Přehled o publikaci

Whatever the motive that led the authors of the treatise on the oldest history of the Oder, we often encounter in their works a depiction of the historical landscape far removed from what historical sources allow us to see. When, moreover, a source, which as a credible witness of past times would give the historian a resolute veto, is missing, there is room not only for logical reasoning, but also for the enforcement of a previously prepared concept, or even for fantasy. It must be said that the methods of historical research are also developing and the demands placed on scientific work have changed over the long period of history as a science. Today, we must approach chronicles written in the first half of the 19th century by teachers or pastors, or the works of local history enthusiasts at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, learned treatises by pre-war university professors, or politically engaged studies by members of the interwar intelligentsia. However, it is true for all these works that we cannot ignore them. They constitute an important legacy of the thinking of the time in which they were created, reflecting the characteristic features of the cultural memory of a certain group, in the creation of which they themselves often participated. The following lines will be devoted to selected works whose authors focused their attention on the origins of the city of Oder and its oldest history. Many of them represent historical sources in themselves, some have significantly contributed to the knowledge of history, others would not pass through the sieve of the critical approach of today's researchers.