Author Archives: mwcraig11

The Vienna Secession was founded on 3rd  April 1897 by several young artists in Vienna frustrated by the increasing conservatism of the Austrian Artists’ Society (Gesellschaft bildender Künstler Österreichs) housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. The founders were  Koloman Moser, Gustav … Continue reading →

The Premonstratensians, also known as the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, or the Norbertines, were founded by Norbert of Xanten in 1120 at Prémontré and received papal approbation in 1126. The Order quickly spread across Europe during the twelfth … Continue reading →

The portrayal of history on film has frequently raised tensions between academic rigour and cinematic vision. This tension is possibly best articulated by historians  who have spoken of films portraying how they imagined the past was lived rather than the … Continue reading →

The development of the town of Wroclaw in Poland from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries was the result of the combination of a particular set of political, religious and economic elements. These elements were, individually, not unique to Wroclaw … Continue reading →

  Between the 9th and 12th centuries the Czech Lands were ruled by a series of dukes from a single family the Přemyslovci. The first member of the Přemyslovci to rule Bohemia was Bořivoj I  in  870. Between 870 and … Continue reading →

  Weimar Berlin, 1919 until 1933, was an extraordinary era; a time when sexual, political and artistic freedom came together like never before or, arguably, since. Art forms that had been growing and developing in Germany, and Europe, from the … Continue reading →

Max Reinhardt was the man who transformed the role of theatre director into what it is today and in so doing changed theatre for both performers and audience. Without Max Reinhardt the theatre of today would be unrecognisable. Max Reinhardt, … Continue reading →

Esterháza palace in Fertőd, Hungary, is a large Rococo building built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. In 1762 Nikolaus Esterházy succeeded to the family title after the death of his older brother Prince Pál Antal. Before his brother’s death, Nikolaus had … Continue reading →

Frederick I, who was born in 1122, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of the Germans at Frankfurt in 1152, King of Italy in 1155, was crowned Roman Emperor by … Continue reading →