Thomas Winkelbauer – Doctor honoris causa Feierliche Laudatio, vorgetragen an der Masaryk-Universität am 24. Mai 2006 anlässlich der Verleihung des Ehrendoktorats an Prof. Thomas Winkelbauer

On 24 May 2006, Thomas Winkelbauer was presented with an honorary doctorate at Masaryk University in Brno. On this occasion a laudation was given, summarizing Winkelbauer's work as a historian of the Early Modern Age, as well as his role in establishing contacts between Czech and Austrian historiography. Winkelbauer's main area of interest is the history of the Habsburg monarchy in the 16th and 17th centuries in the widest geographical and methodological contexts. His research and publication activities cover the political, legal, social, economic, cultural and religious history of the period. Thomas Winkelbauer's academic work recently reached a new level with the publication of an extensive synthesis of the history of the Habsburg monarchy "Österreichische Geschichte 1522–1699. Ständefreiheit und Fürstenmacht", which was published as part of a series of "great" histories of Austria. Winkelbauer's office in the historical university building in Vienna’s Ring has become a natural meeting point for historians from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.