"Eine Kettenbrücke über einen Meeresarm"

Name of traveller

Anonymous

Date of travel

undated, ca. late 1820s to early 1830s

Bei dem scheidenden Lichte des Tages glaubte ich in der Ferne ein Gewebe dünner Fäden, wie das Netz einer Spinne, zwischen zwei kleinen Vorgebirgen der beiden Ufer, darüber gespannt zu sehen. Es war wie berühmte Brücke der Menay, eines der prachtvollsten Baudenkmäler der drei vereinigten Königreiche. (Anonymous 335)

Content

• architecture:
  • appraisal of the Menai Suspension Bridge as a marvel of modern architecture
  • description of the construction of the suspension bridge and geological particularities that favoured the construction of the bridge in that location; detailed description of the bridge
• literature: quotes from a Welsh poem by Robin Dhu o Fon (Robert Hughes) (1744-1785) and his vision of a bridge across the Menai Strait
• people: recognition of Thomas Telford (1757-1834) as the architect of the Menai Suspension Bridge and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
• politics: points out that the British Parliament paid £26,577 in compensation to the Plas-isa' family who used to run the ferry service between Bangor ferry and Anglesey
• recreation: journey into Wales undertaken as a day-trip
• terrain:
  • conflation of mainland Wales and England; Anglesey described as separate from England
  • romanticised landscape of north Wales
• transport:
  • modes of travel: mail coach
  • notes the former dangers and difficulties of crossing the Menai Strait by ferry
• click here to read the full account

Nationality of traveller

unknown

Language of publication

German

Gender of traveller

Unknown

Type of publication

essay; travelogue

Citation

Anonymous. "Eine Kettenbrücke über einen Meeresarm." Das Ausland: Ein Tagblatt für Kunde des geistigen und sittlichen Lebens der Völker 6.84 (25 March 1833): 335-6. Print.