Continuity and Discontinuity of the Medieval Urban Landscape in the Western Slavic Area

• Authors: Téra Michal

Title variants

CS

Kontinuita a diskontinuita středověké městské krajiny v západoslovanském prostoru

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The study examines the development of urbanisation in the West Slavic area. During the twelfth century, colonisation took placein this region, which was accelerated after the dissolution of the statehood of the Polabian Slavs. The German settlement of the Slavic territories soon spread to the Central European states. The colonists brought with them a new type of urban settlements, which were legally defined and had a specific structure and character. The arrival of urban culture in the West Slavic environment triggered a socio-economic revolution that completely transformed local society. Simultaneously, this process led to irreversible ethnic changes, which, in some regions, were fatal for the indigenous population. In other areas, however, the cities were slavicised and the new urban culture became part of local society. These dynamics resulted in the formation of a special cultural area in Central Europe.

Keywords

EN

Western Slavs; development of urban settlement; German medieval colonisation; Middle Ages; 12th century; 13th century

• Publisher: The National Institute of Folk Culture
• Journal: Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnology)
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3 - 12

Contributors

author

Téra Michal