Activities
Cultural Events
Please note that registration for many of the side events is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration opens on April 1, 10:00 am. For further details, please see here.
Concert by Baroque Arabesque
Musical Highlight of ICBS 2026
Baroque Arabesque is a musical journey between two worlds – the structured splendor of the European Baroque and the delicate ornamentation of oriental sound art. The project celebrates the beauty of cultural encounter: artful, emotional, timeless.
Registration is required.
Friday, 28 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Auditorium Maximum, University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Conference participants can book a concert ticket via the regular side-events booking link: 15 €.
Concert ticket for the general public: 18 € (buy here)
Maximum participants: 750
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Costumes of Authority: Dress to Impress
A presentation of Re-Created Costumes based on Wall Paintings from the Cathedral of Faras in the Collections of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum.
Royal and ecclesiastical costumes from medieval Nubia reveal how clothing signaled rank, power, and Byzantine influence. The project Costumes of Authority (University of Warsaw) investigates these visual codes and Church–State relations in Makuria. Live presentations of reconstructed costumes offer a vivid glimpse into Nubia’s language of authority.
The presentation is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Auditorium Maximum, University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Maximum participants: 750
Market of Beautiful Things
A Market full of Inspiration, Craftsmanship, and Special Encounters
The Market of Beautiful Things is a place to wander, marvel, and discover: handmade pieces, fine foods, and objects with history and character, held at the University of Vienna, where those who love fine craftsmanship and special finds will feel right at home and meet people who create with passion.
The market is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Friday, 28 August 2026, 1.30 – 7.00 pm
Saturday, 29 August 2026, 1.30 – 7.00 pm
Venue: University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Theatron—Experience Byzantine Texts Live
Live Performances inspired by the Literary Traditions of Byzantium
Members from all of the Congress’ national committees may join us for our first International Theatron, designed to highlight the many works of the Byzantine Empire that have inspired us. All languages—Ancient, Medieval, or Modern—and all genres are welcome; provisionally, think in terms of a maximum of 5-minute presentation for each performer.
Registration is required.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 7.30 – 8.30 pm
Venue: Lecture Hall 21, University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Choir of the Metropolis of Austria
Concert of Byzantine Hymns
This Concert, presented within the framework of the Byzantine Congress, marks the 1600th anniversary of the Akathistos Hymn. Selected chants from ist liturgical office are performed by the Byzantine Choir of the Holy Metropolis of Austria, highlighting their liturgical and theological significance.
The presentation is freely available to both conference participants and the general public.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 6.00 – 7.00 pm
Venue: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
The Emperor’s New Dice. Exploring Byzantium and Beyond on the Game Board
Immersive Experience of Byzantine History
How about helping Emperor Constantine to build his new capital at the Bosporus? Or would you like to organise a school of translators between Greek, Syriac, Persian and Arabic? Explore Byzantium and Beyond from a new perspective with board games on historical topics from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period.
The event is freely available to conference participants.
Friday, 28 August 2026, 1.30 am – 7.00 pm
Saturday, 29 August 2026, 1.30 am – 7.00 pm
Venue: University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Film Screening of “Nikolaos Doumbas (1830-1900): A Greek from Western Macedonia, Reformer of Vienna”
(Original Greek Version, No Subtitles)
Accompanied by an Introduction on the History of Greeks in Vienna, curated by Dr. Anna Ransmayr
The film deals with the role of Nikolaos Doumbas, (descendant of a Greek merchant family from Macedonia) as a patron of urban architecture, fine arts and music in Vienna in the 2nd half of the 19th century. (Anna Ransmayr: Introduction on the history of the Greek merchant settlement in Habsburg Vienna, 18th-19th centuries.)
Registration is required.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 7.30 – 9.00 pm
Venue: Lecture hall, Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies (2nd floor), Postgasse 9, 1010 Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 0 €
Maximum participants: 40
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Film Screening of Menandros & Thaïs”
(Original Version with English Subtitles)
Followed by a Discussion with Director and Author Ondřej Cikán
A beautiful bride. A broken hero. A surreal odyssey. Thaïs is kidnapped by pirates during her wedding to Menandros. In his search for her, the bridegroom transforms into a bloodthirsty monster, his horse grows wings, a witch promises him to another woman, King Xerxes has him castrated, and yet in the end everything turns out happily. Truly happily?
Further information can be found at www.menandros.cz
Registration is required.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 8.00 – 11.00 pm
Venue: BURG KINO, Opernring 19, 1010 Vienna
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 10,50 €
Maximum participants: 30
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Building Byzantium’s Future in the Humanities
Panel Discussion
In the study of the humanities, Byzantium is occupying an ever increasing role. The ICBS 2026 demonstrates the vibrant interactions between Byzantine Studies and other fields of inquiry.
Given the rapidly changing world of the 21st century, this panel seeks to sketch out how Byzantine studies can thrive in decades to come.
Scholarship in all fields is experiencing major transformations. Artificial intelligence has rapidly increased the availability of knowledge about past societies, while amplifying current power dynamics. Polarizing political and religious movements build exclusionary identities with recourse to the medieval past, while armed conflict destroys cultural heritage. Addressing current political, social and economic challenges absorbs the resources of many governments, while funding for the Humanities is in decline and their educational value is constantly questioned.
This panel brings together different voices to share their views and experiences in making Byzantium relevant within societal, cultural and academic contexts.
Registration is required.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 5.30 – 7.00 pm
Venue: University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 0 €
Maximum participants: 190
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Byzantine Chant
Experience Byzantine Chant Firsthand and Explore it in an Interactive Workshop
This workshop presents the major historical milestones of Byzantine paltic art: from the earliest musical notations in liturgical texts, through the first fully systematized New Method established by Patriarchal decree in 1814. it also introduces basic music theory linked to text and melismatic compositions, with practical neume-reading and chanting. No prior experience is required.
Registration is required.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 5.00 – 6.30 pm
Venue: University of Vienna
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 12 €
Maximum participants: 30
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Book Presentations
Book presentations will complement the academic program. Further information will follow.
Cancellation conditions
A refund of the registration fee is not possible at any time after registration has been completed.