The Habsburg Garrison Complex in Trebinje
A Lost World
Abstract
Following the imposition of Habsburg rule on Ottoman Bosnia in 1878, a new garrison was constructed in the old citadel of Trebinje. By using a micro-historical approach, this innovative book tells the story of the garrison in times of peace and war, describing the way in which the Austro-Hungarian administration rapidly transformed Trebinje into a tree-lined city dominated by the army.
Yet, the Habsburg ""civilizing mission,"" marked by the building of hospitals, schools, roads, and railways was accompanied by ruthless violence against those who resisted the new foreign occupiers, especially after 1914. The tragic violence is described in the book alongside accounts of daily life. By personalizing historical events, the narrative reveals the perspective of people who found themselves in Trebinje and its garrison complex: the ordinary soldier, the condemned “insurgent,” the career officer, the cook, the shepherdess, the hotelier, or the journalist—all willing or unwilling participants in an extra-European style colonial project in the heart of Europe.
Keywords
Insurgents and Counterinsurgency; Conscription; Diaries; Memoirs; Military Occupation; Balkan Borders; First WorldISBN
9789633867709, 9789633867716Publisher
Central European University PressPublisher website
http://ceupress.com/Publication date and place
Hungary, 2024Grantor
Classification
European history
Military history
Memoirs