Historic Bohemia and its literary-digital reception

06 to 12 September 2026

Venue: Kutná Hora (Bohemia) // Prague

Contact person: Jan Capek, e-mail: jan.capek@uhk.cz

Program:

The international conference is dedicated to the historical significance of Bohemia in the European Middle Ages as well as its modern literary and digital reception. The focus is on Kuttenberg and Prague as exemplary centers of political, economic, and cultural concentration from the 14th to the early 15th century.

In the 14th and early 15th centuries, during the reign of the Luxembourg dynasty and immediately prior to the Hussite Wars, the kingdom was considered one of the most important territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Kuttenberg (Kutná Hora), the “silver city,” was one of Europe’s key economic power centers.

A special focus lies on how history is communicated today: through academic research, cultural tourism, video games, and popular literature.

Key Topics

Kuttenberg – Medieval Reality

• Urban history and silver mining as the foundation of European power

• The Prague groschen as a leading medieval currency

• UNESCO World Heritage and architecture

• Important figures (including Mikuláš Dačický z Heslova, Josef Kajetán Tyl)

Culture and Practice

• Medieval cuisine (Hotel School Kutná Hora)

• Historically inspired music (Ensemble Gnomus)

Excursions

• Žleby Castle (18 km): Renaissance and Neo-Gothic complex with unique historical collections

• Čáslav: Early medieval town with Romanesque roots

• Kačina Castle: A classicist jewel with a large landscape park

Modern Media and Popular Culture

A central program element is the video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018/2025), which reconstructs early 15th-century Bohemia with a high degree of historical authenticity. The game serves as an example of modern historical communication and as a driver of cultural tourism.

Prague – History and Literary Myth (Conclusion)

The conference concludes in Prague. In addition to selected medieval city areas, the literary staging of the city in The Secret of Secrets (German: Zwischen Leben und Tod – Das letzte Geheimnis der Menschheit) will be examined. Motifs such as the Golem of Prague illustrate the tension between historical tradition, myth, and modern popular culture.

Nature of the Conference

The international conference combines excursions, academic reflection, and cultural-historical experience. It promotes dialogue between past and present, as well as between academic analysis and popular forms of historical communication.

Final Thought

The conference brings together two worlds:

The authentic medieval Europe, whose traces remain visible in Kuttenberg and its surroundings, and the modern digital present, in which games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance retell and make historical experiences tangible.

In this way, an innovative dialogue emerges between past and present, between academic research and popular-cultural mediation—a concept that repositions Kuttenberg as a space for learning and culture.