Tour from Vienna thro' Moravia and Poland to Warsaw, 1778.

ArchivalResource

Wraxall, Nathaniel William, Sir, 1751-1831. Tour from Vienna thro' Moravia and Poland to Warsaw, 1778.

Tour from Vienna thro' Moravia and Poland to Warsaw, 1778.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702175037

Manuscript, in a single hand, of a travel diary documenting the author's travels through Moravia and Poland, noting landscapes, buildings, and the distinctive dress of the population. The diary begins with a description of Brinn and Olmutz in Moravia, including the cultivation of the land and anecdotes about its kings. In Poland, Wraxall describes Krakow as "far declined from its antient Splendor," where "no care is taken to sweep, or maintain any degree of cleanliness in the city," though he witnesses with great pleasure "the Festivity and Revelry previous to the Marriage of two Polish peasants." When he arrives in Warsaw, he notes regretfully that "Warsaw presents only Opulence and Misery, Magnificence and Poverty, to the view." Included are biographies of the King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, and his family. The diary, with many sections abridged or omitted, constitutes Letters XVII-XXI of the author's "Memoirs of the Courts of Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, and Vienna in the years 1777, 1778, 1779" (London, 1799).

1 v. (100 p.) ; 24 x 19 cm.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library