Hunters arrived in Ottoman-held Herzegovina from Dalmatia after 1815. With its mild winter, Herzegovina was regarded as unspoiled, full of birds and animals. After the Habsburg occupation in 1878, scientific research, specimen gathering, and the care of urban spaces increased. Paradoxically, at the same time, animals were being hunted, and some were in danger of extinction. Several Habsburg public intellectuals were both defenders of the environment and specimen gatherers or hunters.
The focus of the article is on working relationships between humans and horses in Vienna’s Fiaker industry. Based on ethnographic research, the author shows that these horses are not merely tools, but working partners with their own agency. Analysis reveals that interspecies working practices are both intimate and political, connecting the past with contemporary challenges, and raising questions about tradition, animal welfare, and the role of animals in the urban environment.
The study aims to elucidate the relations between animals and children within the educational context of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918). Drawing on archival documents, textbooks, articles, and feuilletons, it examines the attitudes toward animals promoted both inside and outside the classroom, with particular attention to animal death and the envisioned relationship children were expected to develop with it. More broadly, the study situates these findings within the framework of school education in Habsburg Bosnia.
This paper explores human-pigeon relations in Habsburg and post-Habsburg Hungary. During the First World War, pigeons functioned as both a symbol of peace and a tool of warfare used for communication. Moreover, the birds had their role in post-war irredentist and modernist politics. The paper also foregrounds the social aspects of pigeon breeding, ranging from the elite circles of competitive shooting, to organised animal protection and the intimate domestic bonds in households.
The introductory article reflects on the development of animal history and its absence from the otherwise vibrant study of Habsburg history. It highlights the need to integrate nonhuman animals into historical narratives, especially during the long 19th century – a period of profound changes in human-animal relationships driven by capitalism and its impact on the environment. This era saw shifts in animal breeding, scientific discoveries, biodiversity, pet keeping, zoos, and the rise of animal welfare movements, to name some.
