Summer School in Lublin Explores Geo-Data and Historical Geography

From 19 to 22 May 2026, the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) hosted a summer school and invited researchers from the USA – Prof. Ruth Mostern (University of Pittsburgh, World Historical Gazetteer), Germany – Prof. Christian Lotz (Herder Institute, gazetteers.net) and the UK – Prof. Humphrey Southall (University of Portsmouth, Visions of Britain). The international summer school “Spatial and Digital Humanities” was devoted to contemporary research in the field of digital historical geography. The summer school was organised on the initiative of Prof. Bogumił Szady, director of the Institute for the Historical Geography of the Church in Poland, KUL. 

The summer school primarily aimed at PhD students and young researchers interested in historical geography, digital humanities and spatial methods in the humanities. The guests shared information on their research work and how they present it with the participants, who included members of the KUL Doctoral School (Alina Dushkevych, Dilek Oguz, Dominik Róg, Maryna Rybak), our guests from the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Wiesława Duży, Katarzyna Słomska-Przech, young researchers and staff of the Institute (Edyta Chomentowska, Paweł Gil, Artur Karpacz, Joanna Kumor-Mielnik, sister Jadwiga Kupczewska, Robert Kozyrski, Marek Słoń, Ewa Warczak) and participants joining online. 

The summer school focused on digital tools, databases and historical gazetteers, and their potential applications in humanities research. The main aim was to familiarise participants with topics such as spatial data modelling, historical cartography, the standardization of geographical names, and the development of global databases. Participants had the opportunity to attend lectures, take part in practical sessions on using spatial mapping tools (QGIS), learn about the tools available for searching and displaying geospatial datasets from the databases presented, and take part in discussions on geospatial analysis, the role of digital humanities, and the possibilities for their application. This multi-day meeting also provided an opportunity for researchers from Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States of America and the United Kingdom to establish new contacts. Workshop participants also shared their knowledge on their research interests in the fields of history, literary studies, geography and geoinformatics. 

Over the course of the summer school, six thematic sessions were held. Prof. Ruth Mostern presented the handling of place names (From the Concept of Place to Modelling Spatial Data) and the modelling of geographical databases (The World Historical Gazetteer and the Future of Linked Place Data). Prof. Humphrey Southall discussed the creation and expansion of a big geographical dictionary on two levels: statistical research (Representing Statistical Surveys and Administrative Hierarchies) and the inclusion of descriptive content (Integrating Qualitative Content, Including Travel Writing, and Defining “Places”). For both speakers, an important issue was the discourse on the definition of the concept of place in various historical and geographical aspects.

Prof. Ch. Lotz presented his research about the International Map of the World and the Karta Mira / World Map 1:2,500,000. In the lecture, the participants practically explored maps of these series and discussed aspects of critical cartography. In the second part, he presented the Herder Institute’s efforts to explore geographical names with the web application gazetteers.net. At the end of the summer school, the doctoral school appointed Christian Lotz as visiting professor at KUL, appreciating his teaching as well as his contribution to Polish-German exchange in the field of historical geography.

After the summer school, some participants went on an excursion to the Solska Primaeval Forest, where one of the PhD students, Dominik Róg, MA, gave an insight into the subject of his doctoral thesis, which covers the history and role of the „budziarze” (budjar settlements) located within the forest. Following that, the group visited Szczebrzeszyn – a small town which illustrates the religious and cultural diversity of the Republic of Poland before the Second World War (the town centre is home to Roman Catholic churches, an Orthodox church and a synagogue) – and the centre of Zamość, known as the ‘Padua of the North’.