Abstract
The conference focused on the personalities at the head of cities in the 19th and 20th centuries who significantly influenced their development and left a distinct, albeit often controversial, mark on their history. The topic was the question of what role did party politics play in the performance of the mayoral office, and how was it influenced by state policy, which for most of the period under study was directed mainly towards the exploitation of the economic and political potential of cities? What influence did the networks of personal, professional and political ties that they developed have on the performance of the mayoral function? How did the political agendas of the parties they represented reflect in the actions of the politicians in charge of the cities? The focus of attention was primarily on Prague, but for comparison also on other large, mostly former statutory cities in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, or European metropolises, primarily large Central European cities.
Cf. the attached programme.