1st session of CEFRES in-house seminar
Through the presentation of works in progress, CEFRES’s Seminar aims at raising and discussing issues about methods, approaches or concepts, in a multidisciplinary spirit, allowing everyone to confront her or his own perspectives with the research presented.

Location: CEFRES Library and online (to get the link, write to cefres[@]cefres.cz)
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 4:30 pm
Language: English

Speaker: Andrej VAŠÍČEK (CEFRES / FiF UK)
Discussant: Markéta ŠANTRŮČKOVÁ (Department of Cultural Landscape and Sites, Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening – VUKOZ v.v.i)

Abstract

The lecture approaches the sacred landscape as a dynamic network of places and routes shaped by Baroque piety, diocesan reorganization and everyday practice. It combines historical geography with GIS to reconstruct how churches, chapels, Calvaries, crosses and cemeteries formed spatial hierarchies and itineraries. Cartographic sources are treated interpretively and cross-checked against canonical visitations, schematisms, municipal and parish records, epigraphy and field observation. A micro-case from the town of Púchov demonstrates hydrological and transport thresholds, the relocation of burial grounds extra muros and the dating power of chronograms. The talk proposes a transferable workflow for the historical-geographical reconstruction of sacred layers in Central Europe and reflects on practical uses in heritage management, spatial planning and public engagement.

Please find the complete program of 2025–2026 seminar here.