'Secure the Independence of the Traveler as Far as Possible': Baedeker Guidebooks and Travel to the Russian Empire

• In Event: In the Traveler’s Eyes: German and Russian Travelers in the 19th-20th Century

Abstract

In 1861, Prussian and Imperial Russian railroad companies connected their networks. These new linkages speeded up travel, reduced costs, and created travel opportunities for the affluent parts of the population. The paper examines tourists’ trajectories from Prussia/Germany to the Russian Empire and how travel guidebooks like the Baedeker shaped travelers’ experiences, creating images of the “Self” and the “Other” that were instrumental in nation-building processes.

Author

• Jan Musekamp, German Historical Institute Warsaw (Poland)