Vision
HISTONETICA is a long-term, public-interest-oriented research project. Its aim is to establish an open, relational research space for the investigation of historical knowledge relations.
At its core lies a relational database in which historical texts, sources, and metadata are not captured in isolation, but systematically interconnected. They are accessible as full texts, consistently referenced to their originals, and analysable within their historical, social, and institutional relationships.
HISTONETICA conceives of knowledge as a networked structure. Meaning does not arise from individual documents alone, but from their relations to one another—between people, places, institutions, concepts, and discourses. The objective is to make these interconnections visible and accessible for research across national, linguistic, and disciplinary boundaries.
A central aspiration is the democratisation of research—not through simplification, but through accessibility. Historical texts are intended to become usable in multiple languages, supported by AI-based translation, without replacing or altering the original. Research can thus be conducted in the respective working language while remaining transparently linked to the source.
HISTONETICA is a non-profit project. It does not pursue commercial aims and does not seek to claim ownership of archival holdings or to publish them without restriction. Its purpose is to enable research across institutional, national, and linguistic boundaries within a protected, research-oriented framework.
The research space is also conceived as a social process. Wherever possible, research is to be designed inclusively, enabling people with different abilities to participate in the exploration, structuring, and analysis of historical data. Scholarly quality, social responsibility, and inclusivity are understood as mutually reinforcing principles.
HISTONETICA approaches historical research as a collective, social process of knowledge production—beyond institutional, linguistic, and national boundaries.
Development
Active Research Infrastructure
Current work on HISTONETICA focuses on the operation and further development of two complementary relational database systems that enable distinct yet mutually reinforcing approaches to historical research.
HISTONETICA Archive
The HISTONETICA Archive constitutes a relational research space for historical texts and sources. Texts are captured as full texts, permanently referenced to their originals, and systematically made relationally analysable within their historical, social, and institutional contexts.
The primary focus lies on the text-based exploration, analysis, and contextualisation of historical knowledge relations.
Relational Research Database (Institutional Processes)
In parallel, a relational research database is operated that models concrete historical working and organisational processes. It includes, among other data, information on acquisition, lending and borrowing practices, as well as institutional relationships of the herbaria of the University of Vienna (WU) and the Natural History Museum Vienna (W). Here, the focus is on structural and institutional relationships and long-term process dynamics.
Both systems pursue different methodological approaches, yet are functionally coordinated and used in parallel. In combination, they enable the analysis of historical knowledge relations both on a text-based level and on a structural–institutional level, thereby forming the central operational framework of HISTONETICA’s current research activities.
Application, Testing, and Expansion
Building on the existing, fully functional research and system foundation, the next stages of work focus on the application, testing, and targeted expansion of the infrastructure within the framework of concrete research projects.
A central emphasis is placed on the practical use of the developed software and analytical environment in pilot-based research projects. Only through real-world application—from the processing of historical manuscripts to relational modelling, search, analysis, visualisation, and scholarly publication—can workflows be validated, optimised, and methodologically secured.
Planned areas of work include:
Development of complementary software components, in particular for model-based handwriting recognition and the training of custom models for historically and linguistically demanding scripts
Preparation and implementation of initial pilot-based research collaborations, within which the existing infrastructure is applied, tested, and further developed on a project basis
Testing and consolidation of complete research workflows, from automated processing of historical sources through relational analysis to the publication of results
Consolidation and selective expansion of the technical infrastructure, including hardware and system components, to sustainably support data-intensive research processes
Establishment of robust personnel and organisational structures to enable the continued development of the project beyond individual capacity limits
This phase marks the transition from the development of individual components to the systematic application of the infrastructure in real research contexts and forms the basis for the sustainable, cooperative further development of HISTONETICA.
Project Activities & Milestones
2026
Publication of the HISTONETICA website as the central project and communication platform
Publication of the Concept Paper as the methodological and conceptual foundation of HISTONETICA
2025
Establishment of the non-profit association HISTONETICA
Development and commissioning of an independent technical research environment
Elaboration and consolidation of the HISTONETICA concept as a long-term research infrastructure
2024
Start of the doctoral project (University of Vienna), using and further developing the existing relational research infrastructure
Completion of the Master’s degree (University of Vienna)
2023
Submission of the Master’s thesis (University of Vienna)
Beginning of the systematic development of relational data holdings as the methodological starting point of the later infrastructure
Core Work Processes
The milestones listed above are based on extensive conceptual, technical, and organisational work processes, including:
Conceptualisation and elaboration of the relational research approach
Development and implementation of software-based modules for data modelling, enrichment, and analysis
Establishment and operation of an independent Linux-based research environment
Development, structuring, and maintenance of relational data holdings
Documentation and writing of methodological and conceptual foundations
Conceptual design, visual design, and technical implementation of the HISTONETICA website
Preparation of scholarly publications and public project communication