"Auszüge aus reisebeschreibenden Briefen des vorletzten Grafen von Purgstall"

Name of traveller

Gottfried Wenzel von Purgstall (1773-1812)

Reason for travel

• travelling as cultural tourist, self-improvement

Date of travel

September 1796

Der Anblick der gutmüthig mich angaffenden Kuh, und das ganze Bild war mir so unerwartet, daß ich lange vor der Kuh stehen blieb; die Bauersfrau kam näher, ich redete sie an, sie sprach gebrochen englisch, und mit dem den Leuten dieser Gegend eigenen Accent, der ganz wie der eines Ausländers ist. (Purgstall 117)

Content

• agriculture: impressed by profitability of sheep breeding and ponders keeping sheep at home in Austria
• architecture:
  • interested in ruined churches and castles
  • greatly impressed by William Edwards's (1719-1789) newly constructed bridge in Pontyprydd
• art: includes a simple line sketch of the bridges at Devil's Bridge Falls
• clothing: near Cardigan meets a farmer's wife in her country dress, tending to the cows in the field
• customs:
  • describes a church service delivered in English in Cardigan
  • points to the frequent employment of harpists in hotels; encounter with a blind harpist in a hotel in Caernarfon
• diet: salmon and mutton are a staple of his diet during the journey
• history:
  • some notes on the history of various ruins
  • notes on the historical background of St Winifred's Well
• industry:
  • takes a guided tour around one of the Crawshay iron works in Merthyr Tydfil and describes a steam engine in operation; inspection of copper works near Swansea and copper mines on Anglesey; inspection of the Llechryd tin works near Cardigan; visits brass works and a woollen mill in Holywell
  • gloomy aspect of the black coal tips
  • notes a natural abundance of resources in Wales
• language:
  • points out that the Welsh language is entirely different from English
  • compares the melody of the Welsh language to that of Slavic languages in Austria
  • accented English spoken by the Welsh sounds foreign
• people:
  • meets with Richard Crawshay (1739-1810) in Merthyr Tydfil and Benjamin Hammet (c.1736-1800) near Cardigan
  • finds similarities of character between the Welsh and the Austro-Slavic populations; finds the Welsh suspicious of strangers, servile and with contempt for their English betters
• recreation:
  • frequently lists names of various inns and some prices for accommodation; notes that similar services in England cost twice as much
  • touristic exploration of a great number of country estates and identifies their names and owners; mentions entrance fees
  • mention of sea bathing in Swansea; visits the theatre
  • longer stay in Aberystwyth because he has to wait for a new delivery of money; references summer tourism for the purpose of sea bathing
• terrain:
  • many detailed, romanticised landscape descriptions
  • appreciates the harmony of landscape and ruins, but frequently passes disparaging remarks on the towns in south Wales
  • appreciates north Wales for its wilderness and rough, sublime character
  • frequent descriptions of the sea and coast as a spectacle, especially in stormy weather
  • Aberystwyth as entrance to north Wales
• transport:
  • modes of travel: boat; chaise; horse; on foot; stagecoach
  • uses the ferry services across the Severn, the Menai Strait and at Conwy
  • lists some costs for various routes and types of transport; regrets comparatively high cost of travelling by chaise
  • increasingly bad service provided for individual travellers further west into south Wales; trouble with the horses
  • good road conditions leading from the Severn to Chepstow
• click here to read the full account

Nationality of traveller

Austrian

Language of publication

German

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

letters

Citation

[Purgstall, Gottfried Wenzel von]. "Auszüge aus reisebeschreibenden Briefen des vorletzten Grafen von Purgstall." Denkmal auf das Grab der beyden letzten Grafen von Purgstall. Ed. Joseph von Hammer[-Purgstall]. Wien: Anton Strauß, 1821. 1-166. Print.