Have you ever wondered where masochism comes from? It started during the Habsburg Empire, in Galicia (which used to be a region from eastern Poland to western Ukraine). Leopold von Sacher-Masoch grew up there, raised by his Ukrainian nurse who has had a huge influence on him. She told him Ukrainians tales and sang to… Continue reading The Origin of Masochism, an Unfortunate Writer and Galicia
Category: Stories
People, encounters, places… the best from the Extinguished Countries.
Keeping Galicia’s heritage alive
Galicia is a historical and geographical region in central-eastern Europe, today divided between western Ukraine and eastern Poland. The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was created following the Partitions of Poland starting in 1772 and was under the rule of the Habsburgs. It was an economic resource, a cultural hub and a strategic military region,… Continue reading Keeping Galicia’s heritage alive
Erratic, impulsive, adventurous Sissi
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sissi, is a prominent symbol of the Habsburg Empire. She was an icon in her time and still is nowadays. She has inspired many works of fiction, such as Sissi – The Young Empress (1956) or lately The Empress (2022), which created a fantasy that tends to drift… Continue reading Erratic, impulsive, adventurous Sissi
Austro-Hungarian Feminism
The concept of “feminism” developed in Europe during the 19th century, when the first women’s rights movements emerged. We all know about the Suffragettes movement in the UK founded in 1903 but what about feminism in the Habsburg Empire? We have discussed with Catherine Horel, historian and writer of Multicultural Cities of the Habsburg Empire… Continue reading Austro-Hungarian Feminism
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, the pioneer of hand washing
After the Covid-19 pandemic, you must now know the importance of washing your hands regularly to limit cases of infections. But did you know that the first doctor to discover that it is essential to wash your hands – especially in the medical field – actually did nothing but provoke the wrath of his colleagues,… Continue reading Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, the pioneer of hand washing
Segui i passi dei VIP del XIX secolo a Karlovy Vary
Nel XIX secolo Karlovy Vary e altre città termali ceche attiravano visitatori da tutta Europa. Franz Kafka, Mark Twain, Karl Marx, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe e l’imperatore Francesco Giuseppe hanno tutti visitato il “triangolo termale” della Boemia. Oggi, mentre i trattamenti termali veri e propri devono essere prenotati con largo anticipo, puoi seguire le orme… Continue reading Segui i passi dei VIP del XIX secolo a Karlovy Vary
Follow the steps of 19th-century VIPs in Karlovy Vary
During the 19th century Karlovy Vary and other Czech spa towns drew visitors from all over Europe. Franz Kafka, Mark Twain, Karl Marx, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Emperor Franz Joseph, they all visited Bohemia’s “Spa Triangle”. Today, while you have to reserve actual spa treatments well in advance, you can walk in the footsteps… Continue reading Follow the steps of 19th-century VIPs in Karlovy Vary
The lessons we can learn from the Habsburg Empire
Pieter M. Judson holds the Chair in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century History at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy). He is the author of “The Habsburg Empire: A New History”, published in 2016 and so far translated in 12 languages. We asked him what perception Europeans have of this “extinguished country” and what lessons… Continue reading The lessons we can learn from the Habsburg Empire
The hidden traces of Habsburg Belgrade
The Habsburg Empire tried to conquer Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire several times: in 1688, in 1717, and then again in 1789. 1717 was the only time the Habsburgs retained long-term control over Belgrade, and between 1717 and 1739, Belgrade became the capital of the semi-autonomous Kingdom of Serbia within the Habsburg Empire. Although brief,… Continue reading The hidden traces of Habsburg Belgrade
Opatija: a tale of sea, spas and railways
This article originally appeared in Italian on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Traseuropa. You can find the article here: The birth of tourism in Opatija. In Istria, during the Habsburg period, it was the spas and wellness treatments at local resorts that sprouted tourism. Among the most important localities in the area is Opatija, which soon became… Continue reading Opatija: a tale of sea, spas and railways