Between Glamour and Misery

Social elites, as the holders of political power, have always guided the course of history, and have therefore long been the focus of historiography. Attitudes towards them have changed a lot over time. Of particular interest in this respect is the wider Central European area, which has undergone several profound socio-political changes in the 20th century.

Material culture is an indispensable historical source for the study of medieval and modern social elites. It can be found at every turn, with castles, manors, churches, houses, parks and, last but not least, rich museum collections of all kinds of objects. By taking it into account and using written and other sources, we can get a better idea of the life of the former leading social classes.

In November 2025, the National Museum of Slovenia and the Milko Kos Historical Institute of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts will organise an international symposium that will present the life of the former social elites mainly in the light of material culture as we know it from written and visual sources, museum collections and immovable heritage. We will limit ourselves to the period from the High Middle Ages to the March Revolution of 1848, which brought about the final decline of the feudal order that had been established for centuries in the Austrian Empire. The spatial context will be Central Europe, taking into account the wider European context.

The symposium will take place in Slovenian, German and English.