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GWZO – Understanding Central and Eastern Europe

The Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) is one of the world’s leading research and educational institutions for the study of the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe. Our wide-ranging, interdisciplinary approach and broad historical scope are distinctive: from antiquity to the present day, we explore the unique features and transformations of this historically and geopolitically significant region. The GWZO’s research focuses on some of the most urgent issues of our time: the dynamics of globalisation and migration; knowledge systems and competing historical narratives; and environmental challenges and violence. 

Researchers at the GWZO conduct foundational research within four permanent departments and a number of rotating junior research groups. While our core expertise lies in Central and Eastern Europe, our work also extends to adjacent regions – from the Balkans and the Caucasus to Northern Europe. The GWZO’s research is marked by a commitment to global perspectives and critical reflection on regional concepts. Across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, we maintain a dense network of long-standing academic partnerships. 

For more than 30 years, we have been presenting our research findings at national and international levels. In addition to academic publications and exhibitions, we develop digital formats to share our research with both specialist audiences and the general public. In so doing, we make history – and the way it is narrated – accessible and relevant, helping to make sense of Central and Eastern Europe in light of both its cultural diversity and the global challenges it faces, past and present.

News

  • Leipzig Declaration

    »Leipzig as a scientific centre takes a stance against anti-democracy and right-wing extremism: For academic freedom, human rights and democracy«

    The academic institutions in the region of Leipzig, including the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), are taking a firm stand against attacks on our democracy. Respect for the dignity of all people, the free and democratic basic order, plurality, tolerance, international exchange and diversity are prerequisites for our coexistence on campus, for successful research and the best study conditions.

    Learn more

  • New Exhibition: From the German Empire to Reconstruction: The Architect and Town Planner Hubert Ritter

    Under the supervision of our GWZO colleague Susanne Jaeger and Peter Leonhardt (Office for Building Regulations and Heritage Conservation), students from Leipzig University have curated a new special exhibition. Running from 1 October to 31 December 2026 at the Alte Nikolaischule in Leipzig, the exhibition is dedicated to Hubert Ritter (1886–1967). It focuses on Ritter’s work in Leipzig between 1924 and 1930. During this period, he served as head of the Municipal Building Authority and became a pioneer of Modernism through projects such as the »Rundling« housing estate and the »Großmarkthalle«. The opening will take place on Thursday, 1 October 2026, at 7 pm.

    Visit the exhibition page
    Innenansicht einer Halle mit sichtbaren Stahlträgern und Ausstellungsständen, darüber der Text 'Der Architekt und Stadtplaner Hubert Ritter (1886-1967) Vom Kaiserreich bis zum Wiederaufbau'.

  • GWZO Podcast »Forschungsquartett«: Volcanic Eruption and the Plague

    In the latest episode of the »Forschungsquartett« podcast by detektor.fm, our GWZO colleague Martin Bauch discusses the connection between a volcanic eruption and the plague in the 14th century. For a long time, the prevailing theory was that the plague had reached Europe as a biological weapon. Recent interdisciplinary research presents a different perspective: to avert climate-induced famine, Italian city-states organised grain imports from the Black Sea region. However, the plague pathogen inadvertently travelled aboard the ships. In the interview, Martin Bauch explains how tree rings and ice cores provide evidence of this cold snap and why interdisciplinary research is indispensable for understanding historical crises.

    Listen to the episode
    Historische Wandmalerei mit drei großen Skeletten, die Menschen umgeben, darüber zwei Schriftbänder mit lateinischem Text, darunter der Titel 'Was ein Vulkanausbruch mit der Pest zu tun hat'.

  • GWZO exhibitions on destroyed Ukrainian cultural heritage

    Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 the GWZO has been documenting the ongoing destruction of Ukraine’s architectural heritage. Whilst the exhibition »Destroyed Ukrainian Heritage«, which opened in 2025, highlights the widespread scale of the losses through 40 examples, the exhibition »Ukraine’s Built Heritage under Attack. Places of Culture and Learning« focuses specifically on cultural and educational institutions as public spaces for communal life. Both projects were curated by Dr. Semen Shyrochyn and funded by the Leibniz Research Alliance »Value of the Past«.
    A podcast with further detailed information can be found here. An analogue roll-up version of the exhibition has been touring public venues for several months. If you are interested, you can find out more here. From October 2026, the roll-ups will be on display at the Marktdorf Library (Lake Constance), amongst other venues.

    To the exhibition
    Zerstörtes mehrstöckiges Gebäude mit Trümmern und Schutt, umgeben von Bäumen und einigen Hochhäusern im Hintergrund

  • GWZO in the »Citizen Science« Dossier

    In the new »Citizen Science« dossier from zeitgeschichte|online, articles explore the potential and limitations of participatory research under the guiding theme of »Contributing to Society«. The GWZO is represented with two articles: Maren Röger analyses citizen participation at the intersection of science and politics, using the example of ›flight and displacement‹. Sabine Stach, Dorothee Riese and Harald Engler use the writing project »Write your way through the nineties!« to illustrate the potential and challenges of citizen science. This topic is a key research focus for the GWZO, particularly within the »Knowledge and Participation« department in Prague.

    To the Dossier
    Schwarz-weiße Aufnahme einer Schallplattenverkäuferin in Stockholm der 1930er Jahre mit einem Schild 'DEN NYA GRAMMOFONSKIVAN' und mehreren Schallplatten in der Hand, im Hintergrund Passanten und Autos.

  • Leipzig Pavement Hi/Stories – Join In!

    A city’s pavement is more than just the ground beneath our feet – it embodies history, but also many personal stories. With the participatory project »Leipzig Pavement«, led by Dr Stephanie Weismann, the GWZO invites all Leipzig residents to share their memories and experiences relating to road surfaces, pavements and ways of walking in the city. The submitted contributions will form a digital archive on Leipzig’s pavement history as part of the city’s history.

    Further Information
    Füße mit weißen Sandalen auf gepflastertem Boden neben dem Schriftzug 'Leipziger Pflastergeschichte/n' in gelber Schrift.

  • Award for Ella Rossman

    Our colleague Dr Ella Rossman has been awarded the 2025 Arts and Humanities Quirk PhD Prize by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at University College London (UCL). The prize recognises outstanding doctoral research. Ella Rossman completed her PhD at UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) in 2025. She is currently working at the GWZO on the project »Feminist Alternatives«. Her research explores alternative forms of feminist knowledge production and their significance for the intellectual and social history of the late Soviet and post-Soviet world.

    Porträt einer Person mit schulterlangen Haaren und schwarzem Oberteil vor weißem Hintergrund mit blauem Rahmen und Text 'WIR GRATULIEREN! Ella Rossman erhält den 2025 Arts and Humanities Quirk PhD Prize der UCL.'.

  • Panel Discussion: Resilient Alliances in Science and Society

    As part of the »Women in Science – Alliances for Change« day of action, a panel discussion entitled »And now? How do we forge alliances that can withstand headwinds?« took place at the Paulinum of Leipzig University. The occasion was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The panel featured Eva Inés Obergfell, Rector of Leipzig University, Jean-Alexander Müller, Rector of HTWK Leipzig, and our Deputy GWZO Director, Professor Julia Herzberg. The discussion focused on institutional cooperation and the structural conditions required to build for long-term, effective alliances between academia, institutions and society. A recording of the panel discussion is available here:

    to the recording
    Drei sitzende Personen auf Stühlen vor einem Flügel in einem großen Raum, eine vierte Person mit Mikrofon wendet sich an sie, im Vordergrund hebt jemand die Hand.

  • Public Evening Lecture: Urban Development in Ukraine during Wartime

    How is the war of aggression against Ukraine shaping life and urban planning in Lviv, caught between crisis management and reconstruction? On 17 September 2026, the GWZO, in collaboration with the joint project »Stadt. Kultur. Bauen«, funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and involving numerous project partners, invites the public to an evening lecture by the Lviv-based architect and urban planner Anton Kolomieitsev at the New Town Hall in Leipzig. Alongside this, researchers will present the new online exhibition »Ukraine’s Built Heritage under Attack« as well as the new publication Coping with Destruction. The evening will be moderated by GWZO department head Arnold Bartetzky and simultaneously interpreted into Ukrainian.

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    Mehrere Personen betrachten einen farbigen Lageplan mit Gebäuden und Grünflächen, eine Hand zeigt auf den Plan.

  • GWZO Annual Conference: Fluid Boundaries

    Watercourses shape landscapes, influence settlement patterns and facilitate trade. Building on the scholarly work of Matthias Hardt , the 2026 GWZO Annual Conference on 26 and 27 October will discuss their significance for East Central Europe from pre-modern times to the present day, focusing on aspects of development, demarcation and exchange. Hydraulic engineering projects enabled agriculture and the establishment of new settlements, while rivers such as the Vistula, the Oder and the Danube served as transregional axes of knowledge and trade. The fact that watercourses simultaneously marked dividing lines and borders makes them a central subject of research in history and cultural studies.

    To the programme
    Flusslandschaft mit ruhigem Wasser, bewachsenen Uferbereichen und Bäumen im Hintergrund unter blauem Himmel.

  • GWZO Research in »Nature«: The Forgotten Floods of 1342–1343

    The famous Magdalena Flood of 1342 is considered the most severe flood of the last millennium. A new study in the journal Nature, to which our colleague Martin Bauch made a significant contribution, now shows that the flood was not an isolated event, but part of a series of 16 large-scale floods across different regions over a two-year period. Drawing on over 1,000 historical sources, the international team has reconstructed the devastating interplay of volcanic eruptions, melting sea ice and extreme weather conditions. These findings are reshaping our understanding of medieval environmental history and providing important insights for modern risk management.

    To the article
    Historische Zeichnung einer Flut mit überschwemmten Gebäuden, Menschen im Wasser und treibenden Gegenständen

  • New publication: »Russia’s War on Ukraine and the Crisis of World Order«

    With this volume, the GWZO launches the new English-language series GWZO Studies on Central and Eastern Europe: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture, History, and the Environment. Co-edited by Dr Katja Castryck-Naumann, the reader addresses Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has been closely watched and widely debated worldwide, with discussions extending beyond the war itself to its implications for the global order and the future of globalisation. It documents these debates by bringing together articles from across the world, published between Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024. The volume offers nuanced insights into the region within the broader context of global (dis)entanglements.
    To the book (Open Access)
    Buchcover mit dem Titel 'RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE AND THE CRISIS OF WORLD ORDER' und einer zerbrochenen Weltkugel, daneben der Schriftzug 'NEW' dreimal übereinander.

  • GWZO Research in »leibniz« Magazine: The Path of the Plague

    Millions of people fell victim to the Black Death in the Late Middle Ages. For a long time, biological warfare was considered the most likely trigger for this devastating pandemic. However, new research by GWZO climate historian Dr. Martin Bauch demonstrates that the evidence points to other causes. In the latest issue of »leibniz« magazine (focusing on »Medicine«), his article »Der Weg der Pest« (The Path of the Plague) explains how new scientific approaches are changing our understanding of historical pandemics and why these insights are more vital than ever in the face of modern global challenges.

    To the Article
    Illustration eines Skeletts mit Sense vor einer mittelalterlichen Stadt und roten Linien, daneben Text über die Pest im Spätmittelalter und den Klimahistoriker Martin Bauch.

  • New publication: »Stilarchitektur?«

    In his doctoral thesis »Stilarchitektur? Transfer kunsthistorischen Wissens in der ungarischen Architekturlehre (1864-1914)«, Gáspár Salamon examines architectural education at the Joseph Technical University of Budapest. He demonstrates how concepts from nineteenth-century German-language art history influenced the stylistic outlook and architectural practice of a generation. Based on lecture manuscripts, the book traces this transfer of knowledge and sheds light on its impact on building practice in Hungary during this period. Salamon was a research fellow at the GWZO from 2019 to 2023 and has been a visiting scholar at the Institute on several occasions.

    To the Book
    Buchcover mit historischer Architekturzeichnung und Titel 'Stilarchitektur? Transfer kunsthistorischen Wissens in der ungarischen Architekturlehre (1864–1914)' von Gáspár Salamon, daneben dreimal das Wort 'NEW'.

  • New Publication: »From Donbas to ›Novorossiya‹«

    From Donbas to ›Novorossiya‹: The Russo-Ukrainian conflict over south-east Ukraine by our colleague Alexandr Osipian analyses the social and cultural preconditions of the conflict in the Donbas since 2014 as well as the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine since 2022. He shows how economic decline after 1991, deindustrialisation and social insecurity were politically instrumentalised by local elites. Historical myths and anxieties were used to manipulate the electorate and were later employed as propaganda by pro-Russian separatists. The book is published by Leipzig University Press.

    To the Publication
    Buchcover mit dem Titel 'Late Antique Villae in the Balkans (3rd-7th C. AD): Current Research Questions and Perspectives' und einem antiken Mosaikfragment auf blauem Hintergrund, daneben dreimal das Wort 'NEW'.

  • Exhibition: »Was ist eigentlich Dissidenz?«

    The exhibition explores protest movements and forms of resistance in Central and Eastern Europe from the 1960s to the 1980s, asking which of these experiences and attitudes continue to challenge and inspire us today. It combines a travelling roll-up exhibition with a digital format and invites visitors to share their own thoughts, memories and experiences. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Leibniz Institut for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) and the Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL) in Berlin, funded by the Leibniz Lab »Disruptions and Transformations«.

    learn more
    Text 'Was ist eigentlich Dissidenz?' auf dunkelgrünem Hintergrund mit orangen, unregelmäßig geformten Balken hinter einzelnen Wörtern.

Peace for Ukraine

  • Ukraine Flagge

  • Solidarity: Ukraine in the Focus of the GWZO

    Our thoughts remain with our Ukrainian colleagues and friends. Since Putin’s order of 24 February 2022 and the beginning of the invasion in violation of international law, the aggression against Ukraine has continued unabated. Every day, lives are destroyed, cities are attacked and cultural heritage is threatened.

    As a research and knowledge-transfer institute dedicated to the culture and history of Eastern Europe, we have maintained a wide range of partnerships in Ukraine for many years. Friends, colleagues and family members of our staff live there. We remain deeply concerned and, as scholars, alarmed that the extensive distortion of history is being used as a pretext for this war. This makes our appeal to the public all the more urgent: when engaging with Eastern Europe, we must rely on expert knowledge and firmly challenge falsifications of history.

    At the GWZO, we offer Ukrainian colleagues at risk space and support, within the limits of our resources, to enable them to continue their academic work. We also document and communicate the consequences of the war for history and culture through a wide range of projects, including several online exhibitions, such as »Destroyed Ukrainian Heritage« (2024) and »Ukraine’s Built Heritage under Attack« (2026).

    Information and Expertise

What's on at the GWZO

Conference

Frühgeschichtliche Deponierungen: Wie – Was – Warum? –

Please register: alois.stuppner@univie.ac.at

Location: MAMUZ Museum Mistelbach

Event series

Three Decades of Multi-Layered Destruction in a Small Armenian Town
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Dr. Maria Gunko (Yerevan State University)

Seminar Series: Armenian Lost Cities: Histories, Imageries, and Perceptions

Location: online

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Exhibition opening

Vom Kaiserreich zum Wiederaufbau. Der Architekt und Stadtplaner Hubert Ritter (1886 - 1967)
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The exhibition was developed as part of a research practice seminar at the Institute of Art History at Leipzig University, led by Peter Leonhardt (City of Leipzig) and Susanne Jaeger (GWZO).

Location: Richard-Wagner-Aula der Alten Nikolaischule, Leipzig

Quicklinks

Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter auf dem Flur des GWZO

Team

The GWZO’s Employees

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Ausstellungsbesucher vor Altar

Transfer

Knowledge Transfer at the GWZO

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