Bukowina Institute at the University of Augsburg
The Bukowina Institute at the University of Augsburg was founded on November 10, 1989 in Augsburg and is dedicated to imparting and researching knowledge about the culture and history of Bukowina and about Eastern, Central Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It was named after Bukovina; this is now partly in Romania and partly in Ukraine . It is an affiliated institute of the University of Augsburg .
history
In 1955, the district of Swabia , in which Augsburg is located, took over the sponsorship of the Germans from Bukowina, who had come to Germany, including Swabians, as part of the resettlement in the course of the Second World War.
In 1988, on the initiative of the then District Assembly President Georg Simnacher, the Bucovina Institute was founded to research, document and preserve the culture and history of Bucovina - which was characterized by a special ethnic and cultural diversity. On February 18, 2003, the Bavarian Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts awarded him the status of an affiliated institute of the university. It is maintained by a sponsoring association and financially supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs and, to a large extent, by the Swabian district . Led by a five-person board, whose chair is always with a professor from the University of Augsburg , the aim of the institute is to research and teach about Bucovina in its regional and transnational aspects. The chairman of the board has been Marita Krauss, Chair of European Regional History and Bavarian and Swabian Regional History, since 2012; Reinhold Werner previously held this position. The institute has been headed by Maren Röger since 2017.
Library
The specialist library with over 15,000 volumes is the largest western collection of works on the past and present of historical Bucovina and the closely related areas of Southeast and East Central Europe. In addition to works in the original language and specialist literature, the Bukowina Institute has a diverse inventory of Romanian newspapers that cannot otherwise be found in Germany. The library is connected to the catalog and lending system of the university library, most of the holdings can be borrowed.
The collection arose from a library owned by the bibliographer Erich Beck, which the Swabian district acquired in 1989. The library grew to its present size through donations and gifts as well as permanent loans from the university, for example.
Archives for documents and media
The archive for written material and media includes the written records of the institute and the Landsmannschaft der Buchenlanddeutsche as well as bequests from Bukowinians. The collection includes magazines from various home districts and country teams. There are thematic folders with newspaper clippings sorted by subject matter and country. An extensive collection of historical postcards and photos, rare newspapers on microfilm as well as audio and film material round off the collection. The archive is currently under construction, but will be opened for the 30th anniversary celebration (October 2019).
Research and Teaching
The scientific research of the institute and the associated junior professorship for “Transnational Interrelationships. Germany and Eastern Europe ”at the University of Augsburg (since 2015 Maren Röger, since 2017 also managing director of the institute) form the basis for the institute's mediation activities. Research projects with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries are currently being pursued, including the perception of modernity in Bukovina , the history of infrastructure, the coexistence of different ethnic groups, but also the (forced) migrations of the 20th century and the history of their memory. The interwoven historical aspects of the two historical regions Swabia and Bukowina are always of interest . The institute in Augsburg is the first point of contact for students in the field of East Central European history. In interdisciplinary seminars with a wide variety of content, practice-oriented exercises and excursions, analytical, methodical and intercultural skills are conveyed that enable students to later take on responsible tasks as multipliers.
Events
The institute offers a diverse program of cultural and scientific events. This includes exhibitions, readings by contemporary Ukrainian and Romanian authors and film screenings as well as lectures by renowned scholars from home and abroad and international conferences on various topics of Bukovinian culture and history, on other East Central European topics and the interdependence between Germany and East Central Europe .
Depot for three-dimensional collection
The depot contains around 900 three-dimensional objects that the institute purchased or received through gifts and bequests from former residents of Bukovina and its surroundings. These are primarily historical costumes and everyday objects that show the cultural and ethnological diversity of the region and are of socio-historical value. A special feature in German-speaking countries is the extensive egg collection, which reflects the traditional arts and crafts of the Bukovina.
Language courses
Language courses in the Bukovinian languages Romanian , Ukrainian and Russian are offered every semester . Anyone who is interested can participate.
Educational trips
Once a year there is a study trip to Bukovina , but also to large parts of Romania , the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Further information on the Bukowina Institute ( Memento from July 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ District of Swabia: The Bukowina Institute ( Memento from August 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 48 ° 20 ′ 22 ″ N , 10 ° 54 ′ 0 ″ E