The Dutch- and German-speaking Division of UNGEGN (DGSD) invites scholars, practitioners, and community researchers to the GeoNames Symposium 2026 on 12–13 October 2026 in Hermagor, Carinthia, Austria. The meeting focuses on microtoponyms - names for smaller, highly local features such as field strips, pastures, springs, solitary farmsteads, stones, and ditches - viewed as a vital strand of intangible cultural heritage. Participation is free, and the conference language is English.
Why microtoponyms, why now?
Microtoponyms form the most intimate layer of the namescape in rural, agro-pastoral regions. They compress local knowledge - land use, ecology, memory - minto “condensed narratives” that reveal both the feature described and the cultural–economic world of the name-givers. Yet this category is at risk of disappearing, especially in the Global North, as industrial and service economies consolidate the fine-grained patchwork of fields and commons into larger units. Capturing these names from elder informants is often a last chance to document practices that once guided orientation, resource management, and safety at sea or on land.
Themes and subthemes
The symposium welcomes case studies, methods, and theory across (non-exhaustive) lines such as: theoretical foundations of place names as heritage; regional survey results; naming motives preserved in microtoponyms; challenges of standardization; and strategies to preserve traditional microtoponyms in increasingly urbanized settings.
A full week of toponymic exchange
GeoNames 2026 is organized under the auspices of UNGEGN DGSD (Chair Peter Jordan) with support from the Austrian Board on Geographical Names (Chair Roman Stani-Fertl), the ICOS Working Group on Toponymy, the Joint ICA/IGU Commission on Toponymy, and the Municipality of Hermagor-Pressegger See. It will be paired with two 2-day UNGEGN meetings - the Working Group on Place Names as Cultural Heritage and the Working Group on Exonyms - creating a full week of synergistic events. An optional excursion will visit the nearby Val Canale / Val Cjanȃl / Kanalska dolina / Kanaltal, noted for its quadrilingual linguistic landscape.
Where & how to get there
The venue - Alpen Adria Hotel & Spa - sits in an alpine valley near a lake, with an hourly train station just behind the hotel. Hermagor is roughly one hour from Klagenfurt Airport (connections via Vienna) and two hours from Graz (connections via Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich).
Accommodation & catering
A preferential full-board group rate is available (breakfast, coffee breaks, lunch, dinner, spa access): €149/night (double) or €169/night (single) for 11–17 October 2026, bookable directly with the hotel until end of April 2026. Participants may also arrange their own lodging in the wider area. (Note: organizers cannot cover travel/accommodation costs, except for a municipal dinner on 13 October.)
How to participate & submit
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Who can attend? Open to DGSD members, all UNGEGN members, and the broader onomastics community. No fee.
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Abstracts: Email the form (included in the circular) to peter.jordan@oeaw.ac.at by 31 January 2026 with author, title, and an abstract (~200 words). Registration without a paper is also requested by this date.
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Review & program: Abstract decisions by end of February 2026; a preliminary program follows by end of March 2026. Proceedings will undergo double-blind review and be published as Name & Place, Vol. 10 (eds. to be announced).
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Support for early-career scholars: The Herfried-Berger-Fonds offers travel support to young scientists presenting a paper (see circular for eligibility details).
Key dates (at a glance)
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31 January 2026 – CFP & registration deadline
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End February 2026 – Notification of acceptance
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End March 2026 – Second circular & preliminary program
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End April 2026 – Hotel preferential rate ends
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12–13 October 2026 – GeoNames Symposium (Hermagor, Austria)
If your research touches field-names, pasture-names, micro-landmarks, or the methods and governance of safeguarding local name heritage, GeoNames 2026 offers both on-site exchange and a peer-reviewed publication pathway. It’s the right place to bring surveys, corpora, community documentation projects, and policy perspectives into conversation and to help secure this delicate layer of our shared namescape for future generations.
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