The idea of looking at the architects operating within the cultural framework of the Habsburg Empire, embedded in this book, stems from our previous research. It has its roots in the research on Slavic peripheral narratives, conducted by the Research Group on the Slavic Cultures in the Habsburg Monarchy (http://uwhabsburgstudies.uw.edu.pl/), which has operated since 2011 at the Institute of Western and Southern Slavic Studies of the University of Warsaw. We studied the issue of peripheral attitudes towards both national narratives, created after 1861 by the Slovak, Czech and Croatian elites, and the imperial project imposed by Vienna and Budapest. Faithful to the microlevel approach, we looked at figures, spaces and social phenomena that do not fit into the stereotypical view of national historiography.