. Katzianer’s name became deeply etched in the history of the town of Trenčín, which was significantly impacted by the battle between Ferdinand and John Zápoľský. Katzianer’s army looted the town, and it took a long time for its inhabitants to recover. The town came under the control of King Ferdinand; the residents continued to remember this commander with much disdain and his name came to symbolize a bad person among the people of Trenčín.

This study examines the inscriptional culture of the cities of the Pentapolitana in the Early Modern period. The cultural development of these five free royal towns was also reflected in the epigraphic sphere. The strong influence of Humanism, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation is evident from an early stage. One notable example is the depiction of Martin Luther accompanied by text in Levoča Town Hall as early as the mid-sixteenth century. The bourgeois character of inscriptional culture is logically reflected in the urban patriciate’s desire to assert its independence – including through the medium of inscriptions. This is exemplified by the inscriptions on Levoča Town Hall from the early seventeenth century. Throughout the Early Modern period, the dominant form of epigraphic expression was the sepulchral monument, which provides a wealth of prosopographical data. These monuments often include quotations from the Bible which are of particular value for ecclesiastical and theological research. In addition, they serve as sources of valuable literary works, mostly in the form of epicedia.

This article is a contribution to research on the cultural diplomacy of Nazi Germany on the periphery of Axis Europe. It focuses primarily on an analysis of the ideological assumptions underlying the organization of exhibitions about Slovakia and Slovak art in German cities in 1942. It assesses the thesis that the discourses of anti-modernism and anti-urbanism were the basis for the presentation of Slovak realities and culture. Interactions between the Nazi center and the Slovak periphery were characterized by an emphasis on the authenticity of folk culture and art, which implied a contrast between the “pure” countryside and the “decadent” city. This research shows that the decisive actors in this discourse were not domestic but “foreign” Germans, that is, members of the German-speaking minorities of Central and Southeastern Europe, who wanted to make up for their sense that their development lagged behind that of the Reich by emphasizing the originality and authenticity of the periphery, which they also projected onto local non-German-speaking majority cultures.

This paper examines the urban hierarchy of the late medieval Kingdom of Hungary, focusing on the distinctions and interactions between cities, towns and market towns around 1500. Based on a comprehensive database of historical–geographical research, the analysis reveals that economic functions, particularly trade and long-distance commerce, played a decisive role in the emergence of smaller urban centres, while the legal status of settlements (civitas, oppidum) only partially corresponded to their economic significance. The research highlights significant regional disparities: in some areas, such as the northeastern part of the kingdom, market towns served as dynamic reserves for urbanisation, whereas in the southwestern regions, they often remained stagnant. The findings also challenge previous assumptions by demonstrating that the distribution of smaller urban centres was shaped not only by economic potential but also by privileges granted centuries before, landownership patterns and external geopolitical pressures, including the Ottoman expansion. Additionally, the study identifies key methodological challenges, such as the integration of settlement networks and the role of rural communities in urban development. By reassessing the relationship between urban functions and spatial organisation, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of late medieval Central European urbanisation.

Assessors, sometimes also referred to as sworn officials, formed an integral part of the organizational structure of vineyard offices (vinohradnícke úrady) in the Little Carpathian region during the seventeenth century. They primarily fulfilled supervisory and oversight roles in viticulture, ensured adherence to quality standards in wine production, and participated in the resolution of disputes among members of the vineyard community. Furthermore, they acted as assessors and advisors in the courts presided over by vineyard masters. As part of the local or municipal self-government, they played a crucial role in enforcing order and applying the legal provisions contained in the vineyard statutes. The number of assessors varied depending on the size and significance of each viticultural locality – in centres with more intensive winegrowing activity, multiple assessors often operated alongside several vineyard masters. Their activities had a substantial impact on the development of viticultural conditions in the region and contributed significantly to the preservation of its long-standing winemaking tradition.

The City and History [Mesto a dejiny] je vedeckým recenzovaným časopisom, ktorý vznikol na Katedre histórie Filozofickej fakulty UPJŠ v Košiciach s tematickou orientáciou na príspevky z oblasti urbánnych dejín. Uvedený zámer súvisí s jednou z vedeckých priorít pracoviska – výskumom dejín Košíc. Ambíciou je však vytvoriť širšie fórum pre historikov aj odborníkov z iných oblastí, v ktorom by sa koncentrovali výsledky ich práce orientované na urbánne, príp. regionálne dejiny. Časopis je vydávaný dvakrát ročne. Doposiaľ počas trinástich ročníkov v ňom bolo uverejnených 142 vedeckých článkov od 156 autorov. Z nich 88 pochádzalo zo zahraničia, čo predstavuje 56% z celkového počtu autorov. Časopis je evidovaný v knižniciach a databázach Web of Science (ESCI), Scopus, ERIH PLUS, CEEOL, CEJSH, EBSCO, MIAR, H/Soz/Kult, Index Copernicus, WorldCat, Databázy historickej literatúry v SR a Google Scholar.

The paper analyses the social mobility of members of the interwar Jewish medical elite during the Holocaust, using the example of physicians in the town of Prešov. The aim is to confi rm or refute the premise that members of the former medical elite were in a better position and had a higher chance of surviving the Holocaust. This premise is based on the assertion that, due to a shortage of qualifi ed specialists in the Slovak state, the regime granted a wide range of exceptions, including for physicians. In this context, the research aims to analyse the extent of downward vertical social mobility within the societal structure and the changes in social status between 1938/1939 and 1945. The research seeks to answer the following questions: To what extent was the privileged position of members of the interwar medical elite maintained within the Jewish community after the introduction of anti- Semitic policies in Slovakia? What was the rate of decline within the social structure? Did belonging to the former medical elite increase one’s chances of surviving the Holocaust? And what were the main factors infl uencing survival? Answering these and related questions could shed more light on the social background of the Holocaust and the mechanisms of societal transformation associated with the rise of the authoritarian regime and Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party.

This study delves into the procedural nature of Gothic architecture and microarchitecture, focusing on the dynamic processes that defi ne architectural forms rather than treating them as static objects. The analysis emphasizes the role of algorithmic approaches in procedural design, where the creation process, rather than the resultant geometry, becomes the primary subject of study. Key sections of the work include original contributions by the author, such as an analysis of historical design methodologies and their application to contemporary computational practices. Through case studies and interpretive modelling, the author presents a unique perspective on how historical processes can inform modern architectural paradigms. The discussed method – Simulated Morphogenesis – connects historical insights with contemporary procedural techniques.

The former eastern edge of Bratislava – the area neighbouring St Andrew’s Cemetery – fi rst underwent signifi cant urbanization through modern urban regulation in the 1930s, this it had been preceded by attempts based on plans by Victor Bernárdt in 1905 and by the Technical Division in 1906. The 1930s regulation included the creation of transverse and longitudinal urban axes – Cintorínska Street (ulica) and Lazaretská Street – with modern multifunctional residential buildings that off ered administrative and commercial services. At the intersection of the two axes, the building of Slovenská Grafi a – the original Slovak printing house – was built according to a design of the builder Rudolf Frič. Together with Frič’s other buildings, today these buildings represent the most comprehensive segment of interwar redevelopment in this area, as the entire interwar redevelopment of both the axes has never been completed. At the same time, they serve as confi rmation of a contemporary practice in which regulatory plans were intentionally tailored to fi t the interests of developers and project architects who were directly represented in the city’s regulatory bodies. In this study case, they were tailored to the interests of Rudolf Frič, who intervened in an intentional change of the regulation of both Cintorínska and Lazaretská.

The study is devoted to the Bohemian and Moravian royal towns and their contribution to the protection of the peace and security of the country from the end of the thirteenth to the beginning of the fi fteenth century. The original legal jurisdiction of the towns was extended by monarchical privileges to include the punishment of public criminals and robbers who threatened the country, the inhabitants of the towns and their economic interests. Some towns formed alliances for mutual protection and assistance under the mandate of the monarch. Threatened towns could also take action against aristocratic castles in their vicinity, and new castles could only be built near towns with the consent of the monarch. The royal towns were also involved in legal measures against public criminals, which were introduced in Bohemia at the beginning of the fi fteenth century.