History of Bratislava 1. Pressburg in the Middle Ages

or – how to become a qualified guide to the city where I study

The course is taught by: prof. PhDr. Juraj Šedivý, MAS, PhD.

Form of teaching: lecture with seminar (P2 or P:1/S:1 - according to choice)

ECTS: 4

Objective:

To present the earliest development of Bratislava-Presburg (up to the turn of the Middle Ages and the modern era) in a clear and attractive way. In addition to theoretical lectures illustrated by a powerpoint presentation, the course also includes a professional field trip to the city in order to observe the topography in the field (or, depending on the weather, to illustrate the earliest development on the findings from the Bratislava City Museum). The graduate of the course will not only gain an overview of the events that influenced the development of the site, with an emphasis on the period from the 11th to the 15th century, but will also understand the basic features of the functioning of the medieval border town of Prešporok from its various aspects (from self-government to the everyday life and material culture of its inhabitants).

Brief outline:

Introduction (historiography and methodological problems)
Geographical specifics of Bratislava and its surroundings in the Middle Ages (Danube, islands, fords, roads, fauna)
Development of settlement in the earliest period (from the Paleolithic to the period of migrations)
Bratislava in the early Middle Ages (9th to 12th century - events and society)
The medieval city as a historical phenomenon
From sub-castle villages to a unified city (13th century and the city-building process)
The High Medieval City (events and processes – transformations of society, church, Jews, city law, culture and education, daily life, topography of the city).
Names of the city and the problem of ethnic identity of its inhabitants
1 field trip (or museum or archive

Graduation Requirements:

Attendance – 3 hours may be missed without excuse,
final assessment in the form of a test (100%) – or – seminar paper of at least 10 standard pages on a topic related to the subject and consulted with the lecturer).

Recommended reading:

LEHOTSKÁ, Darina et al.: Dejiny Bratislavy, Bratislava : Obzor 1982.
ŠPIESZ, Anton: Bratislava v stredoveku. Ilustrované dejiny, Bratislava : Perfekt 1993.
ŠEDIVÝ, Juraj – ŠTEFANOVIČOVÁ, Tatiana: Dejiny Bratislavy 1. Brezalauspurc – na križovatke kultúr, Bratislava : Slovart 2012.