The perception of identity through urban toponyms in the regional cities of Slovakia

Abstract

This work largely deals with the practical possibilities of the analysis of urban toponyms and their interpretation, which may be appealing in the field of multidisciplinary studies of sociology, history and geography. Our ambition has been to attempt to verify the statement that the names of streets, squares or parks in the historical centre of cities serve as indicators of official views and ideological impressions on the political, social and historical events, in the context of Central Europe. This study analyses the current network of streets in the historical centre of Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín, Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Žilina, Košice and Prešov. We will attempt to define basic tendencies in the process of nomenclature of streets, while we pay attention to their thematic focus. The study aims to determine the intensity of local, regional and national identity, based on geographical research, at the model territory of the historical centre of cities, through the names of streets and squares in the eight regional cities.