Josef Redlich, liberal scholar in the times of crisis

This thesis covers the personality of Josef Redlich, a university professor and a member of the House of Deputies of the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Council representing Moravia, who was appointed the Austrian Minister of Finance at difficult times. His extensive estate allows us to understand the Austrian society and follow its social transformation. The purpose of the research project focused on Josef Redlich is to provide a comprehensive analysis of social phenomena in the years 1848-1918, which led to the disintegration of the monarchy and the establishment of individual republican states. The thesis comprises three story lines. The first part of the thesis, conceived from the perspective of cultural history, seeks to find a link between the birth of the modernist movement and the rise and fall of the liberal regime in Austria- Hungary. It describes the rise of the bourgeois class, the Jewish patriarchy and the Redlichs, a South Moravian business family, together with the story of Josef Redlich. It also presents the relation of bourgeoisie to art and its role of the bearer of cultural and social transformation in the 19th century. Based on the study of the results of Austrian researchers and recognised personalities from the field of cultural history, the thesis aims to introduce social changes..