Empire to Republic

“I often spoke to my friends about our wartime memories. I felt that it was something people had an urge to talk about.” 25 years after the massacre of Srebrenica, remembering is more important than ever.

On April 27, 1945, the Austrian Proclamation of Independence was signed and promulgated in the liberated city of Vienna. Today, Austrians celebrate 75 years of their Republic, a free, democratic and open country in the middle of Europe.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was severely tested in the 20th century and is still finding its way back to prosperity and internal stability.

Bosnians are still coming to terms with their wounds of war from a generation ago. But incredibly, they are now coming together to fight inj...

Two years after the first Black Protest, a new wave of Polish feminism gathers steam, raising awareness not only about abortion rights, but empowering...

Through history’s adversity, the Polish have shown enormous resilience. Free and thriving today, their country is trying to find its place in the worl...

Poland wants to sit at Europe’s big table, but Poles have learned to be critical, ironic and contrarian, in defiance of politics. After turning his i...

This month's Empire to Republic is about Ukraine. Check out the map with everything you need to now about the country.

The mythic region at the edge of the Empire was once the cultural heart of Eastern Europe. Today, it is the engine of change pulling Ukraine to the We...

Vast, diverse and much closer than we might think, Ukraine is still an unknown land for many. A project by young Ukrainians aims to change that. ...

Europe’s second-largest country flaunts the blue of its skies and the golden fields of wheat in its flag – but Ukraine has so much more to offer. ...

Placed firmly on the fault lines of Europe, Ukraine looks both East and West. Yet, what Ukrainians fight for is nothing less than their future. A...

From the peaks of the Alps to the sand-stone of the Dalmatian coast, both Slovenia and Croatia have wonders small and tasty to share By Neža Luka...

Wedged between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, Croatia and Slovenia oscillate between the desire for more togetherness and the borders in people’s mind...

A borderland on the edge of cultures and empires, Croatia’s position today feels eerily like a century ago On Ban Jelačić, the central square in ...

From snowy peaks to frothing waves, for the Slovenes, transition is a state of being by Faris Kočan & Kaja Primorac The Republic of Sloven...

By Neža Lukančič & Benjamin Wolf   Click to zoom!

By Anastasia Gromontova & Benjamin Wolf

Wedged between the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains and the rivers Tisza and Danube, Hungary is a land of wide plains, spicy paprika and fiery music....

Hungary oscillates between notions of past grandeur and a deep longing for calm. True democracy, it seems, has no chance but to fall by the wayside. ...

In their anthem, Czechs wistfully praise the beauty of their land. And indeed, from orchards decked in spring's array to technological prowess bu...

It takes all types to build a Republic. We give a voice to people from different backgrounds and generations who shaped and continue to shap...

With a rocky history behind them, Czechs never had it so good – and they secretly know, despite all the grumbling. Czechs are a bit obsessed with yea...

Czechia has experienced hard times and a spectacular comeback. In the border regions, the former Sudety, all this is magnified.

From lightning over the Tatras to the growing firs on the slopes of Kriváň Mountain, the Slovak anthem praises the rugged beauty of this country ...

Two journalists, both first-hand witnesses of Slovakia’s transition from a place through the looking glass to a country at the heart of the European p...

The murder of journalist Ján Kuciak has shaken Slovakia out of its complacency. Here, big things often happen in years ending in “8”. ...

An American with Slovak roots shares his memories of the day when Slovakia was born. The air was frigid on Bratislava’s Námestie SNP as the calenda...

Bratislava, once at the center of the Empire, is now one of Europe’s youngest capitals. by James Thomson & Carmen Viragova, with Dardis McN...

As the largest protests since the Velvet Revolution in 1989 rock Slovakia, following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciák and his fiancée...

There’s so much the “Land of Mountains, Land of Rivers” – as the anthem proclaims – has to offer. We've picked some of the loveliest spots and coolest...

It takes all types to build a Republic. We give a voice to people from different backgrounds and generations who shaped and continue to shape Austria....

Two young Austrians, one living in Brazil, with an occasional trip home, the other just back in Vienna, after extended stays in Prague, Strasbour...

As the Habsburg Empire entered the final year of the Great War, the future seemed wide open. A turbulent century followed. On a pleasant summer...

For the 100th anniversary of the demise of the Habsburg Empire and the forming of new states and territories in its place, we are embarking on a y...