Constructing a Hybrid Memoryscape Hungarian Topography of Memory in Habsburg Galicia During the First World War

Abstract

This article examines the cultural and spatial practices of commemorating Hungarian soldiers in Galicia during the First World War, focusing on the Battle of Łapanów–Limanowa (2–12 December 1914) and two competing models of remembrance within the Habsburg Monarchy: national and imperial ones. The battle, a rare military success on the Eastern Front, was quickly appropriated by Hungarian propaganda and turned into a symbol of heroism, sacrifice, and national identity. Commemoration began during the war itself, unfolding in two parallel frameworks: the Hungarian national narrative, glorifying and heroizing the soldiers, and the imperial narrative, which sought to sacralize the fallen within a supranational vision of dynastic unity. The first part analyzes Hungarian wartime narratives produced by correspondents and a military physician, showing how their accounts framed the battle as an act of sacrifice and brotherhood, transforming trauma into national myth. The second part focuses on imperial commemorative practices, particularly the construction of the war cemetery on Jabłoniec Hill near Limanowa, designed under Habsburg administration. Although an imperial initiative, the cemetery emphasized the role of Hungarian soldiers, symbolically highlighting their contribution to defending the monarchy. These practices aimed to strengthen imperial cohesion by honoring all constituent peoples and reinforcing loyalty to Vienna. Former battlefields thus became contested memoryscapes where imperial and national narratives intersected.