Memories of meeting places in Prague in the Autobiographies of Else Kornis and Charlotte Herder

This paper explores the autobiographies of Else KoRNis (1889-1983), daughter of a Jewish merchant, and Charlotte HERDER (1872-1959), daughter of a Catholic professor, both living in Prague in the years around 1900. Based on a larger concept of the construction of space, the focus lies on contact zones. At first, the biographical background of the authors is presented, and their different contexts of publishing are described. Both factors influence the representa-tion and selection of recollections. Then it is shown, how the authors used the Czech language for constructing social contacts. The analysis shows where these contacts took place in daily life by three types of contact zones, i.e. flats, a public school, and caf & eacute;s. The autobiographies show the complexity and multifunctionality of these spaces.