During May Term 2005, Wesleyan students Sandra Adkins and Jessica Olcott joined me on an academic tour of East Central Europe under the auspices of the Appalachian College Association. The international study seminar, entitled “Empire and Nationality in the Habsburg Lands,” brought together two students and a faculty leader from each of five ACA member institutions to explore national identity and culture in four lands of the former Austrian empire: Austria, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Although the influence of the Habsburg dynasty provided the overall context for the project, a central theme of the tour was the formation of Hungarian, Polish, and Czech national identities between 1750 and 1918.

Traveling by train across East Central Europe, the group visited Vienna, Budapest, Cracow, and Prague, investigating the lingering Habsburg and German influence in the region, as well as the national history and culture of each city and country. In Vienna, the group visited the Hofburg palace of the Habsburgs and toured St. Stephan’s Cathedral and the Kaisergruft, the crypt of great rulers such as Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Franz Joseph. Members of the group also found time to wander the Ringstrasse and the historic streets of the Innere Stadt, or central core of this former imperial capital, with its many museums and statues of political and cultural heroes.

While in Budapest, group members toured the Citadella on Gellert Hill in Buda, St. Matthias’ Church and the palace district on Castle Hill, the National Museum, the grounds of Parliament, the memorials to historic Hungarian leaders in Heroes Square, and the House of Terror museum dedicated to the Hungarian victims of Nazism, Communism, and the native fascist movement, the Arrow Cross. While in Cracow, the group toured Wawel Castle and the extensive Old Town area, in addition to taking a train to Oswiecim and the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Finally, the visit to Prague brought walking tours of Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Mala Strana, and Prague Castle, as well as individual or smaller group excursions to Vysehrad, the National Museum, and the replica of the Eiffel Tower atop Petrin Hill.

Overall, the Wesleyan contingent experienced four languages, four currencies, and four unique cities over the course of two weeks, in addition to receiving an opportunity to travel with peers from other small colleges in Appalachia. By experiencing both the contemporary culture and the history of each of these formerly Habsburg-ruled lands, group members were able to gain a sense of both broad historical developments in East Central Europe and the more modern evolution of cultural and political nationalism among the Austrians, Hungarians, Poles and Czechs. For a professor of history, a double major in history and physics, and another in international studies and political science, it proved to be a very valuable learning experience well outside the boundaries of the campus and classroom.