The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk (mostly known as The Good Soldier Švejk) by Jaroslav Hašek is a novel that contains a wealth of geographical references - either directly through the plot, in dialogues or in the author's narrative. Hašek was himself unusually well travelled and had a photographic memory of geographical (and other) details. It is evident that he put a lot of emphasis on geography: Eight of the 27 chapter headlines in the novel contain geographical names.
This web site will in due course contain a full overview of all the geographical references in the novel; from Prague in the introduction to Klimontów in the unfinished Part Four. Continents, states (also defunct), cities, market squares, city gates, regions, districts, towns, villages, mountains, mountain passes, oceans, lakes, rivers, caves, channels, islands, streets, parks and bridges are included.
The list is sorted according to the order in which the names appear in the novel. The chapter headlines are from Zenny Sadlon's recent translation (1999-2008) and will in most cases differ from Cecil Parrott's translation from 1973.
The quotes in Czech are copied from the on-line version of The Good Soldier Švejk: provided by Jaroslav Šerák and contain links to the relevant chapter. The toolbar has links for direct access to Wikipedia, Google maps, Google search, svejkmuseum.cz and the novel on-line.
The names are coloured according to their role in the novel, illustrated by these examples: Sanok a location where the plot takes place, Dubno mentioned in the narrative, Zagreb part of a dialogue, and Pakoměřice mentioned in an anecdote.
I. In the rear | |||
4. They threw Švejk out of the madhouse |
England | |||||
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England is first mentioned indirectly at Blázinec where the inmates could pretend to be King of England without any repercussions.
Later England appears c couple of times through the propaganda expression Gott strafe England.
Apart from this there are very connection to England in The Good Soldier Švejk. Amongst the few references are London, Sir Edward Grey, Shrapnel, Dalton, Darwin, Yorkshire (pig) and the Country Life magazine.
Background
England was in 1914 centre of the British Empire, the largest colonial power the world has ever seen. The empire entered the war on 4 August, through the alliance with France and Russia (the Entente), provoked by the German attack on Belgium. The declaration of war on Austria-Hungary followed on 12 August.
There was only limited fighting between British and Austro-Hungarian forces as the former mostly operated on the Western Front, in the Middle East, in the colonies and on the seas. By the end of 1914 allmost all the German colonies had been conqured. The British Empire's economic power and its control of the seas were crucial to the outcome of the war. Particularly effective was the naval blockade of the Central Powers.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.4] Člověk se tam může vydávat za pánaboha nebo za panenku Marii, nebo za papeže, nebo za anglickýho krále, nebo za císaře pána, nebo za sv. Václava, ačkoliv ten poslední byl pořád svázanej a nahej a ležel v isolaci.
[I.8] Baronka zatím vytahovala dárky z koše. Tucet pečených kuřat, zabalených do růžového hedvábného papíru a ovázaných černožlutou hedvábnou stužkou, dvě láhve nějakého válečného likéru s etiketou „Gott strafe England!“
[I.14.5] Francie, Anglie i Rusko jsou příliš slabé proti rakousko-turecko-německé žule.
[I.14.5] Pro chmel je nyní ztracena Francie, Anglie, Rusko i Balkán.
[II.3] Bylo jen slyšet, že zástupce vlády, když už byl po krk ve vodě, vykřikl: Gott strafe England!
[II.3] K nim přistupovaly dámy a rozdávaly jim perník s cukrovými nápisy „Sieg und Rache“, „Gott strafe England“, „Der Österreicher hat ein Vaterland. Er liebt’s und hat auch Ursach für’s Vaterland zu kämpfen.“
Also written:Anglie cz Angleterre fr
Literature
- Gott strafe EnglandJaroslav Hašek15.10.1917
- Gott strafe England!6.5.1915
- Jak se loučil podivně se starým rokem 1728 starý sir ArchibaldJaroslav Hašek23.12.1912
Krkonoše | |||||
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Krkonoše is mentioned when it is revealed that a professor at Blázinec claimed that the cradle of the gypsys was in these very mountains.
Background
Krkonoše is a mountain range on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic, in 1914 the border between Austria-Hungary and Germany. The name is very old, was mentioned by Ptolemaios, and may be of indo-european origin. The interpretation of the name has been preserved, and the latin name was Gigantei montes. These are the highest mountains in Czechia, Sněžka reaches 1602 metres above sea level.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.4] Taky jsem se tam sešel s několika profesory. Jeden s nich pořád chodil za mnou a vykládal, že kolíbka cikánů byla v Krkonoších, a ten druhý mně vysvětloval, že uvnitř zeměkoule je ještě jedna mnohem větší než ta vrchní.
Also written:Giant Mountains en Riesengebirge de Karkonosze pl
Jaroměř | |||||
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Jaroměř is mentioned when Švejk, during his interrogation, list the songs he knows. Immediately after he is thrown out of Blázinec. This song, Když jsme táhli k Jaroměři, is mentioned twice more in the novel.
Background
Jaroměř is an old town near Hradec Králové in eastern Bohemia. Today (2017) the town has around 12,000 inhabitants.
The song
The military song the Švejk sings twice and mentions once during the plot is said to have been on of Hašek's favourites and is also mentioned in one of his short stories, Sportovní fejeton from 1911. According to Václav Pletka it was originally was called Když jsme táhli k Ostroměři, indicating that the origin was from the 1866 war with Prussia. The song has over the years appeared in many guises, some of them pretty vulgar.
Demography
According to the 1910 census Jaroměř had 8,213 inhabitants of which 8,026 (97 per cent) reported that they used Czech in their daily speech. The judicial district was okres Jaroměř, administratively it reported to hejtmanství Dvůr Králové nad Labem.Jaroměř hosted a parish and a post office.
Source:Seznam míst v království Českém(1913)
Military
In accordance with the recruitment districts infantrymen from Jaroměř were usually assigned to Infanterieregiment Nr. 18 (Königgrätz) or k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 11 (Jičin). In 1914 one of the three battalions of k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 11 were garrisoned in Jaroměř. Of the inhabitants in the town 181 were listed as military personnel, a number explained by the proximity to the garrison town Josefov.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.4] „Znám ještě první sloku z ,Kde domov můj’ a potom ,Jenerál Windischgrätz a vojenští páni od východu slunce vojnu započali’ a ještě pár takových národních písniček jako ,Zachovej nám, Hospodine’ a ,Když jsme táhli k Jaroměři’ a ,Tisíckrát pozdravujeme Tebe’...“
[II.1] Když jsme táhli k Jaroměři, ať si nám to kdo chce věří...
[III.4] Když jsme táhli k Jaroměři, ať si nám to kdo chce věří, přišli jsme tam asi právě k večeři...
Sources: Jaroslav Šerák
Literature
Salmova ulice | |||||||
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Salmova ulice is first mentioned at the end of [I.4] when Švejk was sent to the police station in this street after being thrown out of the madhouse. Here he encounters the brutal inspector Inspektor Braun and shares the cell with a good citizen who has ended on a slippery slope after a company party. The date of his stay must be just after 28 June 1914 because Švejk reads the declaration of war as he is escorted onwards to c.k. policejní ředitelství. Nearly all of [I.5] takes place at this police station.
Background
Salmova ulice is the author's way of writing Salmovská ulice, a short and curved street in Praha II., not far from U kalicha. At the time there was a police station at the corner of Ječná ulice (see Policejní komisařství Salmova ulice). The street is named after Franz Altgraf von Salm-Reifferscheid who at the end of the 18th century laid out a large garden behind house No. 506.
Naming conclicts
Why the author used the name Salmova ulice is not clear. The name of the street was changed from Salmova to Salmovská already in 1870 but newspaper adverts show that Salmova was in use well into the interwar years. Thus the name was used side-by-side with the official Salmovská, so the use of Salmova is surely the author's choice (and not a typing mistake).
The wood trader Švejk
Interesting enough an advert from 1891 was placed by a certain Josef Švejk who lived in No. 14. He put beech planks up for sale.
Quote(s) from the novel
[I.4] Švejk prohlásil, že když někoho vyhazují s blázince, že ho nesmějí vyhodit bez oběda. Výtržnosti učinil konec vrátným přivolaný policejní strážník, který Švejka předvedl na policejní komisařství do Salmovy ulice.
Sources: Jaroslav Šerák
Also written:Salmgasse de
Literature
- Verbauung des Salmgarten29.7.1887
- Bukových fošen6.6.1891
- Salmovská: (II.-Nové město)1929
- Hledání Josefa Švejka v archivech
I. In the rear | |||
4. They threw Švejk out of the madhouse |
© 2008 - 2024 Jomar Hønsi | Last updated: 16.3.2024 |