This project examines the translational life of two cities of the Habsburg empire, as they experience the end of Habsburg rule and take on their new identities as national cities during a period of prolonged political turbulence. Both Trieste and Czernowitz saw the flourishing of a rich literary culture, which included a culture of mediation. This study examines the role of German (Czernowitz) and Italian (Trieste) as languages marked by mediations with a variety of other tongues. It provides an in-depth portrait of the translational culture of these cities from the declining years of the empire until the Second World War and its aftermath—with a view to understanding the kinds of cultural diversity which were nourished by the multilingualism of these cities.