Lost Cities: Perception of and Life with Abandoned Cities in the Cultures of the World
The Gerda Henkel Foundation’s Lost Cities grant funds interdisciplinary research on how abandoned cities are culturally perceived, interpreted, and used across different societies and historical periods.
Funder: Gerda Henkel Foundation
Due Dates: May 19, 2027: Application deadline
Funding Amounts: Up to three scholarships per research group (PhD: €1,920/mo, Postdoc: €2,760/mo, Senior: €3,720/mo) plus travel and materials; max duration 36 months.
Summary: Funds interdisciplinary research groups exploring how abandoned cities are perceived, interpreted, and used culturally across societies and eras.
Key Information: Only research groups (min. 2 scholars) are eligible; no individual or overhead funding.
Description
This special programme from the Gerda Henkel Foundation supports interdisciplinary research groups investigating the cultural perception, interpretation, and instrumentalisation of abandoned or "lost" cities across different societies and historical periods. The focus is not on the causes of urban abandonment, but on how such cities are understood, codified, and utilized in memory, identity, critique of progress, and the construction of mythical or sacred landscapes. Projects should situate current urban transformation and abandonment within broader historical and cultural contexts, examining regionally and temporally specific interpretations of lost cities.
