18 October 2026
Following the Prague conference, participants will have the opportunity to join a post-conference excursion to South Moravia.The excursion is open to participants from all sections of the conference.It is not intended only for historians or participants in the Human Experience of War section.The programme combines one of the most important historical landscapes in Central Europe with a visit to Brno, one of the Czech Republic's most attractive historic cities.
The Cairn of Peace and the Austerlitz BattlefieldThe first part of the excursion will visit the Cairn of Peace (Mohyla míru) and the landscape of the Battle of Austerlitz.
The Battle of Austerlitz, fought on 2 December 1805 between the armies of France, Austria and Russia, became one of the best-known battles of the Napoleonic Wars.
More than two centuries later, its landscape remains a place of remembrance.
The Cairn of Peace was created not simply as a monument to military victory, but as a memorial to the victims of the battle and as a warning against war.The site therefore has a special relevance to the conference's new Human Experience of War direction.
Here, the transition from war to historical memory can be seen in a physical landscape:
battlefield → human loss → burial → memorial → commemoration → historical memory
For participants interested in veterans, historical societies, museums, archives, memorial landscapes, conflict archaeology, collective memory or the long-term consequences of war, the site offers an unusual opportunity to consider how human experience is preserved after direct witnesses have disappeared.At the same time, no specialist historical background is required.
The battlefield, monument and surrounding Moravian landscape make the visit interesting to a much wider group of conference participants.
A place for former enemiesOne of the most important meanings of the Cairn of Peace lies in the way the dead are remembered.The monument does not divide the victims according to the armies in which they fought.
More than two hundred years after the battle, the battlefield has become not only a historical site but also a place of shared remembrance.This makes Austerlitz particularly relevant to one of the principles of the Human Experience of War programme:different historical perspectives can be preserved without requiring a single interpretation of the past.
The conference does not attempt to decide whose historical memory is the only correct one.It seeks to understand how wars are remembered by different countries, communities and generations, and how the human record survives over long periods of time.
Visit to BrnoThe second part of the excursion will be devoted to Brno, the historical capital of Moravia and the second-largest city in the Czech Republic.
Brno combines medieval, Baroque, nineteenth-century and modern architecture within a compact historic centre.
Depending on the final programme and available time, the visit may include some of the city's major landmarks:● Petrov and the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul● Zelný trh (Vegetable Market)● the Old Town Hall● Špilberk Castle● Denis Gardens and views over the city● and a walk through the historic centre.
Brno also contains its own layers of military and historical memory.
Špilberk served during different periods as a fortress and prison, while an obelisk in Denis Gardens commemorates the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
But the visit to Brno is not intended as another academic session.It is also an opportunity for conference participants to spend time together after three intensive conference days, see another part of the Czech Republic, and continue informal discussions in a very different setting.
The Ossuary at St. James’ Church
Located beneath St. James’ Church in the historic centre of Brno, the ossuary contains the remains of more than 50,000 people and is considered the second-largest ossuary in Europe after the Paris Catacombs.
The site preserves evidence of several centuries of urban history, including periods marked by war, epidemics, and repeated waves of mass mortality. Among those buried here were people who died during plague and cholera outbreaks, as well as during periods of military conflict affecting Brno and Moravia.
For the conference, the ossuary offers another perspective on the long-term human consequences of war. Unlike a battlefield memorial, it preserves the anonymous remains of ordinary people whose lives were shaped not only by conflict, but also by disease, displacement, and the difficult conditions that often accompany war.
The visit therefore connects naturally with the Human Experience of War programme and its broader question: how are human lives, suffering, and memory preserved after the original witnesses have disappeared?
An excursion for the whole conferenceThe themes represented at the Prague conference are deliberately diverse.Participants may study soils, water, contamination, agriculture, public health, reconstruction, humanitarian demining, migration, the human experience of war, or other subjects.The excursion does not attempt to combine these disciplines.Instead, it offers a shared experience after the formal conference programme.Some participants may see the Austerlitz battlefield primarily as a historical landscape.Others may be interested in memory and commemoration.Others may simply wish to visit South Moravia and Brno.All of these perspectives are welcome.
Preliminary programmeSunday, 18 October 2026● Morning — departure from Prague● Late morning / early afternoon — Austerlitz battlefield and Cairn of Peace● Afternoon — Brno● Evening — return to Prague
The detailed timetable, transportation arrangements, participation fee and registration procedure will be announced separately.Participation will be optional and subject to advance registration.
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