Field work - Vilnius conference
Field work - Vilnius conference
Slavic fieldwork and student conference in Vilnius
In September 2025 (14–21 September), students and lecturers from the Institute finally went on a field trip again for the first time in a long while!
We travelled to Vilnius and set out there in search of traces of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Belarusian history: who remembers what, how (and why, and what does that tell us)? We explored these traces through, amongst other things, street names and buildings, museums, monuments and churches, library archives and cemeteries, but also by keeping a keen eye and ear open in public spaces – for example, by noting people’s names, the languages spoken on the streets, what’s on offer in souvenir shops, or what’s on restaurant menus.
Lecturers involved: Gun-Britt Kohler, Ulyana Veryna, Patrick Zeller
Highlights of the field trip
The central figure that runs through all our memories is the city of Vilnius itself. In its own ‘typically Vilnius’ way, it combines modern architecture with historic buildings.
The Gediminas Tower, which stands majestically on its hill overlooking the Old Town, with its university and Jewish quarter, church spires and monuments, and the modern buildings surrounding it.
