Estonia is a country in north-eastern Europe and geographically it belongs to the Baltic States. The country is inhabited by about 1.3 million people and borders Latvia, Russia and the Baltic Sea. The most populated city and capital at the same time is Tallinn. Estonia has been independent since 1991 and is a member of the European Union.
Latvia is a Baltic state in the north-east of Europe and is home to about 1.9 million inhabitants. The capital of the country is Riga. The state borders in the west on the Baltic Sea and on the states of Lithuania, Estonia, Russia and Belarus. Latvia has been a member of the EU since 01.05.2004 and only became independent in the 19th century.
Lithuania is a Baltic state in northeastern Europe and is home to approximately 2.8 million people. Vilnius is the capital and most populous city of Lithuania. The country borders the Baltic Sea, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Latvia. Lithuania only gained independence in 1918, which the country reclaimed in 1990 after several decades of incorporation into the Soviet Union.
Poland is a state in Central Eastern Europe and is home to approximately 38 million people. The country is the sixth largest member state of the European Union. The capital and biggest city of Poland is Warsaw. Poland is made up of 16 voivodships. The largest river in the country is the Vistula (Polish: Wisła).
The Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe with a population of about 10.5 million people. The capital and largest city of the country is Prague. In the Czech Republic lie the historical landscapes of Bohemia, Moravia and parts of Silesia. In 1918 the state of Czechoslovakia was formed, but the Czech Republic was not founded until 1993. The country has been a member of the EU since 01.05.2004.
Slovakia is a country in Central Europe, which is lived in by about 5.5 million people. The capital of the country is Bratislava (Pressburg). Slovakia has been independent since 1993. Before that it was part of Czechoslovakia for several decades.
Kaliningrad Oblast (rus. Калининградская область) is positioned between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The oblast is the westernmost part of Russia and is populated by about 1 million people. The capital of the oblast is Kaliningrad (German: Königsberg).
Austria is a country in Central Europe populated by about 8.9 million people. The capital of the country is Vienna.
Hungary is a country in Central Europe, whose capital is Budapest. The country is home to about 10 million people and was part of the so-called Habsburg Empire for several centuries. Hungary has been a member of the European Union since 01.05.2004. The Danube is the largest river in the country.
Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe inhabited by about 42 million people. Kiev is the capital and also the greatest city of Ukraine. The country has been independent since 1991. The Dnieper River is the longest river in Ukraine.
Belarus is a state in eastern Europe inhabited by about 9.5 million people. The capital and most populous city of the country is Minsk. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the state is independent. Belarus borders Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.
The Russian Federation is the largest territorial state in the world and is inhabited by about 145 million people. The capital and largest city is Moscow, with about 11.5 million inhabitants, followed by St. Petersburg with more than 5.3 million inhabitants. The majority of the population lives in the European part of Russia, which is much more densely populated than the Asian part.
Since 1992, the Russian Federation has been the successor state to the Russian Soviet Republic (Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, RSFSR), by far the largest constituent state of the former Soviet Union. It is also the legal successor of the Soviet Union in the sense of international law.
- The research library contains more than half a million bibliographic items and is thus the largest specialized library in its field in the German-speaking world. Special collections include a press collection (consisting of a newspaper collection and a press clippings archive), a music collection and a samizdat collection featuring mainly Polish underground publications. In addition, the library offers a bibliography portal (with a focus on the verification of dependent literature), and the department also participates in collaboratively created library-related subject portals.
- The Academic Collections consist of the Image Archive (with approx. 700,000 image media, including photography, postcards, technical drawings, graphics), the Map Collection (featuring over 46,000 map sheets and vertical aerial photographs) and the Document Collection, which is the largest archive on Baltic history in the German-speaking world (with over 1,300 running meters of shelf space containing archive material). The scientific work of the departments in charge of the holdings not only includes cataloguing and documenting this material and making it accessible, but also encompasses a wide range of infrastructure, research, publication and exhibition projects.
- Under the umbrella of the Academic Forum are the in-house fellowship, graduate and career development programs, the scientific event management as well as the Herder Institute publishing house and the publication system. Publications include academic series as well as the Journal of East Central European Studies (ZfO), one of the most renowned publication platforms for historical research on East Central Europe.
- The department of Digital Research and Information Infrastructures is responsible for the cooperative and independent development, realization and operation of digital research and information infrastructures, including digital research environments and repositories, software, database and vocabulary solutions adapted to scientific needs, and the development of entire web portals (such as Copernico). Further tasks include research data management and technical support for the other departments of the Institute.
