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Hovudpersonen

The Good Soldier Švejk

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Institutions

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Mariánská kasárna in Budějovice (Budweis). Until 1 June 1915 it was the home of the Good Soldier Švejk's Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. In 1915 Jaroslav Hašek also served with the regiment in these barracks.

The novel The Good Soldier Švejk refers to a number of institutions and firms, public as well as private. On these pages they were until 15 September 2013 categorised as 'Places'. This only partly makes sense as this type of entity can not always be associated with fixed geographical points, in the way that for instance cities, mountains and rivers can. This new page contains military and civilian institutions (including army units, regiments etc.), organisations, hotels, public houses, newspapers and magazines.

The line between this page and "Places" is blurred, churches do for instance rarely change location, but are still included here. Therefore Prague and Vienna will still be found in the "Places" database, because these have constant coordinates. On the other hand institutions may change location: Odvodní komise and Bendlovka are not unequivocal geographical terms so they will from now on appear on this page.

The names are colour coded according to their role in the plot, illustrated by these examples: U kalicha as a location where the plot takes place, k.u.k. Kriegsministerium mentioned in the narrative, Pražské úřední listy as part of a dialogue, and Stoletá kavárna, mentioned in an anecdote.

Institutions index of institutions, taverns, military units, societies, periodicals ... (286) Show all
I. In the rear
II. At the front
Index Back Forward II. At the front Hovudpersonen

3. Švejk's happenings in Királyhida

Ladann flag
Praha II./1733, Křemencová ul. 13
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lada.png

Lada,15.12.1902

lada1.png

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních, 1910

Lada is briefly mentioned in Švejk's anecdote about negro Kristian. A female teacher wrote poems about shepherds and streams in the forest and published them in Lada. She also fornicated with an Abyssinian king and gave birth to the mentioned Kristian.

Background

Lada was a women's magazine that was published by Karel Vačlena in Mladá Boleslav with Věnceslava Lužická as its Prague-based editor[a]. It was published from 1889 to 1944 and a like-named magazine also appeared from 1861 to 1866. Whether there was a connection between the two is not known but in any case, Švejk definitely referred to the newer publication. In 1910 the magazine was published twice a month.

The magazine did print poems (at times even on the front page) but anything about shepherds and streams in the forest has not been found so far. At present (December 2021), only the year 1902 is publicly available.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Do toho se zamilovala jedna učitelka, která psala básničky do ,Lady’ vo pastejřích a potůčku v lese, šla s ním do hotelu a smilnila s ním. jak se říká v písmu svatým, a náramně se divila, že se jí narodil chlapeček úplně bílej.
References
aAdresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedníchVojtěch Kraus1910
Kateřinkynn flag
Praha II./468, Kateřinská ul. 30
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
katerinky.jpg

15.5.1906 • Pohled na vstupní portál domu čp. 468 v Kateřinské ulici na Novém Městě.

katerinky.png

Kateřinky is mentioned in Švejk's story about negro Kristian. His mother was taken admitted to this asylum when she discovered that the dark skin of her son indeed was real.

It almost certainly the very institution where Švejk himself spent some time before the outbreak of war. See Blázinec.

Background

Kateřinky was the colloquial name of a hospital for the mentally ill in Nové město. The official name was Královský český zemský ústav pro choromyslné v Praze, established in 1822[a]. It had subsidiaries at Na Slupi and Bohnice. These institutions still exist (2021).

Hašek at Kateřinky

Here Jaroslav Hašek spent some time in February 1911 after an apparent suicide attempt, where he tried to jump from Karlův most. Shortly after he was released he printed a story that in part seems related to this episode[b]. Nor is there any doubt that Hašek's stay here inspired the chapter on Švejk at Blázinec.

It has been claimed that this suicide attempt was staged but the fact is that he was hospitalised on 9 February and left on the 27. Hašek actually asked to be allowed to stay at the asylum because he wanted to get rid of his alcohol habits. According to Radko Pytlík the incident was triggered by a domestic quarrel[c].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Tak se z toho pomátla, začala se ptát v časopisech o radu, co je proti mouřenínům, a vodvezli ji do Kateřinek a mouřenínka dali do sirotčince, kde z něho měli náramnou legraci.
Literature
References
aŘivnáčův Průvodce po Praze a okolíFrantišek Řivnáč1881
bPsychiatrická záhadaKarikaturyJaroslav Hašek24.4.1911
cToulavé houseRadko Pytlík1971
Varieténn flag
Karlín/283, Palackého tř. 6
Wikipedia czdeen MapSearch
variete.jpg

Praha moderní i historická ve 250 obrazech, Kočí,1907

variete1.png

Prager Tagblatt,18.4.1912

variete.png

Průvodčí cizinců a jiné satiry z cest i domova, Jaroslav Hašek,1913

Varieté is mentioned in Švejk's story about negro Kristian. Here it regards a case wehere a white lady unexpectedly gives birth to a black child. If this lady had been visiting Varieté on her own to watch a some negro in a game of wrestling one would certainly think certain thoughts.

Background

Varieté was the name of a theatre in Karlín that was opened in 1881. It is this one of the oldest theatres in Prague and is still operating, albeit with the name Karlín Music Theatre[a]. According to the address book from 1907 the official name was Théâtre Variété. Newspaper adverts reveal that they also arranged wrestling games[b].

Wrestling at Varieté

The thematic chain of Varieté-wrestling-negro is a re-use from two of Hašek's pre-war stories. Here the black wrestler is clearly identified as a North American champion with the surname Zipps[c][d]. This makes is straightforward to trace the inspiration for this sequence of The Good Soldier Švejk. In April 1912 Varieté arranged a major wrestling tournament and amongst the participants was the black wrestler Zipps [b].

Jak jsem přemohl černošského obra Zippse ze Severní Ameriky

Docílil snad vynálezce rádia Curie tak krásného výsledku, že německý zápasník Urbach položil se na lopatky za 5 minut? A dovolte ještě jednu otázku. Dostal někdy Svatopluk Čech do takového krásného mostu Skota Rankina, aby z toho mostu přehodil si onoho siláka přes rameno na zem, jako to udělal Zipps, ten šampión Severní Ameriky, o kterém mluvila celá Praha, když vystupoval v řeckořímských zápasech ve Varieté?

Machar si to velmi popletl s tou antickou kulturou. Nejsou to nějaké staré hrníčky, vykopané v Aténách a v Římě, ani básně starých Řeků a Římanů, synové Hélioví zanechali nám jiný, nehynoucí pomník, řeckořímské zápasy ve Varieté, kde z chumelenice hladkých těl vztyčuje se postava slavného zápasníka černocha Zippse, kterému jsem šlápl na kuří oko v Brejškově plzeňské restauraci.

Jaroslav Hašek, Dobrá kopa, 3.5.1912.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ale najednou v nějakém kolenu že se vobjeví černoch. Představte si ten malér. Vy se voženíte s nějakou slečnou. Potvora je úplně bílá, a najednou vám porodí černocha. A jestli před devíti měsíci se šla podívat bez vás do Varieté na atletické zápasy, kde vystupoval nějakej černoch, tu myslím, že by vám to přeci jen trochu vrtalo hlavou.“
References
aHistorie divadlaHudební divadlo Karlín
bThéâtre VariétéPrager Tagblatt18.4.1912
cJak jsem přemohl černošského obra Zippse ze Severní AmerikyDobrá kopaJaroslav Hašek3.5.1912
dPrůvodčí cizinců a jiné satiry z cest i domovaJaroslav Hašek1913
Pražské ledárnynn flag
Praha VII./862, Ostrov Velké Benátky -
Wikipedia cz MapSearch
ledarny.jpg

Branické ledárny s ledovým zálivem

Světozor,1.1.1913

ledarny.png

Národní listy,14.3.1912

Pražské ledárny is mentioned in the conversation between Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek on the way from Mariánská kasárna to Budějovické nádraží. It regards Franz Joseph Land and deliveries to Prague's ice works.

Background

Pražské ledárny was a company that delivered ice to breweries, restaurants, hospitals, dairies, butchers and other enterprises that used ice for cooling purposes. To judge by newspaper adverts it was established in 1884[a] and was privately owned. Owner in 1892 was Ivan Čížek and in 1896 Bernard Lüftschitz is listed as owner. In both cases there were also other ownersdet. The ice works were from located at Štvanice island (also called Velké Benátky).

In 1898 the city had plans to build a new ice plant that was better able to satisfy the growing demand. The plans didnẗ materialise but in 1901 Lüftschitz sold his ice works[c] to a newly formed co-operative company named Společenské ledárny v Praze. It was owned by its customers and in 1908 they had 234 members[d], a number that by 1912 had grown to 299.

In Dolní Krč existed a rival enterprise owned by Tomáš Welz. In 1913 they two companies merged.

New plant

From 1909 to 1911 a new and bigger plant was constructed at Braník south of the city. The construction cost was however so high that the firm went bankrupt, but convertion to a limited company and investment of fresh capital saved it. The new company was registered in 1913 under the name Akciové ledárny v Praze[e]. In 1914 it reported a profit.

The company operated until 1954 and the building is still intact but in need of repair (2021). It was since 1964 been under heritage protection.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Podle statistiky je tam samý led a vyváží se odtud na ledoborcích patřících pražským ledárnám. Tento ledový průmysl je i cizinci neobyčejně ceněn a vážen, poněvadž je to podnik výnosný, ale nebezpečný.
Literature
References
aSägespänePrager Tagblatt12.1.1884
bPrager EiswerkeDer Böhmische Bierbrauer1.11.1898
cGenoßenschafs-Eiswerke in PragBohemia23.1.1901
dSpolečenské ledárny v PrazeČech29.2.1908
eNové české podnikyČeský Lloyd5.7.1913
K.k. Handelsministeriumnn flag
Wien I., Postgasse 8
MapSearch
hanmis.jpg

Nr. 10 (St. Barbara) und Nr. 8 (Handelsministerium).

hanmis.png

Wiener Zeitung,21.9.1912

K.k. Handelsministerium is mentioned in the conversation between Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek on the way from Mariánská kasárna til Budějovické nádraží. The theme is supply of ice from Franz Joseph Land.

Background

K.k. Handelsministerium was the ministry of trade of Cisleithanien and one of nine ministeries[1] in the Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy. It was housed in Postgasse in the centre of Vienna. Secretary of trade from 20 September 1912 was Rudolf Schuster Edler von Bonott[a], an office he held until 30 November 1915[b].

The ministry of trade was one of the heavyweights of its kind in Cisleithanien. Their areas of resposibility including trade, industry, the merchant fleet, mail, telephone, telegraph, customs, and from 1908 worker's welfare and social security[c].

1. Ministerium des/für Innern, Justiz, Unterricht, Finanz, Handel, öffentliche Arbeiten, Eisenbahn, Ackerbau, Landesverteidigung.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nicméně úpravou klimatických poměrů, na které má velký zájem ministerstvo obchodu i zahraniční ministerstvo, je naděje, že budou náležitě využitkovány velké plochy ledovců.

Also written:R.I. Trade Ministry en C.k. ministerstvo obchodu cz

References
aAmtlicher TeilWiener Zeitung21.9.1912
bAmtlicher TeilWiener Zeitung1.12.1915
cGrégrova příručkaJosef Kafka1912
K.u.k. Außenministeriumnn flag
Wien I., Ballhausplatz 2
Wikipedia deen MapSearch
ausmis.jpg

Ballhausplatz 2

ausmis.png

Wiener Zeitung,19.2.1912

K.u.k. Außenministerium is mentioned in the conversation between Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek on the way from Mariánská kasárna til Budějovické nádraží. The theme is supply of ice from Franz Joseph Land.

Background

K.u.k. Außenministerium (officilally k.u.k. Ministerium des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Äußern) was the ministry of foreign affairs for the Dual Monarchy, one of thre three common ministeries (the others were k.u.k. Kriegsministerium and k.u.k. Finanzministerium). It was housed at Ballhausplatz by Hofburg in the centre of Vienna.

Secretary of foreign affairs from february 1912 was Count Leopold Berchtold, an office he held until January 1915. Berchtold played the dominant role in the decision-making process in Vienna that led to war in the summer of 1914[a], and it was he who drafted the 10 point ultimatum to Serbia. Berchtold was succeeded by István Burián.

Not only foreign affairs

As is evident from the full title of the ministry it was not only tasked with running foreign affairs in the classic sense (diplomacy, embassies, consulates, foreign policy etc.). It was even responsible for archives of the Imperial and Royal House (k.u.k. Haus, Hof und Staatsarchiv)[b].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nicméně úpravou klimatických poměrů, na které má velký zájem ministerstvo obchodu i zahraniční ministerstvo, je naděje, že budou náležitě využitkovány velké plochy ledovců.

Also written:I. and R. Foreign Ministry en C. a k. zahraniční ministerstvo cz

Literature
References
aBallhausplatzInternational Encyclopedia of the First World War
bGrégrova příručkaJosef Kafka1912
K.k. Unterrichtsministeriumnn flag
Wien I., Minoritenplatz 5
Wikipedia de MapSearch
untmis.jpg

Palais des Unterrichtsministeriums

untmis.png

Wiener Zeitung,4.11.1911

K.k. Unterrichtsministerium is one of three ministries mentioned by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek in the conversation between him, Švejk and the escort Korporal on the way from Mariánská kasárna til Budějovické nádraží. The theme is the supply of ice from Franz Joseph Land.

Background

K.k. Unterrichtsministerium (officilally k.k. Ministerium für Kultus und Unterricht) was the ministry of culture and education for Cisleithanien. It was housed at Minoritenplatz in the centre of Vienna.

Secretary of Education from 4 November 1911 was Max Hussarek von Henlein[a], a position he held until 1917.

Responsibilities

The ministry was responsible for education (apart from academies for trade, industry and agriculture), the Evangelical Church (Protestant), art, memorials, museums, science academies, meteorological institutes and son on[b].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3]Ministerstvo vyučování, pane kaprále, zbudovalo pro ně s velkým nákladem a obětmi, kdy zmrzlo pět stavitelů...“ „Zedníci se zachránili,“ přerušil ho Švejk, „poněvadž se vohřáli vod zapálený fajfky.“

Also written:I.R. Education Ministry en C.k. ministerstvo vyučování cz

Literature
References
aInlandWiener Zeitung4.11.1911
bGrégrova příručkaJosef Kafka1912
Budějovický hotel (naproti nádraži)nn flag
MapSearch
grandbud.jpg

Český svět, 30.7.1909

budbenes.png

Jihočeské listy, 14.4.1909

budbenes1.png

Fürst Schwarzenberg Jahrbuch 1911

Budějovický hotel (naproti nádraži) (hotel opposite the station) is mentioned when the arrestees Švejk and Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek are escorted to Bud-Nad during the regiment's transfer from Budějovice to Bruck an der Leitha - Királyhida. From the windows of a hotel opposite the station, some ladies waved with handkerchiefs and shouted "Heil!".

Background

Budějovický hotel (naproti nádraži) refers to one of several hotels that were located around the railway station in Budějovice. Opposite the new station were situated Hotel Grand and Hotel Imperial, whereas opposite the old one were Hotel Bahnhof and Hotel Kaiser von Österreich[a]. Following the most direct route from Mariánská kasárna to Budějovické nádraží (the new station) the soldiers would first have arrived by Imperial but this hotel existed from 1924[b] so Grand remains as the obvious alternative. Nor should the two hotels by the old station be ruled out, but these were located further to the south so it is less likely that Hašek had one of these in mind.

Grand Hotel "Beneš"

This hotel opened in 1909 and the owner was Václav Beneš (1860-), an experienced hotel owner who also had managed Hotel U třech kohoutů and Hotel SlunceBudějovické náměstí [c]. Grand was the most modern hotel in the city, equipped with electric lighting, central heating and parking space for automobiles, which was very rare at the time.

Prominent guests often stayed here and one example is Feldmarschall-Leutnant Simon Schwerdtner (see Generalmajor von Schwarzburg) who slept at Grand when he inspected the garrison in Budějovice in April 1915[d]. Other guests were Erzherzog Joseph Ferdinand and Erzherzog Leopold Salvator from the house of Habsburg, noblemen Baron Alfred Rotschild and Duke Ernst August von Cumberland, moreover military notabilities like Andeas Pitlik, Wenzel Wurm and (Arthur Gieslingen).

In 1918 Beneš sold the hotel[e], in 1949 was nationalised and renamed Hotel Vltava, until it in 1989 again became Grand. Today (2022) there is still a hotel and restaurant operating in the building, but according to the reviews at Google the standard is poor.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.2] Byla to pořádná manifestace. Z hotelu naproti nádraží z oken mávaly nějaké dámy kapesníky a křičely „Heil!“ Do „nazdar“ mísilo se „heil“ i ze špalíru a nějakému nadšenci, který použil té příležitosti, aby vykřikl: „Nieder mit den Serben“, podrazili nohy a trochu po něm šlapali v umělé tlačenici.

Sources: Jan Schinko

Literature
References
aHotelyEncyklopedie Českých Budějovic
b"Imperial" - bar a kavárnaJihočeské listy31.10.1924
cPůvodní majitel Grandu načasoval stavbu šikovněJan Schinko1.6.2017
dInspizierungBudweiser Zeitung16.4.1915
eHotelkaufBudweiser Zeitung21.6.1918
K.u.k. Kavallerietruppendivision Nr. 7nn flag
Kraków
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
ktd7.png

Schematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 80)1914

korda.jpg

GdK. Ignaz Edler von Korda

Unteilbar und Untrennbar, Emil Woinovich, 1917

lacina3.png

Wiener Zeitung,25.12.1915

K.u.k. Kavallerietruppendivision Nr. 7 was according to the text of The Good Soldier Švejk the unit where Feldoberkurat Lacina served.

Background

K.u.k. Kavallerietruppendivision Nr. 7 was a cavalry division headquartered in Kraków, reporting to the 1. Korpskommando. The four regiments of the division were scattered across a large area: Dragonerregiment Nr. 10 (Kraków), Ulanenregiment Nr. 2 (Tarnów), Dragonerregiment Nr. 12 (Olmütz) and Ulanenregiment Nr. 3 (Gródek Jagielloński). The division's commander in 1914 was Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz von Korda (1858-1918)[a]. The exact address of the divisonal HQ is not known.

Ludvík Lacina

The direct reason why the division is mentioned in The Good Soldier Švejk is that Ludvík Lacina, the model for Feldoberkurat Lacina was actually assigned to this unit from January 1913 to August 1916. That Jaroslav Hašek knew in such detail where Lacina served indicates that the two knew each other.

Cavalry divisions

At the outbreak of war k.u.k. Heer contained eight cavalry divisions, numbered 1 to 10 where the numbers 5 and 9 were unused. The divisions were organised in one to three brigades. These usually consisted of to Ulan- Hussar- or Dragon-regiments. The cavalry brigades in Bohemia (Prague and Pardubice) were not assigned to any particular division[a].

During the war

From 6 August 1914 the division operated on Russian soil in the area around Kielce, north of Krákow. From May 1915 in the offensive in Russian Poland and in the autumn they operated by the river Styr (Стир) east of Lutsk (Луцьк) in current Ukraine. At the turn of the year, they were stationed by Brody. During the Brussilov offensive (from 4 June 1916) it suffered disastrous losses and was no longer of value as a fighting unit. After reinforcement and recuperation, they were in November 1916 moved to the new front against Romania.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Tak vešli na nádraží a šli k určenému vojenskému vlaku, když málem by byla ostrostřelecká kapela, jejíž kapelník byl vážně popleten nečekanou manifestací, spustila „Zachovej nám, Hospodine“. Naštěstí v pravé chvíli objevil se v černém tvrdém klobouku vrchní polní kurát páter Lacina od 7. jízdecké divise a počal dělat pořádek.
[II.3] Pohlcoval mísy s omáčkami a knedlíky, rval jako kočkovitá šelma maso od kostí a dostal se v kuchyni nakonec na rum, kterého když se nalokal, až krkal, vrátil se k večírku na rozloučenou, kde se proslavil novým chlastem. Měl v tom bohaté zkušenosti a u 7. jízdecké divise dopláceli vždy důstojníci na něho.
[II.3] Dostal nyní nový záchvat velkodušnosti a tvrdil, že všem udělá dobře, jednoročnímu dobrovolníkovi že koupí čokoládu, mužům z eskorty rum, desátníka že dá přeložit do fotografického oddělení při štábu 7. jízdní divize, že všechny osvobodí a že na ně nikdy nezapomene.
References
aSchematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 80)K.k. Hof und Staatsdruckerei1914
12. Kompanienn flag
Search
fk11a.png

12. Feldkompanie reconstituted 11.7.1915.

"Das Infanterieregiment Nr.91 am Vormarsch in Galizien", VHA, 1927.

k12.jpg

Some names from 12. Feldkompanie. These soldiers were decorated on 18.8.1915.

© VÚA/VHA

12. Kompanie is mentioned on the train from Budějovice to Bruck an der Leitha - Királyhida. The author remarked that the company consisted of Germans from Krumlovsko and Kašperské Hory.

In [IV.3] it is revealed that they were commanded by some Kompaniekomandant Zimmermann.

Background

12. Kompanie is not unambiguously identifiable but the numbering indicates that it was meant one of the 16 field companies of Infanterieregiment Nr. 91. This assumption does however have a weakness. The plot at this stage takes place at the replacement battalion in Budějovice whereas the field companies had been fighting at the front since the start of the war. Thus one would assume that the company was an Ersatzkompanie or Marschkompanie. However, this is at odds with the fact that in 1915 these companies were never numbered as high as 12. The march battalions usually consisted of four companies and the reserve battalions rarely more than that.

This contradiction is rather a result of the author of The Good Soldier Švejk didn't bother much about details like the numbering of military units and the logical connection between them. See also 11. Kompanie.

12. Feldkompanie

Throughout the novel Hašek consistently uses the numbering of field companies when he refers to "march companies" or simply "companies". This connection is particulalrly evident with the fictional "11th march company" where not only the number is borrowed from the corresponding field company but also the people in the command hierarchy (Rudolf Lukas, Čeněk Sagner). Thus there is every reason to assume that the same applies to 12. Kompanie. This company was one of four in III. Feldbataillon, the battalion that from 3 July 1915 was commanded by Sagner. The company commander from 11 July was Paul Kandl (1884-?), a reserve lieutenant from Prachatice[b] who propably arrived at the front with XII. Marschbataillon and surely was the commander of one of the battalion's four march companies. The 12th company was probably created directly from one of the four newly arrived march companies.

Jaroslav Kejla

Jaroslav Kejla who was taken prisoner together with Hašek on 24 September 1915 by Choruoan wrote about the four months he served with the company. As opposed to 11. Kompanie they were miserable catered for and parts of their rations were frequently stolen. The soldiers were dirty, exhausted, hungry, lice-ridden, and demoralised and during these four months, Kejla had a bath only once! He explained the difference between the 11th and the 12th company by the fact that the commander of the 11th company, Rudolf Lukas, was on friendly terms with battalion commander Čeněk Sagner and that his company, therefore, were better provided for[b].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Teprve řev z vagonů vzadu přerušil vypravování Švejkovo. 12. kumpanie, kde byli samí Němci od Krumlovska a Kašperských Hor, hulákala: Wann ich kumm, wann ich kumm, wann ich wieda, wieda kumm.
References
aDas Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 am Vormarsch in GalizienVHA1927
bJak to bylo v bitvě u Chorupan kde se dal Jaroslav Hašek zajmoutJaroslav Kejla1972
Svět zvířatnn flag
Smíchov/908, Bělohorská silnice
Wikipedia cz MapSearch Švejkův slovník
svetzvirat.jpg

Svět zvířat, 1.11.1909

svet_zvirat.jpg

Víla Svět zvířat, ~ 1900

Svět zvířat is the theme of the longest anecdote in the entire novel, Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's monologue in the prison carriage on the way from Budějovice to Bruck an der Leitha - Királyhida. He relates in great detail about his experiences as an editor of this magazine.

It started when Hájek, his friend, was fired as editor by the magazine's owner Václav Fuchs after having fallen in love with the owner's daughter. Hájek was also given the task of finding a new editor and he picked Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek who subsequently was interviewed as the prospective editor. He was questioned on his knowledge about animals, if he was capable of cutting and translating from foreign periodicals, from Brehm and his classic "The Life of Animals", and how he envisaged the content of the magazine. Marek answered that he would introduce novelties like "Animals on animals", "The jolly corner" and about "The development from animal to human". Fuchs was convinced and employed Marek. In the beginning it all went well, but dark clouds were soon to gather above the head of the new editor.

The inventive editor Marek however soon hit upon the idea that he ought to contribute even more to zoology than the venerable Brehm had done in his "World of Animals". The creatures from this book were after all well known and would thus be of little interest to the reader. At least this is what the newly appointed editor of the magazine thought. Out of the hat he pulled novel creatures like "The sulphur-bellied whale", "The Icelandic remote bat", "Engineer Khún's flea" etc. This flea would eventually trip up Marek's career at the magazine because it became the theme of a polemic between the newspapers Čech and Čas, where the latter blew the entire story. This incident, in addition to a heated debate with Jos. M. Kadlčák about the name of the jay eventually led to the editor being dismissed and even to Fuchs's premature death.

Background

zvirat0.png

Svět zvířat, 15.8.1910

yorkshire.jpg

Many themes from the magazine found their way into The Good Soldier Švejk

Svět zvířat was a Czech language magazine with a focus on animals that was founded by the rabbit- and dog-breeder Václav Fuchs in 1897. It started as a monthly in Jičín but already in 1898, Fuchs moved to a villa above the Klamovka gardens in Smíchov and here he continued to publish. From 1901 the magazine was issued twice a month. Associated with the magazine and the villa was a kennel (see Psinec nad Klamovkou). The founder and owner Fuchs died in 1911 but the magazine seems to have continued at least until 1923. The best known editors were Karel Ladislav Kukla, Jaroslav Hašek and Ladislav Hájek.

Hašek at Klamovka
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angora.png

Svět zvířat, 22.2.1909

In 1908 the above mentioned Hájek, one of Jaroslav Hašek's closest friends, became chief editor of Svět zvířat. It was he who later that year brought Hašek to Klamovka where he was offered to stay provided that he contributed to the editorial work. Hájek who was in love with the owner's daughter at some stage fell out with his boss and resigned as editor. He had hoped that Hašek would show some solidarity and leave together with him but the "traitor" Hašek instead took over his job[a]. This seems to have happened in January or February 1909. Hájek found a new job as editor of the newspaper Nezavislost in Poděbrady.

According to the police registers Hašek lived in the villa from 4 February 1909 until 28 July 1910[b]. Then he is registered at Smíchov No. 1125, below the Klamovka gardens. Note that these are registered dates and may not necessarily correspond to the actual dates he moved.

Permanently employed

Hašek's engagement with Svět zvířat was only the second time he was permanently employed and this time he lasted somewhat longer, probably around 18 months. He was decently paid and was finally able to convince his future father-in-law that he was worthy of his daughter and would live an orderly life. In the beginning, Václav Fuchs was satisfied with him but became increasingly discontent as his editor spent less and less time in the office. He had also been alarmed by reports on incredible stories about animals that appeared in his magazine. Fuchs drove to Poděbrady and begged Hájek to return. A confrontation with Hašek took place and he asked for mercy and was allowed to stay on for another three months[a]. In the end, he left and started his own dog trade, another short-lived enterprise that is also mirrored in The Good Soldier Švejk. The last story by Hašek appeared on 15 Oktober 1910 and Hájek was in charge again by the same time[c].

Václav Fuchs died in 1911 and the kennel was taken over by František Pober, his son-in-law. Pober already owned the kennel Canisport and now moved to Klamovka, and in effect merged the two firms. The editorial offices were however relocated to Hájek's flat at Ferdinandova třida (now Narodní). In the autumn of 1912, Hašek again stayed with him and also contributed to the magazine. Hájek continued as editor until 1915.

Mystification

Although Hašek wrote the most fantastic stories in Svět zvířat one should be careful in taking the events described in The Good Soldier Švejk at face value. It is highly probable that Hašek at least spiced up the Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story and invented certain details. A systematic comparison of Marek's account of his time as an editor with the actual content of the magazine has to my knowledge never been carried out (2022)[1]. Altogether 33 stories and articles from the magazine have been identified as written by Hašek. Most of them are signed by himself but there are also some signed with a pseudonym or even left unsigned[d]. In addition there are several shorter notes that one assumes he is behind.

The Animal World mirrored in Švejk

With Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story, there is a very direct connection to Hašek's own time as editor in 1909 and 1910, but there are themes from other parts of The Good Soldier Švejk that also can be traced back to the magazine. One of such is no doubt the story about Rittmeister Rotter and his police dogs. Then here are animals like Leonberger (dog), Engadin (goat), Yorkshire (pig), and Angora (cat). However there are so far (January 2024) no signs of the animals that Marek invented, so here Hašek surely mystified his own mystifications.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jednoroční dobrovolník chvíli o něčem přemýšlel a pak se obrátil na zdrceného desátníka: „Jestlipak znáte časopis ,Svět zvířat’?“
[II.3] Jak jsem se vlastně stal kdysi redaktorem ,Světa zvířat’, onoho velice zajímavého časopisu, bylo pro mne nějaký čas hádankou dosti složitou do té doby, kdy jsem sám přišel k tomu názoru, že jsem to mohl provést jen ve stavu naprosto nepříčetném, ve kterém jsem byl sveden přátelskou láskou ku starému kamarádovi Hájkovi, který redigoval do té doby poctivě časopis, ale zamiloval se přitom do dcerušky majitele časopisu pana Fuchse, který ho vyhnal na hodinu pod tou podmínkou, že mu zaopatří redaktora pořádného.
[II.3] Prohlásil jsem, že jsem již velice mnoho přemýšlel o správném vedení takovéhoto časopisu, jako je ,Svět zvířat’, a že všechny ty rubriky a body dovedu plně reprezentovat, ovládaje zmíněné náměty.
[II.3] Vycházel jsem z toho principu, že na př. slon, tygr, lev, opice, krtek, kůň, čuně atd. jsou dávno již každému čtenáři ,Světa zvířat’ úplně známými tvory.
[II.3] Mohu vás ubezpečit, že jsou vůbec čtenáři ,Světa zvířat’ velice zvědaví.
[II.3] Z této nepatrné události vyvinula se veliká polemika mezi ,Časem’ a ,Čechem’, poněvadž ,Čech’ v rozmanitostech ve svém feuilletonu, cituje článek o bleše mnou objevené, prohlásil: ,Co Bůh činí, dobře činí.’ ,Čas’ přirozeně čistě realisticky rozbil celou mou blechu i s velebným ,Čechem’, a od té doby zdálo se, že mne opouští šťastná hvězda vynálezcova a objevitele nových stvoření. Abonenti ,Světa zvířat’ začali se znepokojovat.
[II.3] Můj šéf, pan Fuchs, seděl jako vždy v kavárně a četl krajinské noviny, poněvadž poslední dobou náramně často hledal zmínky o mých poutavých článcích ve Světě zvířat, a když jsem přišel, ukázal na ležící na stole ,Selský obzor’ a řekl tiše, dívaje se na mne svýma smutnýma očima, který výraz měly jeho oči stále poslední dobou.
[II.3] Četl jsem klidně dál: ,Nato jsem od vašeho redaktora ,Světa zvířat’ obdržel dopis nesmírně hrubého, osobního a neomaleného rázu, kde jsem byl nazván trestuhodně ignorantským hovadem, což zasluhuje pokárání důrazného. Tak se neodpovídá na věcné vědecké výtky mezi slušnými lidmi. Rád bych věděl, kdo je z nás obou větší hovado. Snad, pravda, neměl jsem činiti výtky dopisnicí a dopsati listem, ale pro nával práce nevšiml jsem si té malichernosti, ale nyní po sprostém výpadu vašeho redaktora ,Svět zvířat’ vedu na veřejný pranýř.
[II.3] Než to jsou věci vedlejší, ač by zajisté nebylo na škodu, kdyby se váš redaktor ,Světa zvířat’ dříve přesvědčil, komu vytýká hovadinu, nežli nájezd vyjde z pera, třeba je určen na Moravu do Frýdlandu u Místku, kde byl do tohoto článku též odbírán váš časopis.
[II.3] Sojka zůstane sojkou, i kdyby se redaktor ,Světa zvířa’ z toho podě..l, a zůstane to jen dokladem, jak lehkomyslně a nevěcně se leckdys píše, byť by se i on dovolával Brehma nápadně neurvale.

Sources: Ladislav Hájek, Jaroslav Šerák, Radko Pytlík

Also written:The Animal World en Dyreverda no

Notes
1. Update 2023: Some studies have been carried out by Břetislav Hůla and Radko Pytlík, published in Malá zoologická zahrada (1950) and Zábavný a poučný koutek Jaroslava Haška (1973).
Literature
References
aZ mých vzpomínek na Jaroslava HaškaLadislav Hájek1925
bPobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelstvíNAČR1851 - 1914
cČasopis 'Svět zvířat' č. 297Venkov15.10.1910
dBibliografie Jaroslava Haškacomenius-bibl.wz.cz
Časnn flag
Praha II./26, Jungmannova tř. 21
Wikipedia cz MapSearch Švejkův slovník
cas1.png

Čas, 1.1.1910

cas2.png

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních, 1907

cas3.png

Čas,21.8.1913

Čas and Čech are both mentioned in connection with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story about engineer Kún's flea. Marek "invented" the flea during his time as editor of Svět zvířat and Čech printed an article about it in good faith. Čas however understood that something was wrong and revealed the entire invention, causing a sharp polemic in the columns of the two newspapers. Unfortunately this episode turned out to be the beginning of the end for Marek's career at Svět zvířat.

Background

Čas was a newspaper that was founded in 1886 by Jan Erben and supported by a group of so-called realist politicians, amongst them Professor Masaryk and Kramář. From 1901 it was published as a daily. In 1915 it was barred from publishing, a fate that hit many Czech newspapers during the war.

Palaeopsylla Kuniana

It was in August 1913 that the Catholic daily Čech printed a short note about "the geologist engineer Kun who not long ago discovered a flea from ancient times in a piece of amber". The discovery happened by Královec[1], the flea was blind and was named Palaeopsylla Kuniana after the man who discovered it[c].

The first to unravel the story of Kun's flea was Social-Democratic Právo lidu who revealed that the "news" was printed in Svět zvířat (The Animal World) during fasting time four years ago and that the "inventor" of the flea was the humorist Jaroslav Hašek. Drily they observed a new development in Catholic science and that Čech that previously drew knowledge from the Holy Scriptures now turned to The Animal World. The article in Právo lidu was reproduced in several newspapers and one of them was the Realist Party paper Čas[c]. This seems to have alerted Čech as they provided an irate response[e]. The similarities to Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story are thus obvious. The flea-story was even printed in USA where it appeared in several Czech-language newspapers, among them Minnesotské noviny on 11 September 1913.

Mystification

Even though Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story no doubt is inspired by Hašek's experiences as editor of Svět zvířat there are also some differences. The debate between Čech and Čas took place three years after Hašek's dismissal as editor and can as such not have contributed to him losing the job. Nor is it true that Čech wrote that "what God does he does well". The original article in Svět zvířat has to our knowledge never been identified but to judge by the information from Právo lidu it appeared "at masopust (Lenten period) four years ago"[d]. If this is true it would have been published in February 1909. This timing does however seem strange as Hašek had just started editing the newspaper at that time and would surely not have risked any prank straight away.

Lidové noviny tripped up first
floh.png

Neues Wiener Journal,6.1.1911

Recently (2023) it was pointed out by Alena Kráčmarová that Lidové noviny already five days before Čech's mishap had printed the "revelation"[b]. Thus it was not only the clerical mouthpiece that fell into the trap! The two newspapers used the same headline and wording to the letter. The article may also have been published by others but that's a subject for further research.

Palaeopsylla Klebsiana

Still, this is not the entire story. Already in January 1911 appeared an article that largely aligned with the "news" from Lidové noviny and Čech from 1913. In August 1911 a similar item appeared and here the wording in very close to the later Czech version[f].

There is however one glaring difference: the man who discovered the ancient flea was the known geologist Dr. Klebs and not the geologist Kún! The flea was officially named Palaeopsylla Klebsiana[a] and is scientifically recognised. It is exposed in Göttingen.

From Klebs to Kún

How the slightly distorted story found its way to the columns of the two Czech newspapers more than two years later is a mystery but one must assume that a certain prankster from Prague had a finger in it! However, it is impossible that the news could have appeared in Svět zvířat in 1909 because Klebs obviously discovered the flea in 1910. Nor has it been possible to identify any mention of such a flea in the Animal World during the time that Jaroslav Hašek edited the periodical (February 1909 - October 1910), nor in 1913 when he also contributed to the magazine. So when and how the flea metamorphosed from Klebs to engineer Kún remains an enigma.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Z této nepatrné události vyvinula se veliká polemika mezi Časem a Čechem, poněvadž Čech v rozmanitostech ve svém fejetonu cituje článek o bleše mnou objevené, prohlásil: ,Co Bůh činí, dobře činí: Čas přirozené čistě realisticky rozbil celou mou blechu i s velebným Čechem, a od té doby zdálo se, že mne opouští šťastná hvězda vynálezcova a objevitele nových stvoření.

Sources: Alena Kráčmarová

Notes
1. Královec is the Czech name of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), a city by the Baltic Sea.
2. Richard Klebs (1850-1961) was a well known German geologist and an expert on amber.
Literature
References
aEin vorweltlicher BernsteinflohNeues Wiener Journal6.1.1911
bBlecha z dávnověkuLidové noviny12.8.1913
cBlecha z dávnověkuČech17.8.1913
dHaškova blecha a katolická vědaČas21.8.1913
eNovověká kukačka lapajicá pravěké blechyČech22.8.1913
fEin Floh der VorweltNeues Wiener Journal19.8.1911
Čechnn flag
Praha II./200, Pštrossova ul. 15
Wikipedia cz MapSearch Švejkův slovník
cech1.png

Čech, 3.1.1910

cech2.png

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních, 1907

cech3.png

Čech, 17.8.1913

Čech and Čas are mentioned in connection with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story about engineer Kún's flea. Marek "invented" the flea during his time as editor of Svět zvířat and Čech printed an article about it in good faith. Čas however understood that something was wrong and revealed the entire invention, causing a sharp polemic in the columns of the two newspapers. Unfortunately this episode turned out to be the beginning of the end for Marek's career at Svět zvířat.

Background

Čech was a Catholic-oriented daily with strong ties to Strana katolického lidu (The Catholic People's Party). The newspaper was established in 1869 as a weekly but already from 1873 ut was published every working day. During the years 1897 to 1903 it was called Katolické listy. After World War I the circulation fell and in 1937 Čech closed down for good. It was one of the few major Czech newspapers that seems to have never printed any of Jaroslav Hašek's stories. On the other hand the author of The Good Soldier Švejk wrote several satirical pieces directed against the newspaper.

Palaeopsylla Kuniana

It was in August 1913 that the Catholic daily Čech printed a short note about "the geologist engineer Kun who not long ago discovered a flea from ancient times in a piece of amber". The discovery happened by Královec[1], the flea was blind and was named Palaeopsylla Kuniana after the man who discovered it[c].

The first to unravel the story of Kun's flea was Social-Democratic Právo lidu who revealed that the "news" was printed in Svět zvířat (The Animal World) during fasting time four years ago and that the "inventor" of the flea was the humorist Jaroslav Hašek. Drily they observed a new development in Catholic science and that Čech that previously drew knowledge from the Holy Scriptures now turned to The Animal World. The article in Právo lidu was reproduced in several newspapers and one of them was the Realist Party paper Čas[c]. This seems to have alerted Čech as they provided an irate response[e]. The similarities to Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story are thus obvious. The flea-story was even printed in USA where it appeared in several Czech-language newspapers, among them Minnesotské noviny on 11 September 1913.

Mystification

Even though Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's story no doubt is inspired by Hašek's experiences as editor of Svět zvířat there are also some differences. The debate between Čech and Čas took place three years after Hašek's dismissal as editor and can as such not have contributed to him losing the job. Nor is it true that Čech wrote that "what God does he does well". The original article in Svět zvířat has to our knowledge never been identified but to judge by the information from Právo lidu it appeared "at masopust (Lenten period) four years ago"[d]. If this is true it would have been published in February 1909. This timing does however seem strange as Hašek had just started editing the newspaper at that time and would surely not have risked any prank straight away.

Lidové noviny tripped up first
floh.png

Neues Wiener Journal,6.1.1911

Recently (2023) it was pointed out by Alena Kráčmarová that Lidové noviny already five days before Čech's mishap had printed the "revelation"[b]. Thus it was not only the clerical mouthpiece that fell into the trap! The two newspapers used the same headline and wording to the letter. The article may also have been published by others but that's a subject for further research.

Palaeopsylla Klebsiana

Still, this is not the entire story. Already in January 1911 appeared an article that largely aligned with the "news" from Lidové noviny and Čech from 1913. In August 1911 a similar item appeared and here the wording in very close to the later Czech version[f].

There is however one glaring difference: the man who discovered the ancient flea was the known geologist Dr. Klebs and not the geologist Kún! The flea was officially named Palaeopsylla Klebsiana[a] and is scientifically recognised. It is exposed in Göttingen.

From Klebs to Kún

How the slightly distorted story found its way to the columns of the two Czech newspapers more than two years later is a mystery but one must assume that a certain prankster from Prague had a finger in it! However, it is impossible that the news could have appeared in Svět zvířat in 1909 because Klebs obviously discovered the flea in 1910. Nor has it been possible to identify any mention of such a flea in the Animal World during the time that Jaroslav Hašek edited the periodical (February 1909 - October 1910), nor in 1913 when he also contributed to the magazine. So when and how the flea metamorphosed from Klebs to engineer Kún remains an enigma.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Z této nepatrné události vyvinula se veliká polemika mezi Časem a Čechem, poněvadž Čech v rozmanitostech ve svém fejetonu cituje článek o bleše mnou objevené, prohlásil: ,Co Bůh činí, dobře činí: Čas přirozené čistě realisticky rozbil celou mou blechu i s velebným Čechem, a od té doby zdálo se, že mne opouští šťastná hvězda vynálezcova a objevitele nových stvoření.

Sources: Alena Kráčmarová

Notes
1. Královec is the Czech name of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), a city by the Baltic Sea.
2. Richard Klebs (1850-1961) was a well known German geologist and an expert on amber.
Literature
References
aEin vorweltlicher BernsteinflohNeues Wiener Journal6.1.1911
bBlecha z dávnověkuLidové noviny12.8.1913
cBlecha z dávnověkuČech17.8.1913
dHaškova blecha a katolická vědaČas21.8.1913
eNovověká kukačka lapajicá pravěké blechyČech22.8.1913
fEin Floh der VorweltNeues Wiener Journal19.8.1911
Selský obzornn flag
Ostrov u Macochy
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
selsky.png

Selský obzor, leden 1910

selsky1.png

Brněnské noviny, 27.2.1908

Selský obzor is mentioned by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek when he relates about his time as editor of Svět zvířat. The paper's editor, Jos. M. Kadlčák wrote an angry editorial where he rebuffed Marek's renaming of the jay to "walnutter".

Background

Selský obzor (Farming Horizon) was a monthly that was published from 1902 to 1911. It was founded by the farmers Ševčík and Josef Šamalík (from 1907 a deputy in Reichsrat) and was the mouthpiece of Katolický spolek českého rolnictví na Moravě (Catholic Society of Czech Farming in Moravia) of which Šamalík was chairman. The first issue was published in February 1903 in Ostrov u Macochy (35 km north of Brno) where Šamalík lived. By 1907 Jos. M. Kadlčák had become editor of the magazine and the administration had relocated to Brno. The last issue appeared in March 1911.

No editorial in sight

It has not been possible to identify any editorial like the one that Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek talks about in The Good Soldier Švejk. All the issues of Selský obzor have been investigated to no avail, be it before, during or after Hašek's time as editor of Svět zvířat.

It must therefore be assumed that any dispute between Jaroslav Hašek and Jos. M. Kadlčák was in the form of personal correspondence. Perhaps Kadlčák even wrote directly to the magazine's owner Václav Fuchs to make him aware of the excesses of his inventive editor. Another possibility is that Kadlčák wrote in one of the other periodicals of the Catholic Farming Society (Selské hlasy and Zemědelský obzor). Nor have any pictures of jays been identified in Svět zvířat from 1909 or 1910. That said the studies of these volumes have so far not been thorough enough for any firm conclusion to be drawn.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Poslanec Kadlčák odpověděl v ,Selském obzoru’ úvodním článkem. Můj šéf, pan Fuchs, seděl jako vždy v kavárně a četl krajinské noviny, poněvadž poslední dobou náramně často hledal zmínky o mých poutavých článcích ve Světě zvířat, a když jsem přišel, ukázal na ležící na stole ,Selský obzor’ a řekl tiše, dívaje se na mne svýma smutnýma očima, který výraz měly jeho oči stále poslední dobou.
Literature
Country Lifenn flag
London, 20 Tavistock Street (now No. 8)
Wikipedia en MapSearch
countrylife.jpg

© Country Life, 2022

jays.png

© Country Life, 2022

jay.jpg

© Country Life, 2022

Country Life is mentioned by Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek when he relates his time as editor of Svět zvířat. From the English magazine Country Life, he had cut a photo of a jay sitting in a walnut tree and printed it, giving it the title "walnutter", a term he had invented himself. This caused a sharp reaction from Jos. M. Kadlčák, a clerical deputy in Parlament and editor of Selský obzor.

Background

Country Life was an English magazine founded in 1897 by the businessman Edward Burgess Hudson (1854-1936). Originally the name was Country Life Illustrated and the editorial offices were located at 20 Tavistock Street, central London. The magazine pioneered high-quality photos and glossy prints. It was an immediate success and the income permitted Hudson to erect a new building on the same site, a house that until today bears the name Hudson Building. In 1905 the magazine's editorial offices and print works were located here.

In the beginning, Country Life focused on horse racing, golf and other activities that were favourite pursuits amongst the upper classes. Still, it gradually introduced other subjects that were related to lifestyle, nature, and the countryside. The property section was also an important feature and many estates were advertised for sale in its columns. The magazine has been published uninterrupted throughout the years. In 2022 the magazine is located at another address in London.

With regards to Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek's cutting and pasting a picture of a jay sitting in a walnut tree: the archive of Country Life has a collection of photos of jays, dated 1915! The collection is not yet fully digitised so it has not been possible to ascertain from which issue of the magazine Marek (or rather Hašek) may have copied the picture. Nor has it been verified that such a photo ever appeared in Svět zvířat during Hašek's period as editor.

As a curiosity can be mentioned that the current internet issue of Country Life (April 2022) provides an entry by Simon Lester on the jay and other birds in the crow family![a]

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Vystřihl jsem z anglického časopisu ,Country Life’ obrázek nějakého ptáčka, který seděl na ořechu. Dal jsem mu název ořešník, stejně jako bych se nijak logicky nerozpakoval napsat, že pták sedící na jalovci je jalovník, případně jalovice.
Literature
References
aCrows: Everything you need to know about the whole corvid family, from ravens and jackdaws to rooks, magpies, jays and choughsCountry LifeSimon Lester9.4.2022
Tunelnn flag
Praha I./642, Týn 6
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
tunel.jpg

Stehlíkův historický a orientační průvodce ulicemi hlavního města Prahy, 1929

tunel1.png
tunel1.jpg

Tunel from Štupartská, around 1910

tunel.png

Bohemia/E.E. Kisch,8.3.1914

tunel_2022.jpg

Tunel, 2022

© Tunel

Tunel is mentioned by Švejk when he coincidentally talks about orangutangs when the intellectual capabilities of the escorting corporal become the theme of the conversation on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida.

Background

Tunel was a café in Staré město that was located on the ground floor of the building U černého medvěda (At the Black Bear) behind the Týn church. It had two entrances, at Týn no. 6 and Štupartská no. 5. The official address was Týn 6 and in 1910 Františka Janusová (born 1854) was listed as the owner[d]. She moved to this address on 15 March 1907 but registered at another address already on 31 August 1911. Whoever succeeded her at Tunel in 1911 was presumably still managing it in 1914.

Address books confirm the existence of a restaurant in Týn no. 6 in these years: 1884, 1892, 1910, 1936 and 1946. In 2013 the address was occupied by an Indian restaurant and in 2022 there is a Tapas bar on the premises, appropriately named Tunel Restaurant & Tapas bar[c].

Verbotene Lokale

In early 1914 Egon Erwin Kisch published the series Verbotene Lokale (Forbidden Taverns) in the newspaper Bohemia. It describes 11 establishments where soldiers from the Prague garrison were forbidden to enter. Three of these are mentioned in The Good Soldier Švejk: Apollo, U Kocanů and Tunel itself.

In the part of the series that Bohemia published on 15 March 1914, Kisch writes about Im Tunnel. He describes it as the worst of the worst, frequented by street prostitutes, thugs and other individuals from the lower echelons of society. The head waiter was the famous Jarda (Jaroslav), a huge bloke who enforced order at the premises by using brute strength and a bullwhip! Kisch himself witnessed a serious brawl there that was resolved when the landlord and the two waiters intervened, armed with Jarda's strength and the bullwhip. Kisch does not reveal the identity of the landlord.

On 22 April 1913, the military authorities added Tunel to their list of banned establishments but the only surprise for Kisch was that this had not happened even earlier. He also noted that Tunel once had been a decent restaurant and that he himself had enjoyed visiting it together with his fellow students[a].

In 1920 the series was reprinted in his book Die Abenteuer in Prag, collected under the title Konsignation über verbotene Lokale[b]. The story about Tunel was now slightly abridged and the author's Marxist interpretation of society shone through. He even pulls in Das Kapital and Das Kommunistische Manifest! Kisch had also removed the note about himself having frequented Tunel as a student.

E.E. Kisch: Konsignation über verbotene Lokale (1920)

Nun knöpfen wir uns den Kragen ab, denn unser weg führt in jenes der Lokale, das als letztes auf der militärischen Konsignation steht und wohl wirklich das letzte aller Prager Lokale ist. Hier hat die verfaulte unterste Schicht der relativer Überbevölkerung ihr Stammlokal, jene Menschen, die nicht mehr direkt als Opfer der kapitalistischen Akkumulation anzusehehen sind, jene, die Marx im "Kapital" Verbrecher, Verkommenene und Verlumpte, das eigentliche Lumpenproletariat nennt, und vor deren Käuflichkeit zu reaktionären Zwecken das Kommunistische Manifest warnt. Es ist erstaunlich, dass das Nachtcafé "Im Tunnel" (Stupartgasse Nr. 642, Teinhof) erst seit 22. April 1913 verboten ist.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Zajisté,“ potvrdil Švejk, „vám zde nikdo neřek ani slůvka , který byste si mohl nějak křivě vykládat. Vono to vždycky špatně vypadá, když se někdo cítí uraženej. Jednou jsem seděl v noční kavárně v ,Tunelu’ a bavili jsme se vo orangutanech. Seděl tam s námi jeden mariňák a ten vyprávěl, že orangutana často nerozeznají od nějakýho vousatýho vobčana, že takovej orangutan má bradu porostlou chlupy jako... Jako,’ povídá, ,řekněme třebas tamhleten pán u vedlejšího stolu.’ Vohlédli jsme se všichni, a ten pán s tou bradou šel k mariňákovi a dal mu facku a mariňák mu rozbil hlavu flaškou od piva a ten bradatej pán se svalil a zůstal ležet bez sebe a s mariňákem jsme se rozloučili, poněvadž hned vodešel, když viděl, že ho přizabil. Potom jsme vzkřísili toho pána, a to jsme rozhodně neměli dělat, poněvadž hned po svým vzkříšení na nás všechny, kteří jsme přece s tím neměli prachnic co dělat, zavolal patrolu, která nás vodvedla na komisařství. Tam von pořád ved svou, že jsme ho považovali za orangutana, že jsme vo ničem jiným nemluvili než vo něm. A on pořád svou. My, že ne, že není žádnej orangutan. A von, že je, že to slyšel. Prosil jsem pana komisaře, aby mu to vysvětlil. A ten mu to zcela dobrácky vysvětloval, ale ani pak si nedal říct a řekl panu komisařovi, že tomu on nerozumí, že je s námi spolčenej. Tak ho pan komisař dal zavřít, aby vystřízlivěl, a my jsme se zas chtěli vrátit do ,Tunelu’, ale už jsme nemohli, poněvadž nás taky posadili za katr.

Sources: Hans-Peter Laqueur, Egon Erwin Kisch

Literature
References
aVerbotene LokaleBohemiaEgon Erwin Kisch8.3.1914
bKonsignation über verbotene LokaleEgon Erwin Kisch1920
cTunelTunel Restaurant & Tapas bar2022
dPobytové přihlášky pražského policejního ředitelstvíNAČR1851 - 1914
Malý Čtenářnn flag
Praha II./89, Spálená ul. 13
Wikipedia cz MapSearch Švejkův slovník
mctenar.png

Malý čtenář, č. 16, 1899-1900

mctenar.jpg

Story on verse by Růžena Jesenská

Malý čtenář, č. 6, 1889-1890

Malý Čtenář is mentioned in passing by Švejk when Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek ridicules the Korporal who escorted the two prisoners on the train from Budějovice to Bruck an der Leitha - Királyhida.

Background

Malý Čtenář (Young Reader) was a magazine for children and youth that was published from 1882 to 1941. It first appeared in Poděbrady but from 1887 the Prague-based publisher Vilímek took over. The magazine appeared bi-weekly and contained illustrations, stories, and, as Švejk pointed out: poems. Several distinguished writers contributed to the magazine, amongst them Vrchlický and Růžena Jesenská, the latter before 1890. The publication had both educational and enlightening purposes and influenced entire generations of young Czechs.

The editorial office was located in Spálená ulice, not far from Teissig and c.k. zemský co trestní soud. In 1907 editor in chief was the publisher Vilímek himself, and the main co-editors were Gabriel Smetana, Josef Zelený, and František Procházka. The magazine continued operating until 1941 when it was closed by the Protectorate authorities.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „...kerej koberec vobjímá potůček,“ poznamenal Švejk, „a von pan desátník sliní tužku, sedí na nějakým pařezu a píše básničku do ,Malýho čtenáře’.“
Literature
Landgerichtnn flag
Terezín, Prokopa Holého 78
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
landwehrgericht.png

Schematismus der k.k. Landwehr, 1912

terkaserne.jpg

Kleine Infanteriekaserne in 1903. In 1914 this building also hosted Landwehrgericht

huska.png

Wiener Zeitung,20.12.1913

Landgericht in Terezín features in one of Švejk's anecdotes on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida. It was from his time doing military service in 1912 when he was unfairly accused of writing: "we'll shit on the war" on a wall by a munition dump. Švejk was tried at Landgericht in Terezín because of his alleged scribbling.

Background

Landgericht was a judicial institution that did not exist in 1912. Courts thus named were once present in Austria but only until 1848[c]. The similar-sounding Landesgericht existed, but this institution covered all of Bohemia and was located in Prague (see c.k. zemský co trestní soud). It also appears odd that a military case was heard in a civilian court, and particular when considering that no such court was located in Terezín.

Landwehrgericht

These contradictions are best explained by assuming that Švejk had k.k. Landwehrgericht (Home Defence Court) in mind and simply got the terms mixed up. Such a court was indeed present in Terezín[a] and there was also a Garnisonsgericht[b]. That Švejk actually was talking about a military court becomes clear in the subsequent lines where he directly uses the term vojenský soud.

Landwehrgericht in Terezín was one of 13 of its kind in Austria (in Hungary Honvéd had their own courts). It was according to Schematismus from 1914 located in Kleine Infanteriekaserne (malá pěchotní kasárna)[a]. In 1912 the head of the court was Major Josef Kučera, and by 1914 his position was taken by Josef Wollmann. At the time of writing (2022) the barracks are called Kasárny Prokopa Holého and serve as storage for the Czech National Museum.

Trials

It is quite likely that Švejk's story is inspired by something that Hašek had read or heard about. Still, it has not been possible to identify any obvious example. Before the war, these trials were rarely covered by the press but were more frequently mentioned from August 1914 onwards. It is also evident that Landwehrgericht had the power to judge civilians who were suspected of betrayal. It is however unlikely that a soldier from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 (that Švejk surely served in also in 1912) would have been put on trial in Terezín and not before the equivalent court in Prague under which jurisdiction his regiment belonged.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nešťastnou náhodou ještě nad tím nápisem byl jinej: ,My na vojnu nepůjdeme, my se na ni vyséreme’, a to bylo v roce 1912, když jsme měli jít do Srbska kvůli tomu konsulovi Procházkovi. Tak mě hned poslali do Terezína k landgerichtu. Asi patnáctkrát tu zeď od magacínu s těma nápisama i s mým podpisem páni od vojenskýho soudu fotografovali, desetkrát mně dali napsat, aby zkoumali můj rukopis: ,My na vojnu nepůjdeme, my se na ni vyséreme’, patnáctkrát musel jsem psát před nimi ,Supák Schreiter je hnát’ a nakonec přijel jeden znalec písma a dal mně napsat: ,Bylo 29. července 1897, kdy Králový Dvůr nad Labem poznal hrůzy prudkého a rozvodněného Labe’.
[II.3] „To je vidět,“ řekl desátník s uspokojením, „že přece jen nezůstalo to bez trestu, že jste pořádnej kriminálník. Já bejt na místě toho landgerichtu, napařil bych vám ne šest neděl, ale šest let.“

Also written:Regional Court en

Literature
References
aSchematismus der k.k. Land­wehr (s. 110)Ministerium für Landesverteidigung1914
bSchematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 126)K.k. Hof und Staatsdruckerei1914
cLandgericht (Österreich)Wikipedia.de
Kurýrnn flag
Praha II./618, Štěpánská ul. 26
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
kuryr.jpg

Hilsnerova aféra

kuryr_adr.png

Adresář královského hlavního města Prahy a obcí sousedních,1906

Kurýr is mentioned when Švejk on the train to Bruck reminded the escorting corporal about Koníček from Infanterieregiment Nr. 35 who years ago had stabbed his Korporal to death and then killed himself. Švejk had read about the incident in Kurýr.

Background

Kurýr almost certainly refers to Pražský illustrovaný kurýr, a pioneer boulevard daily[b] that was published from 1891 to 1918. It was associated with Hlas národa with whom they shared administration and editorial offices. The owner of both newspapers was Edvard Jan Baštýř (1861-1937), lawyer, publisher and politician. After Národní politika, Kurýr enjoyed the highest circulation of all Czech newspapers[a].

Hašek and the Baštýr press

As far as recorded, Jaroslav Hašek contributed only two stories to Kurýr (both in 1907) and none of his stories were printed by Hlas národa. Nor did he touch them much in his stories. The only recorded mention is also peripheral: a line about Baštýr and Hlas Národa in a story from 1916[c].

Martin Sekera, Český rozhlas, 28.10.2020

Mezi průkopníky tehdejšího bulváru patřil Pražský ilustrovaný kurýr, což byla příloha deníku Hlasu národa, který na první stránce zveřejnil senzaci nějaké patologie, ať už to byla vražda, neštěstí či mimořádný nadpřirozený úkaz. Kurýr tak ukojil hlad po senzaci i příběhu na pokračování a potěšil oko většinového čtenáře satirickými karikaturami.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Pro tyhle samý věci, pro takový sekýrování, zapích před léty u pětatřicátýho regimentu nějakej Koníček sebe i kaprála. Bylo to v ,Kurýru’.
Literature
References
aPražský illustrovaný kurýrUniverzita Karlova v PrazeJakub Machek2012
bJak se rodil bulvár aneb Co ještě snesete?Český rozhlas28.10.2020
cPovídka o obrazu císaře Františka Josefa I.ČechoslovanJaroslav Hašek17.7.1916
K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 64nn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
landwehr1.png

Proof that the 64th Landwehrregiment didn't exist

Handbuch für den Infanteristen des k.u.k. Heeres, sowie der k. k. Landwehr,1914

K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 64 is mentioned by Feldoberkurat Lacina when he tells that he was served kidneys ala Madeira in the officer's dining room of this regimentet.

Background

K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 64 was a unit that only existed in Lacina's imagination because k.k. Landwehr consisted of 37 regiments and these were numbered 1 to 37[a].

Only Hašek would know which k.k. Landwehr regiment the senior field chaplain really had in mind but if he had his dubious meal in Budějovice it would have been with officers from the city's k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 29 (or k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 6 from Cheb who replaced them on 19 June 1915).

If the meal was enjoyed in Kraków (where his k.u.k. Kavallerietruppendivision Nr. 7 was garrisoned) he may have endulged in the company of officers from k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 16.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] A tytéž ledvinky a la madeira jedl jsem v důstojnické mináži 64. landwehrregimentu. Dali do nich kmín, jako když se dělají v obyčejné hospodě na pepři. A kdo je dělal, čím byl ten kuchař v civilu? Krmič dobytka na jednom velkostatku.“
References
aSchematismus der k.k. Land­wehr (s. 234)Ministerium für Landesverteidigung1914
Na krásné vyhlídcenn flag
Praha IV./156, Úvoz 31
Wikipedia czensv MapSearch Švejkův slovník
pohorolec.png

Orientáční plan hl. města Prahy,1909-1914

krasnavyhlidka_adr.jpg

Adresař hl.m. Prahy,1891

vyhlidka3.png

Prager Tagblatt,22.7.1900

vyhlidka.png

Adresař hl.m. Prahy,1910

vyhlidka1.png

Národní listy,31.7.1909

vyhlidka2.png

Krásná vyhlídka was in January 1927 entering the end of its existence. That same year the building was demolished.

Večerní České slovo,28.1.1927

Na krásné vyhlídce is mentioned when Švejk retells a story he had heard from a soldier who had reported sick by Przemyśl. During a bayonet charge he faced a huge Russian with a drop under his nose. When seeing the nosedrop he felt unwell and was carried to Hilfsplatz. From here was dispatched to some cholera barracks in Pest where he actually contracted cholera! When recuperating in Prague the soldier told his story in the restarurant na Vyhlídce at Pohořelec and this is where Švejk picked it up.

Whereas Švejk used the term 'na Vyhlídce' when he first mentioned the pub but in [III.3] he uses the official name. This is in his endless anecdote about gardener Kalenda and Vyhlídka was one of the eight pubs that Kalenda visited on his "world tour".

Despite the minor difference between the names there is no doubt that Švejk talks about the same tavern.

Background

Na krásné vyhlídce was a pub at Hradčany near the Strahov Monastery and Pohořelec. According to the address books from 1891 and 1910 it was located at Úvoz 31 and the description in The Good Soldier Švejk fits well with this spot. Landlord from 30 June 1898[e] and at least until 1912 was Josef Převor (b. 1864) but the restaurant had a history that stretched back to at least 1888[d] and it continued to operate until 1927. In 1900 an advert in Prager Tagblatt (see picture) reveals that they served beer from Smíchov (in modern times known as Staropramen).

In 1927 the old building was demolished[a] and from 1945 the new one hosts the embassy of Sweden and adjoining functions[b]. The site is one of the best outlook points in Prague with panoramic views of Hradčany, Malá Strana, Staré město, Nové město, Karlín, Žižkov etc. Both the old and the new building were called Na krásné vyhlídce. In some adverts the term Pěkná vyhlídka was also used[c].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Někdy,“ řekl Švejk, „se zas v gefechtu člověku udělá špatně, člověk si něco zvoškliví. Vypravoval v Praze na Pohořelci na Vyhlídce’ jeden nemocnej rekonvalescent od Přemyšlu, že tam někde pod festungem přišlo k útoku na bajonety a proti němu se vobjevil jeden Rus, chlap jako hora, a mazal si to na něho s bajonetem a měl pořádnou kapičku u nosu. Jak se mu von podíval na tu kapičku, na ten vozdr, že se mu hned udělalo špatně a musel jít na hilfsplac, kde ho uznali zamořenýho cholerou a odpravili do cholerovejch baráků do Pešti, kde se taky vopravdu nakazil cholerou.“
[III.3] Počal se tedy dál a dál vzdalovat vod svýho domova, až se přivalil do ,Černýho pivovaru’ na Karlově náměstí, a vodtamtuď šel na Malou Stranu k Sv. Tomáši do pivovaru a odtamtud přes restauraci ,U Montágů’ a ještě vejš přes hospodu ,U krále brabanskýho’, pak na ,Krásnou vyhlídku’, odtud do Strahovskýho kláštera do pivovaru.

Also written:The Beautiful View en Schöne Aussicht de Den vakre utsikt no

Literature
References
aKašna na terase švédského velvyslanectvíPražské kašny a fontány2000
bAmbassadanläggning i Prag, TjeckienStatens fastighetsverk29.4.2022
cPěkná vyhlídkaNárodní politika4.3.1902
dRománové restaurační a jiné zábavní podnikyJaroslav Šerák2009 - 2021
eSoupis pražského obyvatelstva 1830-1910 (1920)AHMP
Schönbrunner Menagerienn flag
Wien XIII./1
Wikipedia deensv MapSearch Švejkův slovník
tiergarten.jpg

Zoo, Jiří Janda,1927

Schönbrunner Menagerie is mentioned by Švejk when he tells the escort corporal in the arrest wagon on the way from Budějovice to Királyhida that Vienna is an important city.

Background

Schönbrunner Menagerie was (and still is) a zoological garden on the grounds of Schönbrunn. It is now the main zoo in the city. Founded in 1752 it is the oldest existing of its kind in the world.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

Correspondingly the zoo is mentioned in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, but also here only briefly.[1]

Po jednom takovém rozhovoru zdálo se v noci Švejkovi, že k němu přišel císař pán. Přijde a povídá: "Ohol mne, Švejku, v těchhle licousech vypadám jako orangutan z schönbrunnského zvěřince."

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Po jednom takovém rozhovoru zdálo se v noci Švejkovi, že k němu přišel císař pán. Přijde a povídá: "Ohol mne, Švejku, v těchhle licousech vypadám jako orangutan z schönbrunnského zvěřince."
[II.3] Vídeň je vůbec důležité město,“ pokračoval, „jenom co mají divokejch zvířat v tej schönbrunnskej menažerii. Když jsem byl před lety ve Vídni, tak jsem se nejradši chodil dívat na vopice, ale když jede nějaká osobnost z císařskýho hradu, tak tam nikoho nepouštěj přes kordon.

Also written:Schönbrunnské menažerie cz

Literature
References
1Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetíJaroslav Hašek1917
Hofburgnn flag
Wien I./Hofburg
Wikipedia czdeenno MapSearch Švejkův slovník
hofburg.jpg

K. k. Hofburg; Burghof, Wachparade

hofburg1.jpg

Das interessante Blatt,13.3.1884

burgwache.png

Fremden-Blatt,26.7.1914

Hofburg is mentioned by Švejk through the term the imperial castle when he on the train from Budějovice to Királyhida touches on his experiences from the capital. When the corporal in the escort asks if he's been there he answers "no", but he had heard it's very beautiful. Members of Burgwache (the castle guards) must according to Švejk be about two metres tall and after finishing their service they are awarded a Trafika.

Background

Hofburg is not mentioned directly but there is no doubt that Švejk refers to Hofburg when he mentions the imperial castle. It is a castle or rather a complex of palaces in the centre of Vienna.

It was until 1918 the principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. It was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn was the summer residence.

Since 1946 it is the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria. The large building complex also houses museums, chapels, the Spanish riding school, the National Library and other institutions.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

I Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí Hofburg is just about mentioned because Franz Rypatschek, town counsiler from VI. Bezirk was arrested by the guarsd, totally naked and sent to the madhouse by Hall in Tyrol.[1]

Netrvalo to ani týden, odváželi Švejka do blázince v Hallu k dalšímu pobytu, kde byl zavřen též Franz Rypatschek, městský vídeňský radní ze šestého okresu, kterého jednou v noci zadržela hlídka u císařského hradu úplně nahého a pomalovaného fermežovými barvami.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Netrvalo to ani týden, odváželi Švejka do blázince v Hallu k dalšímu pobytu, kde byl zavřen též Franz Rypatschek, městský vídeňský radní ze šestého okresu, kterého jednou v noci zadržela hlídka u císařského hradu úplně nahého a pomalovaného fermežovými barvami.
[II.3] Vídeň je vůbec důležité město,“ pokračoval, „jenom co mají divokejch zvířat v tej schönbrunnskej menažerii. Když jsem byl před lety ve Vídni, tak jsem se nejradši chodil dívat na vopice, ale když jede nějaká osobnost z císařskýho hradu, tak tam nikoho nepouštěj přes kordon. Byl se mnou jeden krejčí z desátýho okresu a toho zavřeli, poněvadž chtěl mermocí ty vopice vidět.“ „A byl jste taky ve hradě?“otázal se desátník. „Je tam moc krásně,“ odpověděl Švejk, „já tam nebyl, ale vypravoval mně jeden, kterej tam byl. Nejhezčí je z toho burgwache. Každej z nich prej musí bejt na dva metry vysokej a potom dostane trafiku. A princezen je tam jako smetí.“
Literature
References
1Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetíJaroslav Hašek1917
A railway station in Viennann flag
Wien IX./Althanplatz
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
bahnhofwien.jpg

Švejk reunited with Lukáš at the station in Vienna.

České slovo,9.3.1924

fjbahnhof.jpg

Wien, IX/4., Althanplatz, Franz Josef-Bahnhof, vor 1907

wiennetz.png

The railway network in Vienna around 1905

A railway station in Vienna refers to the station in Vienna where Švejk's transport on the way from Budějovice to Királyhida stopped and were given mess. This is also where Švejk was released after having been locked up for three days. At the station they were welcomed by representatives of Österreichische Gesellschaft vom Roten Kreuze, Magistrat der Stadt Wien and others who handed out pepper cakes with patriotic inscriptions.

Feldoberkurat Lacina sends Švejk on a mission to find some good food for him but at the station he meets Oberleutnant Lukáš who takes pity on him and takes him back as his servant. This meant that the good soldier took temporary leave with Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek and field chaplain Lacina disappeared from the story for good.

Background

A railway station in Vienna is from the plot in The Good Soldier Švejk alone impossible to identify because Vienna in 1914 had nine major railway stations and numerous smaller ones. The large ones were Aspangbahnhof, Donaukai, Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof, Kahlenberg-Eisenbahn, Nordbahnhof, Nordwestbahnhof, Ostbahnhof, Südbahnof and Westbahnhof[a].

Most of these can be ruled out for technical and topological reasons but it is likely that Švejk's transport stopped or passed at least two of the stations. Those that spring to mind are Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof and Ostbahnof. The former was connected to Budějovice and the latter eastwards to Királyhida and Hungary.

Josef Novotný's journey

On 1 June 1915 Ersatzbataillon IR. 91 were transferred from Budějovice to Királyhida and it happened largely according to the description in The Good Soldier Švejk. The journey is in rough terms lined out by Josef Novotný from Lišov who was one of the soldiers on the transport[b].

In his diary he noted that they left the barracks at 5-6 in the morning, that there was no public announcement of the departure but that a sizable crowd turned up to bid farewell to their house regiment. On the way to the station in Budějovice IR. 91 were guarded by "foreign troops"[1]. None of the soldiers in IR. 91 were allowed to carry sharp ammunition and the regiment's band was not allowed to play.

The soldiers were transported in cattle carriages, 50 to 60 men per wagon, and it took a while before they departed. They travelled via České Velenice and Gmund onto Sigmundsherberg where they early in the afternoon were given a meal. They continued down towards Danube and by Tulln they noticed fortifications along the railway line, a scene resembling the description in The Good Soldier Švejk.

The next stop was Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof and here a new meal was handed out, now at sunset[2]. It was getting dark and the journey through Vienna took a long time and they passed several stations that Novotný didn't name. He fell asleep around midnight and at 2 in the morning they finally arrived at the station in Királyhida. Here they remained in the wagons for another few hours.

Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof

In view of Novotný's description, there is little doubt that the station where Švejk was released and encountered his obrlajtnant was Franz-Josephs-Bahnhof. The transfer of the regiment did however take place in two stages. Thus one can't be sure that Novotný was on the same transport as Jaroslav Hašek but the itinerary would have been the same. In The Good Soldier Švejk one notices that between the station where Švejk and Oberleutnant Lukáš met and Királyhida there is no plot. This fits with Novotný's notes, that the passage through Vienna took place when it was dark. Thus Hašek would have seen little of Vienna that he could have fitted into the novel.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Přejeli nějaké nádraží, kde za nimi doznívaly zvuky rakouské hymny kapely, která sem přišla snad omylem, poněvadž teprve za hezkou dobu se dostali s vlakem na nádraží, kde se zastavili, byla mináž a bylo slavnostní uvítání.
[II.3] Potom byl rozkaz jít si pro mináž po rotách k polním kuchyním, které stály za nádražím.

Also written:Bahnhof cz ein jernbanestasjon i Wien nn

Notes
1. Presumably k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 6 Eger (now Cheb) who already in May had swapped garrisons with the local k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 29.
2. Sunset in Vienna on 1 June is at 20:46.
Literature
References
aLehmanns Wohnungs-Anzeiger WienAlfred Hölder1915
bZ mých válečných pamětíJosef Novotný (ed. Jan Ciglbauer)2021
Magistrat der Stadt Wiennn flag
Wien I./Lichtenfelsg. 2
Wikipedia de MapSearch Švejkův slovník
magistrat.jpg

Rathaus, 1907

nuchtern.jpg

Sport und Salon,17.8.1915

Magistrat der Stadt Wien is mentioned by the narrator in connection with the transport of Švejk's regiment from Budějovice to Királyhida. On a railway station in Vienna they were welcomed by three female members of Österreichische Gesellschaft vom Roten Kreuze, two members of some female war support society, and one representative of the city administration and the military authorities respectively. At the station the soldiers were given pepper cakes with patriotic inscriptions. Amongst those was Gott strafe England, a slogan that the reader of The Good Soldier Švejk will recognise from Baronesse von Botzenheim's sick visit in [I.8].

Background

Magistrat der Stadt Wien refers to the city administration of Vienna, headed by the Bürgermeister (mayor). The term Magistrat has been used since 1783 and still is. All statuary cities (15 in Austria, 27 in Czechia) are governed by a magistrat.

The executive of Magistrat was logically enough located in the city hall but such a large administrative body had many branches and was also represented in the 21 Bezirke (districts) of the capital. Mayor from 1913 to 1919 was Dr. Richard Weißkirchner (1861-1926) and director of the magistrate between 1914 and 1918 was Dr. August Nüchtern (1861-1929).

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Uvítání ve Vídni sestávalo ze tří členkyň spolku Rakouského červeného kříže a ze dvou členkyň nějakého válečného spolku vídeňských paní a dívek, jednoho oficielního zástupce vídeňského magistrátu a vojenského zástupce.

Also written:Vienna City Administration en Wien byforvaltning no

Literature
References
aLehmanns Wohnungs-Anzeiger WienAlfred Hölder1915
Österreichische Gesellschaft vom Roten Kreuzenn flag
Wien I./Milchgasse 1
Wikipedia deennn MapSearch
rotekreuz1.png

Lehmanns Wohnungs-Anzeiger Wien, 1915

rotekreuz.jpg

Hartmann, A. Labedienst, 1915

© ÖNB

rotekreuz.png

Arbeiter-Zeitung,11.8.1915

Österreichische Gesellschaft vom Roten Kreuze is mentioned by the narrator in connection with the transport of Švejk's regiment from Budějovice to Királyhida. On a railway station in Vienna they were welcomed by three female members of the Austrian Red Cross, two members of some female war aid society, and one representative of Magistrat der Stadt Wien and the military authorities respectively. At the station the soldiers were given pepper cakes with patriotic inscriptions. Amongst them was Gott strafe England, a slogan the reader of The Good Soldier Švejk will recognise from Baronesse von Botzenheim's sick visit in [I.8].

Background

Österreichische Gesellschaft vom Roten Kreuze was the official name of the Austrian Red Cross, the national branch of the International Red Cross. The society's orginated from Patriotische Hilfsverein that was founded in 1859 but the Red Cross in Austria was constitued as late as 1880. Patrons were Kaiser Franz Joseph I. and Erzherzogin Marie Valerie, his daughter[a].

Bahnhoflabedienst

After the outbreak of war the Red Cross introduced aid centres at railway stations, amongst them Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof[b]. The name of this aid arrangement was Bahnhoflabedienst, an austrianism (roughly meaning support/care/rescue service at railway stations).

Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof is where Ersatzbataillon IR. 91 with Jaroslav Hašek stopped for mess in the evening of 1 June 1915, on the way from Budějovice to Királyhida. This suggests that this particular description of Švejk's break at a railway station in Vienna is authentic.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Uvítání ve Vídni sestávalo ze tří členkyň spolku Rakouského červeného kříže a ze dvou členkyň nějakého válečného spolku vídeňských paní a dívek, jednoho oficielního zástupce vídeňského magistrátu a vojenského zástupce.
References
aLehmanns Wohnungs-Anzeiger WienAlfred Hölder1915
bDer Wiener BahnhoflabedienstArbeiter-Zeitung11.8.1915
Brucker Lagernn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
Wikipedia czde MapSearch Švejkův slovník
lager.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager - Übersicht Brucker Lager & Schloss Prugg 28.8.1897

lager0.png

Militär-Adressbuch für Wien und Umgebung,1913

lager1.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager, Geschütz-Abteilung in Feuerstellung

lager2.jpg

Officers from IR. 91 in Brucker Lager, 20 February 1918. Amongst them are two prototypes from the novel: Rudolf Lukas and Čeněk Sagner.

Vídeňské illustrované noviny,7.3.1918

gardehaus.jpg

Gardehaus, former 2. Offizierskasino, 2010

bruck_feldmesse.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager - Feldmesse

lager91.png

Bruck - Ujfalu - Királyhida - Bruckneudorf

Petra Weiß,2011

Brucker Lager plays a vital part of the plot of The Good Soldier Švejk as the larger part of Part Two and the first chapter of Part Three takes place here. In total, more than a third of The Good Soldier Švejk is set in this camp and in the surrounding twin towns of Királyhida and Bruck. The author mostly uses the Czech word tábor when referring to the camp but the czechified German term lágr also appears. To judge by the text of The Good Soldier Švejk it is not clear where the camp was located but deputy Barabás places it in Bruck (it was actually in Királyhida).

Švejk and his transport would have arrived at night as the author states that night silence reigned over the camp. He also noted that in the men's barrack the soldiers shivered with cold whereas the officer's barracks were overheated so the windows had to be opened.

Background

Brucker Lager is a military camp and training ground in Bruckneudorf that was founded in 1867 and has been used continuously ever since. World War I saw the camp's most active period and at any time up to 26,000 soldiers were garrisoned here. This number dwarfed the combined populations of Bruck and Királyhida. During World War I the area also hosted a prisoner of war camp[c].

Jaroslav Hašek served in the camp throughout June 1915 and this explains why it became the backdrop for parts of The Good Soldier Švejk. The camp's commander from 1913 to 1918 was Oberstleutnant Wladimir Rollé, a person who may have lent his name to Auditor Ruller.

The camp consisted of wooden barracks that for the most part have been demolished since the time when Hašek served there. By far the largest part was Altes Lager (the old camp) that also housed Korpskommando. Neues Lager was much smaller and geographically separated from the old camp. It was established in 1873 and primarily used by the cavalry. Brucker Lager now (2010) exists as a military training ground, although parts of it has been turned into a nature reserve. The shooting range is one of the institutions that is still operaating.

In The Good Soldier Švejk many buildings, spots, and military institutions in the camp are mentioned. Amongst these we find (German terms): Lagerallee, Militärschießstätte, Hauptwache, Divisionsgericht, Divisionskommando, Mannschaftsbaracken, Offiziersbaracken, Offiziersmenage, Offiziersküche, Offizierskasino, and Rotes Kreuz[a].

IR. 91 in Brucker Lager

For Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 Brucker Lager was no ordinary training ground. In early 1915 it was decided that most regiments from Bohemia and Moravia were to be relocated to other parts of Austria-Hungary to avoid too much contact with the increasingly discontent Czech population. The Ersatzbataillon IR. 91 (replacement battalion) was thus transferred to Királyhida on 1 June 1915 and in Budějovice the Hungarian Infanterieregiment Nr. 101 replaced them.

Hašek's march battalion

The XII. Marschbataillon, to which Jaroslav Hašek belonged, was formed and trained here and left for the front on 30 June 1915. It was surely here in the camp that Hašek for the first time met Jan Vaněk, one of the best sources we have with regards to information about the author's time in k.u.k. Heer. It was also here that Rudolf Lukas from 1 June became Hašek's superior in the capacity of commander of the 4th march company.

Josef Novotný

One of the soldiers who was transferred to Királyhida on the same day as Hašek was Josef Novotný. Like Hašek he had been expelled from Budweiser Einjährigfreiwilligenschule and like the author of The Good Soldier Švejk he had a history of illness. He described the transport from Budějovice in detail and also the conditions in the camp. The transport arrived at Királyhida station at 2 in the night (2 June), but were kept in the carriages until dawn. This corresponds to Hašek's statement that "night silence reigned over the camp". The soldiers were housed in the barracks of Altes Lager (the old camp), decrepit wooden buildings with leaking roofs[b]. See Mannschaftsbaracken for more information.

After the war

When IR. 91 left the camp on 1 November 1918 they plundered it in order not to leave supplies on Hungarian hands, and a new round of destruction was inflicted in 1921 by Hungarian paramilitaries. During World War II the camp was again used for prisoners of war, and from 1944 Hungarian Jews and other forced labour were interned here[d].

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

Brucker Lager and the surrounding twin towns are also the stage for three of the fourteen chapters of Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí. The major common theme with The Good Soldier Švejk is the Kakonyi affair where Fähnrich Dauerling is the main character and not Oberleutnant Lukáš. The dog theft we know from the novel takes place in Bruck instead of Prague and again Dauerling is found in the role of Lukáš. The sequences that describe Dauerling and the brutal German junior officers Feldwebel Sondernummer, Korporal Althof and Gefreiter Müller are almost identical and the same goes for the description of Major Wenzl. Lukáš and Hauptmann Ságner merely linger on the periphery and characters like Rechnungsfeldwebel Vaněk, Sappeur Vodička and Oberst Schröder don't feature at all. The role of the latter is however taken by Oberst Schlager but is far less prominent. Kadett Biegler does feature but in a different role.[1]

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nad vojenským táborem v Mostě panovalo noční ticho. V barácích pro mužstvo třásli se vojáci zimou a v důstojnických barácích otvírali okna, poněvadž bylo přetopeno. Od jednotlivých objektů, před kterými stály stráže, ozývaly se občas kroky hlídky, která si plašila chůzí spánek. Dole v Mostě nad Litavou zářily světla z c. k. továrny na masité konservy, kde se pracovalo dnem i nocí a zpracovávaly se různé odpadky. Poněvadž šel odtud vítr do alejí ve vojenském táboře, šel sem smrad z hnijících šlach, kopyt, paznehtů a kostí, které vařili do polévkových konserv.
[II.3] V jednom z důstojnických baráků v táboře čekal v noci Švejk na svého nadporučíka Lukáše, který šel večer do města do divadla a doposud se nevrátil.
[II.3] Nyní byl přidělen k vojenské střelnici v Királyhidě jako velitel a měl také co dělat s hospodářstvím v táboře. Mezi důstojníky se vypravovalo, že si major Wenzl nyní pomůže na nohy.
[II.3] Nadporučík Lukáš neměl původně v úmyslu někde se zdržet. Šel kvečeru z tábora do města jen do maďarského divadla v Királyhidě,
[II.3] Najít Sopronyi utczu čís. 16 nebylo by bývalo tak těžké, kdyby ho náhodou nebyl potkal starý sapér Vodička, který byl přidělen k „štajerákům“, jejichž kasárna byla dole v lágru. Vodička bydlíval před léty v Praze na Bojišti, a proto při takovém setkání nezbylo nic jiného, než že oba zašli do hospody „U černého beránka“ v Brucku, kde byla známá číšnice Růženka, Češka, které byli všichni čeští jednoročáci, kteří kdy byli v lágru, nějaký obnos dlužni.
[II.3] Poslední dobou sapér Vodička, starý partyka, dělal jí kavalíra a měl v seznamu všechny maršky, které odjížděly z tábora, a chodil v pravý čas Čechy jednoročáky upomínat, aby se neztratili bez zaplacení útraty ve válečné vřavě.
[II.3] Potom nás dohonil až nahoře u samýho lágru a povídal, že vždycky myslel, že sou Maďarky vohnivější, ale ta svině že ležela jako pařez a pořád jen něco brebentila.
[II.4] Plukovník Schröder se zalíbením pozoroval bledý obličej nadporučíka Lukáše, s velkými kruhy pod očima, který v rozpacích nedíval se na plukovníka, ale úkradkem, jako by něco studoval, díval se na plán dislokace mužstev ve vojenském táboře, který byl také jedinou ozdobou v celé kanceláři plukovníka.
[II.4] K jaké národnosti patřili vojáci z nedalekého vojenského tábora v Brucku nad Litavou, kteří přepadli a ztrýznili tamějšího obchodníka pana Gyulu Kákonyie?
[II.4] Toto se týká zejména jednoho pána, který se dle doslechu zdržuje doposud beztrestně ve vojenském táboře a stále ještě nosí odznaky svého papageiregimentu a jehož jméno bylo též uveřejněno předevčírem v Pester Lloydu a Pesti Napló.
[II.4] Včera jsem eskortoval taky dva do lágru a někdo mně sežral půl veky, kterou pro mne vyfasovali.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Petra Weiß

Literature
References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
bZ mých válečných pamětíJosef Novotný (ed. Jan Ciglbauer)2021
c150 Jahre Brucker Lager/TÜPl Bruckneudorf - IPetra Weiß
d150 Jahre Brucker Lager/TÜPl Bruckneudorf - IIPetra Weiß
1Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetíJaroslav Hašek1917
Mannschaftsbarackennn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
Wikipedia czde MapSearch Švejkův slovník
manbarack.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager - Mannschaftsbaracke, Innenansicht

lagerkarte.png

The men's barracks marked blue

Situationsplan des alten Barackenlagers,1908

Mannschaftsbaracken are mentioned when the author introduces Brucker Lager. In the barracks for the rank and file the men were shivering from cold, whereas the Offiziersbaracken where overheated so the windows had to be opened.

There is no indication that the plot took place here because Švejk was an officer's servant and would therefore stay with his superior in Offiziersbaracken.

Background

Mannschaftsbaracken refers to the men's barracks in Brucker Lager. These were found both in Altes Lager and in Neuer Lager but thanks to the notes of Josef Novotný we know that soldiers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 were lodged in wooden barracks in Altes Lager[a].

The men's barracks were found in the northern part of the camp, to the left of the Lagerallee (as approached from the main entrance of the camp). In 1908 the camp provided 39 barracks for the men[b].

The war led to big changes in the camp. Novotný's account[a] of conditions differs markedly from the impression of relative comfort one gets from pictures of the interior of the barracks. He noted that the barracks were overcrowded, that the soldier's slept on half rotten straw on the earth floor, so crowded that the men had to sleep three in a space intended for two. The roofs were leaking and the walls in part rotting.

Shivering from cold in june?

Hašek and his transport arrived on 2 June 1915 so it appears odd that the soldiers were shivering from cold at this time of the year. The weather reports (Vienna) reveal temperatures towards 26 degrees those days[c].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nad vojenským táborem v Mostě panovalo noční ticho. V barácích pro mužstvo třásli se vojáci zimou a v důstojnických barácích otvírali okna, poněvadž bylo přetopeno.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Petra Weiß

Literature
References
aZ mých válečných pamětíJosef Novotný (ed. Jan Ciglbauer)2021
b150 Jahre Brucker Lager/TÜPl BruckneudorfPetra Weiß
cDas WetterNeues Wiener Journal3.6.1915
Offiziersbarackennn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
Wikipedia czde MapSearch Švejkův slovník
offbarack.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager - Lagerallee mit Offiziers-Baracken

lagerkarte.png

The officer's barracks a.o. marked red

Situationsplan des alten Barackenlagers,1908

Offiziersbaracken are mentioned when the author introduces Brucker Lager. Whereas in the Mannschaftsbaracken the men were shivering from cold, the officer's barracks were overheated so the windows had to be opened.

It was in one of these barracks that Švejk was in a conversation with Offiziersdiener Mikulášek when he was tasked by Oberleutnant Lukáš to deliver the fateful letter to Etelka Kakonyi. Major Wenzl and Lukáš stayed in the same barracks with their servant Mikulášek and Švejk.

Background

Offiziersbaracken refers to the officer's barracks in Brucker Lager. These were found both in Altes Lager and in Neuer Lager but thanks to the notes of Josef Novotný we know that soldiers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 were lodged in Altes Lager[a].

The officer's barracks were found in the northern part of the camp, to the right of the Lagerallee, seen in the direction from the main entrance. In 1908 the old camp had 20 officer's barracks[b].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nad vojenským táborem v Mostě panovalo noční ticho. V barácích pro mužstvo třásli se vojáci zimou a v důstojnických barácích otvírali okna, poněvadž bylo přetopeno.
[II.3] V jednom z důstojnických baráků v táboře čekal v noci Švejk na svého nadporučíka Lukáše, který šel večer do města do divadla a doposud se nevrátil. Švejk seděl na odestlané posteli nadporučíkově a naproti němu seděl na stole sluha majora Wenzla.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Petra Weiß

Literature
References
aZ mých válečných pamětíJosef Novotný (ed. Jan Ciglbauer)2021
b150 Jahre Brucker Lager/TÜPl BruckneudorfPetra Weiß
Lageralleenn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
allee.jpg

Lagerallee

allee.png

Militär-Adressbuch für Wien und Umgebung,1913

Lagerallee is mentioned when the author introduces Brucker Lager. He explains that when the wind blows from the direction from k.k. Fleischkonservenfabrik down in Bruck the stench from the factory is noticed even up in the alley in the military camp.

Background

Lagerallee refers to a broad alley that stretches through Brucker Lager from the main entrance in Lagerstrasse and eastwards. It has streets on both sides and a green area with trees in the middle. On the southern side the Offiziersbaracken were, on the northern side Mannschaftsbaracken. Korpskommando, Hauptwache, Offizierskasino, and Militärschießstätte were also located along the alley.

Almost all the buildings on the northern side of the alley have long been demolished and Benedek-kaserne is now one of the buildings on the site.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Dole v Mostě nad Litavou zářily světla z c. k. továrny na masité konservy, kde se pracovalo dnem i nocí a zpracovávaly se různé odpadky. Poněvadž šel odtud vítr do alejí ve vojenském táboře, šel sem smrad z hnijících šlach, kopyt, paznehtů a kostí, které vařili do polévkových konserv.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Petra Weiß

Literature
K.k. Fleischkonservenfabriknn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse 8
MapSearch
konserven.jpg
konserven.png

Das Vaterland,2.6.1897

K.k. Fleischkonservenfabrik (the Royal-Imperial Meat tinning factory) is pungently described by the author in his introduction to Királyhida. Here they tin and make soup from sinews, hoofs and intestines, even rotten. When the wind blew from that direction the stench spread up to Lagerallee.

Background

K.k. Fleischkonservenfabrik refers to k.u.k. Militärkonservenfabrik, a tinning factory that operated from November 1896 in Királyhida. Thus it was not located in Bruck as stated in The Good Soldier Švejk and also belonged to the common military (k.u.k) and not to the military of Cisleithanien as the abbreviation k.k. indicates.

Apart from meat it tinned vegetables, soups and coffee[a]. Kaiser Franz Joseph I. honoured the factory with a visit already on 1 June 1897 in connection with an inspection of Brucker Lager. He spent more than an hour there and even sampled the produce.

At the time the factory had 350 employees but during World War I up to 3000 worked there, including prisoners of war. The running of the factory was outsourced to various enterprises and operation ceased with the end of the war.

In 2010 the 4,000 sqm building housed a shopping centre, a police office and a car accessory dealer, but most of it is no longer used.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

The factory is mentioned also in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí, but the description is less detailed. It is however explicitly (and wrongly) located in Bruck.[1]

Bylo to ale přece jen blíž. Přejde se Litavka v Brucku a již je člověk v 'magyarországu' červenozelenobílými sloupy. Sem táhne sice ještě zápach z velké c. k. továrny na konzervy v Brucku nad Litavou, dávaje Maďarům tušit, že tam za Litavou leccos prodělává hnilobný proces, ale míchá se tu se zápachem uherských prasat, která za tratí jsou vehnána do velkých ohrad a odtud s honvédy, honvédhusary a červenými husary dopravují se dále na frontu.

Klara Köttner-Benigni

In Királyhida war noch im Ersten Weltkrieg die „K.u.k. Militär-Conserven-fabrik” (im „Schwejk” „k.u.k. Fleischkonserven-fabrik”) in Betrieb. (S. 324) In ihr dürften sehr vorwiegend Fleisch-, Suppen-, Gemüse- und Kaffeekonserven hergestellt worden sein. Zumindest im Frieden waren die Rezepturen einwandfrei, wie Konrad Biricz nach deren Prüfung in Akten des Staatsarchivs (Kriegsarchivs) erklärt. Wegen kriegsbedingter Versorgungsschwierigkeiten wird die Qualität sicherlich schlechter geworden sein, aber die Bemerkung, daß dort — bereits 1915! — eine Mischung von stinkenden „verfaulten Sehnen, Hufen, Klauen und Knochen” zu „Suppenkonserven” verarbeitet wurde (S. 325), ist eine der grotesken Übertreibungen des Gourmets Hašek, dem es vor dem kulinarischen Massenbetrieb geekelt haben muß.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Bylo to ale přece jen blíž. Přejde se Litavka v Brucku a již je člověk v 'magyarországu' červenozelenobílými sloupy. Sem táhne sice ještě zápach z velké c. k. továrny na konzervy v Brucku nad Litavou, dávaje Maďarům tušit, že tam za Litavou leccos prodělává hnilobný proces, ale míchá se tu se zápachem uherských prasat, která za tratí jsou vehnána do velkých ohrad a odtud s honvédy, honvédhusary a červenými husary dopravují se dále na frontu.
[II.3] Dole v Mostě nad Litavou zářily světla z c. k. továrny na masité konservy, kde se pracovalo dnem i nocí a zpracovávaly se různé odpadky. Poněvadž šel odtud vítr do alejí ve vojenském táboře, šel sem smrad z hnijících šlach, kopyt, paznehtů a kostí, které vařili do polévkových konserv.

Sources: Petra Weiß, Klara Köttner-Benigni, Konrad Biricz

Literature
References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
1Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetíJaroslav Hašek1917
Militärschießstättenn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
MapSearch
schiess.jpg

Bruckneudorf, Militärlager - Schießschul-Baracken

schiess1.png

Oesterreichisch-ungarische Wehr-Zeitung,4.12.1868

schiess.png

Militär-Adressbuch für Wien und Umgebung,1913

Militärschießstätte vert nemnd når forteljaren deler sine fyrste inntrykk frå Brucker Lager. Soon later it is revealed that Major Wenzl is the commander of the shooting range.

Background

Militärschießstätte refers to the shooting range in Brucker Lager that belonged to k.u.k. Armeeschieß-Schule (the Army shooting school). It was opened already on 1 September 1868, a year after the camp came into operation[a]. The instruction mainly regarded rifle shooting but also machine guns.

The shooting range was situated behind Offiziersbaracken in the southern direction. Commander in 1913 was Oberst Otto Bartusch from Infanterieregiment Nr. 36. Before the war, the shooting school in Brucker Lager was operating from May to September but this may have changed at the outbreak of war. The rest of the year they were based in Wien[b].

The shooting school was a central institution for the entire k.u.k. Wehrmacht and was during the pre-war years greatly expanded. How important the institution was can be seen by the fact the commanders of the camp had high ranks and Bartusch's predecessor even held the rank Generalmajor. At the time there were also discussions on de-centralising the shooting education due to capacity problems in Brucker Lager[d].

In June 1915

Who the commander was in the period that Jaroslav Hašek served in Brucker Lager (June 1915) is not known because Bartusch was called up for service at the outbreak of war[c]. According to The Good Soldier Švejk Major Wenzl was the commander of the shooting range (not necessarily the shooting school) and his prototype Franz Wenzel was in the camp as commander of XII. Marschbataillon. Before the war he had been head of the shooting range in Kutná Hora so there may be connection. Going against the assumption that Wenzel headed the shooting range is the short period he stayed here (4 weeks) and that the school commanders had much higher ranks than Major (at least before the war ). It is therefore unlikely that the occupied exactly this position but he may still have had a another position at the school.

Parts of the shooting school/range are still (2010) operating but obviously with a much lower lever of activity than in 1915.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Od opuštěného pavilónku, kde dřív za času míru fotografoval nějaký fotograf vojáky trávící zde mládí na vojenské střelnici, bylo vidět dole v údolí u Litavy červené elektrické světlo v bordelu „U kukuřičného klasu“, který poctil svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán při velkých manévrech u Šoproně v roce 1908 a kde se scházela denně důstojnická společnost.
[II.3] Nyní byl přidělen k vojenské střelnici v Királyhidě jako velitel a měl také co dělat s hospodářstvím v táboře. Mezi důstojníky se vypravovalo, že si major Wenzl nyní pomůže na nohy.

Sources: Petra Weiß, Klara Köttner-Benigni, Konrad Biricz

Also written:The military shooting range en Vojenská střelnice cz Militærskytebana no

Literature
References
aTeil 1: Von der Gründung 1867 bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg 1914Petra Weiß5.12.2017
bArmeeschießschuleMilitär-Adressbuch für Wien und Umgebung1913
cGeneralmajor Otto BartuschDanzers Armee-Zeitung16.10.1931
dAufstellung von "Lehrkompanien"Oesterreichischer Soldatenfreund6.2.1912
Zum Kukuruzkolbennn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
graf.jpg

Hotel Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand.

Gastronomie in Bruck - einst, Wolfgang Gruber

kukuruz.png

Kde to bylo6.4.1983

Zum Kukuruzkolben was honoured by a visit from Erzherzog Stephan during the Imperial and Royal manoeuvres by Sopron in 1908. Now, in 1915, it was the playground of officers and ordinary soldiers were not allowed to enter. It was located in the valley by the Leitha and it's red electric lights were visible from the abandoned photo pavilion in Brucker Lager.

Background

Zum Kukuruzkolben was according to the narrative in The Good Soldier Švejk a distinguished brothel in the valley by the river Leitha, on which side is not known. There was no establishment here carrying this name in 1915. One possibility is Hotel Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand (also called Hotel Graf) on the riverbank the entrance to Brucker Lager[a]. A well known brothel was the so-called Blaues Haus but this was located some distance west of the river in Bruck [b].

The Archduke

The reported story about the Erzherzog Stephan's visit to a brothel is surely hearsay because it can be ruled out that he was in the area when the manoeuvres took place in 1908. Nor did the local newspaper Bezirksbote record any other visit by him between 1902 and 1915. Nor did it print anything about any archduke visiting in 1908.

Ethymology

Kukuruz is the Austrian variant of the German word Mais, derived from Turkish kokoroz. The Czech word kukuřice is of the same origin.

The good soldier Švejk in captivity

The brothel is mentioned also in Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetí and explicitly located in Királyhida. The context is also here Erzherzog Stephan's alleged visit in 1908.[1]

Jinak Királyhida je zaprášené město. Obyvatelé nevědí, jestli jsou Němci nebo Maďaři. Městské děvy pěstují flirt s důstojníky vojenského tábora z Brucku. Také tu kvete prostituce jako všude v Maďárii. Jsou tam jen dvě památnosti, zříceniny cukrovaru a vykřičený dům U kukuřičního klasu, který ráčil poctíti svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán roku 1908 za velkých manévrů.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Jinak Királyhida je zaprášené město. Obyvatelé nevědí, jestli jsou Němci nebo Maďaři. Městské děvy pěstují flirt s důstojníky vojenského tábora z Brucku. Také tu kvete prostituce jako všude v Maďárii. Jsou tam jen dvě památnosti, zříceniny cukrovaru a vykřičený dům U kukuřičního klasu, který ráčil poctíti svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán roku 1908 za velkých manévrů.
[II.3] Od opuštěného pavilónku, kde dřív za času míru fotografoval nějaký fotograf vojáky trávící zde mládí na vojenské střelnici, bylo vidět dole v údolí u Litavy červené elektrické světlo v bordelu „U kukuřičného klasu“, který poctil svou návštěvou arcivévoda Štěpán při velkých manévrech u Šoproně v roce 1908 a kde se scházela denně důstojnická společnost.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Radko Pytlík, Wolfgang Gruber

Also written:The Maize Cob Parrott At the Ear of Corn Sadlon U kukuřičného klasu cz Kukoricakalászhoz hu

References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
bKde to byloČeskoslovenský voják - Petr Hajdúk6.4.1983
1Dobrý voják Švejk v zajetíJaroslav Hašek1917
Rosenhausnn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
rosahaus.jpg

K.u.k. Mannschaftspuff, unkown where.

kukuruz.png

Kde to bylo6.4.1983

Rosenhaus is mentioned as a house of ill repute where even ordinary soldiers cold enjoy themselves. It's green lights were visible from the abandoned photo pavillion in Brucker Lager.

Background

Rosenhaus was the author's name of a brothel in Bruck or Királyhida that has not been identified[a]. In 1915 there were five official brothels in the twin towns but none of them carried this name (Petzneck). There were also some unregistered brothels. Judging by the description in the novel it must be assumed that it was located near the river. Růžový dům may also be translated Das rosa Haus. One well known brothel was Das Blaue Haus, located at the end of the street Altstadt in Bruck an der Leitha[b].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ti chodili do „Růžového domu“, jehož zelená světla byla též vidět od opuštěného fotografického ateliéru. Bylo to roztřídění jako později na frontě, kdy mocnářství nemohlo už svému vojsku ničím jiným pomoct než přenosnými bordely u štábů brigád, takzvanými „puffy“. Byly tedy k. k. Offizierspuff, k. k. Unteroffizierspuff a k. k. Mannschaftspuff.

Sources: Wolfgang Gruber, Friedrich Petzneck

Also written:Růžový dům Hašek The House of Roses Parrott Rosenhaus Reiner Pink House Sadlon Rózsaház hu

References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
bKde to byloČeskoslovenský voják - Petr Hajdúk6.4.1983
Hungarian Theatrenn flag
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sommertheater.jpg

Raiffeisengürtel - Stadttheater

teater_kh.png

Der neue Bezirksbote,12.6.1904

universum.png

Der Bezirksbote,4.4.1915

Hungarian Theatre was the theatre in Királyhida where Oberleutnant Lukáš got so enchanted by Etelka Kakonyi that he wrote the letter that set in motion the infamous Kakonyi affair. He was present at a squalid performance where officers from the artillery sat on the orchestra floor and observed the Jewish actresses (who were naked beneath their skirts) with artillery glasses. Otherwise it is revealed that the theatre had a gallery. In the letter itself Lukáš uses the term municipal theatre.

Background

Hungarian Theatre refers to a theatre that was supposed to be located in Királyhida but there is no trace of such an establishment in 1915. The only leisure institution in town was a cinema/provisional theatre. The nearest theatre was across the river in Bruck an der Leitha where there indeed existed a theatre, the so-called Sommertheater[a].

Mix-ups

Klara Köttner-Benigni concludes that the author mixes up institutions. There was a temporary theatre in Királyhida but this one doesn't fit the description in The Good Soldier Švejk. It is clear that the author had a permanent theatre building in mind, and in this context the one in Bruck is best fit. In the letter that Oberleutnant Lukáš wrote to Etelka Kakonyi he even uses the term Stadttheater (City Theatre). Köttner-Benigni also notes that Hašek didn't put much emphasis on locating buildings/institutions in Bruck or in Királyhida respectively[a].

Theatre in Bruck

Brucker Sommertheater was built in 1904 and performances started even before the construction had finished. The premiere took place on 16 June 1904 and the operette Die Fliedermaus by Johann Strauss the younger was performed in front of a sold-out theatre[b]. The theatre was supplied with electric power and also had a gallery. It was located in the current Raiffeisengürtel and associated with it was the restaurant of Josef Nowotny. The owner in 1911 was Eva Rappel who recently had aquired it. That same year she also bought Apollo-Theater in Bruck[d]. Newspaper articles reveal that the theatre also hosted cabarets.

Cinema in Királyhida

TBD

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] V jednom z důstojnických baráků v táboře čekal v noci Švejk na svého nadporučíka Lukáše, který šel večer do města do divadla a doposud se nevrátil.
[II.3] Nadporučík Lukáš neměl původně v úmyslu někde se zdržet. Šel kvečeru z tábora do města jen do maďarského divadla v Királyhidě, kde hráli nějakou maďarskou operetku s macatými židovkami-herečkami v předních úlohách, jejichž báječnou předností bylo to, že vyhazovaly při tanci nohy do výše a nenosily ani trikot, ani kalhoty a kvůli větší přitažlivosti pánů důstojníků holily se dole jako Tatarky, z čehož ovšem neměla žádný požitek galérie, a zato tím větší důstojníci od dělostřelectva sedící dole v parteru, kteří si na tu krásu brali s sebou do divadla dělostřelecké triedry.
[II.3] Milostivá paní!

Byl jsem včera přítomen v městském divadle hře, která Vás rozhořčila. Sledoval jsem Vás již při celém prvním jednáni, Vás i Vašeho pana manžela. Jak jsem pozoroval...

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Konrad Biricz

Also written:Maďarské divadlo cz Ungarisches Theater de

Literature
References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
bTheater und KunstDer Bezirksbote19.6.1904
cEin neues Kinotheater in BruckDer Bezirksbote17.8.1913
dVom Brucker SommertheaterDer neue Bezirksbote11.6.1911
Zum Erzherzog Albrechtnn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
zumalbrecht.jpg

Deutsches Kaffehaus

Gastronomie in Bruck - einst, Wolfgang Gruber

Zum Erzherzog Albrecht is mentioned because Oberleutnant Lukáš dropped by after having visited the Hungarian Theatre in Királyhida where he had seen the enchanting Etelka Kakonyi. The author describes it as a large café and wine restaurant.

Background

Zum Erzherzog Albrecht was supposedly a large café and wine tavern in Bruck which was frequented by officers, but there are no historical traces of any café with this name. To judge by the author's description it may have been Deutsches Kaffehaus where only officers were allowed[a]. Another possibility is upmarket Hotel Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nadporučík Lukáš vzal si též z garderoby plášť a šel do města, kde setkal se ve velké vinárně a kavárně „U arcivévody Albrechta“ s několika důstojníky od 91. pluku.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Friedrich Petzneck

Also written:The Archduke Albrecht Parrott At the Archduke Albert Sadlon U arcivévody Albrechta cz Albrecht főherceghez hu

Literature
References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
Zum Kreuz des Heiligen Stephannn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
stephankreuz.jpg

Gastronomie in Bruck - einst, Wolfgang Gruber

Zum Kreuz des Heiligen Stephan is mentioned as Oberleutnant Lukáš wrote the famous letter to Etelka Kakonyi here.

Background

Zum Kreuz des Heiligen Stephan was supposedly a small café cum brothel in Bruck or Királyhida, but even this one can not be historically traced. According to Klara Köttner-Benigni the brothels in Bruck were not associated with cafés[a], so this connection is most likely invented and re-located from somewhere else. Small cafés did exist though, one of them was Café Pauli which fits the description quite well.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Ve velice dobré náladě odešel do malé kavárny „U kříže sv. Štěpána“, kde zašel do malého chambre séparée, vyhnal odtamtud nějakou Rumunku, která se nabízela, že se svlékne do naha a že si s ní může dělat, co chce, poručil si inkoust, péro a dopisní papír, láhev koňaku a napsal po bedlivé úvaze toto psaní, které se mu zdálo být vůbec nejhezčím, které kdy napsal:

Also written:At the Cross of St Stephen Parrott At the Cross of St. Steven Sadlon U kříže sv. Štěpána cz Szent István keresztjéhez hu

References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
Die Steirernn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
sapper3.png

Schematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 939)1914

korps3.jpg

Korpsbereich Nr. 3

Schematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 1580)1914

Die Steirer is mentioned by the author as a military unit that was garrisoned in Brucker lager. Sappeur Vodička was assigned to this unit.

Background

Die Steirer (Styrians) is a term that usually refers to people from Styria but in this context it is obvious that the narrator has an army unit from this region in mind, most likely an engineering battalion (Sappeure or Pioniere).

Sapper battalions

In k.u.k. Heer the pure engineering troop units were the so-called Zákopníci who until 1912 had counted 15 battalions. In 1912 these were reorganised into 8 Pionierbataillone and 14 Sappeurbataillone. As a rule a sapper battalion was recruited from one of the 16 army corps districts. Thus Sappeurbataillon Nr. 3 was recruited from Korpsbereich Nr. 3 (Graz), an area that apart from Styria also included the areas westwards towards the Adtriatic Ocean and the border with Italy. So if any sapper-unit was to be classed as "Styrians" it would be this one. Their command of the Ergänzungsbezirk was located in Pettau (now Ptuj) and the battalion command in Görz (now Gorizia/Gorica). Commander in 1914 was Major Leo Maschek[a].

Styrians in Brucker Lager

Attempts to establish which Styrian units were present in Brucker Lager in 1915 have so far failed. It is not known if other replacement units than Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 were located here. Moreover, many units may have passed through the camp for training purposes.

Infanteriavdelingar

Infanteriregiment hadde òg sine eigne ingeniørsoldatar så Vodička kan i teorien ha vore tildelt eitt av desse. Tree infanteriregiment i k.u.k. Heer var rekrutterte frå Styria: Infanterieregiment Nr. 27 (Graz), Infanterieregiment Nr. 47 (Marburg) og Infanterieregiment Nr. 87 (Cilli). I tilleg stitle området soldatar til det lette infanteriet, her Feldjägerbataillon Nr. 9 (Graz) og delvis nokre andre. I tillegg vart k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 3 (Graz) og k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 26 (Marburg) rekrutterte frå Steiermark.

Infantry units

All infantry regiments kept their own engineering soldiers so Vodička could also in theory have been assigned to one of these. Three infantry regiments in k.u.k. Heer were recruited from Styria: Infanterieregiment Nr. 27 (Graz), Infanterieregiment Nr. 47 (Marburg) and Infanterieregiment Nr. 87 (Cilli). In addition the area provided manpower for the light infantry: Feldjägerbataillon Nr. 9 (Graz) and partly others. In addition k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 3 (Graz) and k.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 26 (Marburg) were recruited from Styria.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nadporučík zabalil se opět do deky, ze které ho Švejk vytáhl, a spal dál, zatímco Švejk putoval dál do Királyhidy. Najít Sopronyi utczu čís. 16 nebylo by bývalo tak těžké, kdyby ho náhodou nebyl potkal starý sapér Vodička, který byl přidělen k „štajerákům“, jejichž kasárna byla dole v lágru.

Also written:The Styrians en Steierbuam Reiner Štajeráci cz

References
aSchematismus für das k.u.k. Heer (s. 1580)K.k. Hof und Staatsdruckerei1914
Zum schwarzen Lammnn flag
Search Švejkův slovník
schwarzenlamm.jpg

Gastronomie in Bruck - einst, Wolfgang Gruber

rotenlamm.jpg

Grete Reiner mixing the colours

Arbeiterwille,1.3.1927

Zum schwarzen Lamm was the pub where Švejk and Sappeur Vodička refreshed themselves before going to Soproni utca to deliver the infamous letter from Oberleutnant Lukáš to Etelka Kakonyi. Here served the well-known Czech waitress Růženka who was owed money by all the Czech one-year volunteers that had been in Brucker Lager.

Background

Zum schwarzen Lamm was supposedly a pub in Bruck, but there are no historical traces of it. The name may be a corruption of Zum schwarzen Adler, a café located in Altstadt. During World War I this street functioned as the entertainment district of Bruck.

Swapped colours?

A strange detail appears in Grete Reiner's German translation. She calls it Zum roten Lamm, a place that according to Gerhard Tötschinger may have existed. His source was however some unnamed teacher. If it against all probability existed, it would have been located in Raiffeisengürtel 7 at the end of Altstadt[a]. Has Jaroslav Hašek been "corrected", and in that case why? Reiner was not very solid in Czech but to make a basic error like mixing red and black (červený and černý) seems unlikely.

No lamb in sight

Red Lamb was in any case a rare and unlogigal name for a tavern. Unsurprising, a search in ÖNB (term "Zum roten Lamm") yields only 1 hit, whereas "Zum schwarzen Lamm" has 189, a more plausible number. Still, at the end of the day no "Lamm", whatever colour or shape, is known to have ever existed in Bruck or Királyhida.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Nadporučík zabalil se opět do deky, ze které ho Švejk vytáhl, a spal dál, zatímco Švejk putoval dál do Királyhidy. Najít Sopronyi utczu čís. 16 nebylo by bývalo tak těžké, kdyby ho náhodou nebyl potkal starý sapér Vodička, který byl přidělen k „štajerákům“, jejichž kasárna byla dole v lágru. Vodička bydlíval před léty v Praze na Bojišti, a proto při takovém setkání nezbylo nic jiného, než že oba zašli do hospody „U černého beránka“ v Brucku, kde byla známá číšnice Růženka, Češka, které byli všichni čeští jednoročáci, kteří kdy byli v lágru, nějaký obnos dlužni.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Konrad Biricz

Also written:The Black Lamb Parrott Zum Roten Lamm Reiner At the black Ram/The Little black Ram Sadlon U černého beránka cz Fekete bárányt hu

Literature
References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 16nn flag
Krowodrza, Wrocławska 82
Wikipedia pl MapSearch Švejkův slovník
lir16.jpg

Landwehr-Ergänzungsbezirk Nr. 16

Schematismus der k.k. Land­wehr (s. 691)1913

lir16kaserne.jpg

The barracks of LIR. Nr. 16, Krowodrza

K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 16 is mentioned by Sappeur Vodička when he tells Švejk about a brawl he had been involved in by Pausdorf. He was about to attack Landwehrsoldat Purkrábek because he though the latter was a Hungarian. Purkrábek then exclaims: "Tonda, come on, it's me, Purkrábek, from 16. landwehr!"

Background

K.k. Landwehrinfanterieregiment Nr. 16 was one of 37 k.k. Landwehr infantry regiments and like most of its peer units it was established in 1889. The regiment was recruited from the districts Kraków and Wadowice. Their barracks were located in Krowodrza, now a district in Kraków. In 1914 staff and all three battalions were garrisoned in Kraków. Their commander was Oberst Heinrich von Dürfeld[a]. At the start of the war they were reporting to 46. Landwehrdivision. The regiment was predominantly manned by Poles, more than 80 per cent.

During the war

The regiment was part of the invasion of Russian Poland in August 1914 and participated in the battle of Kraśnik at the end of the month. During the fighting, colonel Dürfeld and several staff officers were wounded[b]. On 25 Oktober 1914 they took part in the battle of Ivangorod (now Dęblin)[c] and later that year and until April 1915 they stayed near the river Nidą. In May they participated in the Central Powers' breakthrough by Gorlice-Tarnów. After this battle and during the summer they pursued the enemy to Volhynia and reached the area by Lutsk in early September[d].

From 30 November 1915, they were in reserve between Dubno and Chorupan, the area where 9. Infanteriedivision with Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 had been fighting in September and where Jaroslav Hašek was taken prisoner. In June 1916 the regiment suffered disastrous losses during the first day of the Brusilov offensive by Sapanow. In August they were transferred to the Romanian front and during the spring and summer of 1918 they were taking part in the occupation of Ukraine. In August 1918 they were transported to the Italian front[d].

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Jednou ti už takovýho kluka maďarskýho držím za chřtán v Pausdorfě, kam jsme šli my saperáci na víno, a chci mu dát jednu überšvunkem přes kokos v tý tmě, poněvadž jsme hned, jak to začlo, praštili láhví do visací lampy, a von najednou začne křičet: ,Tondo, dyť to jsem já, Purkrábek, vod 16. landwehr!’

Sources: Wacław Szczepanik, Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, Jaroslav Šerák

References
aSchematismus der k.k. Land­wehr (s. 253)Ministerium für Landesverteidigung1914
bAuf dem Schlachtfeld zum Major befördertGrazer Volksblatt5.9.1914
cAuf dem Felde der Ehre gefallenWiener Bilder16.5.1915
dMiędzy armią austro-węgierską a Wojskiem PolskimWacław Szczepanik2018
Ein stilles Lokalnn flag
Search
ukrone.jpg

Gasthof zur Ungarische Krone, surely before the First World War.

ukrone.png

Der neue Bezirksbote,26.12.1920

ukrone1.jpg

Ungarische Krone, 14.10.2023

Ein stilles Lokal is described by Sappeur Vodička when tells Švejk about "an inn between the gardens by the river, quiet as a chapel, made for causing trouble". He doesn't name the place, but goes into some details about how he provoked a fight there. Needless to say, the recipients of his wrath were Hungarians.

Background

The quiet pub by the river was very likely Gasthof zur Ungarische Krone in Királyhida, a restaurant that is still operating (2023). Sappeur Vodička's description fits perfectly: the establishment is located by the Leitha between the gardes and provides a quite atmosphere, a situation that probaly wasn't much different in 1915.

Steeped in history

The restaurant is one of the oldest in the entire area and the building itself dates 300 years. It was originally a monastery that was destroyed during an Ottoman incursion. In 1726 it was rebuilt and functioned thereafter as hostel, mail station and eventually a roadside inn[a]. The municipality owned the property but already before World War I it was leased to private landlords. During a round of lease auctions in 1920 it is revealed that the property had a restaurant with a garden and also five guest-rooms[d].

According to Cilla Krakhofer (who owned it in 1983) fighting between soldiers definitely took place during World War I. Eventually it was leased to the Krakhofer family who in the end purchased it[b].

It is still owned by the family (Maria Krakhofer) and functions as hotel and restaurant. When the ownership transition happened is not known but as late as 1935 the municipality still owned the place[c].

Klara Köttner-Benigni

Wahrscheinlich meint Hašek mit dem stille Gasthaus, das am Fluß bei Gäne steht, die „Ungarische Krone”. Sie wurde 1726 auf Weisung Karls V als Herberge errichtet und diente später als Einkehrgasthof. Sein Eigentümer war die Stadtgemeinde Bruck an der Leitha. Er wurde späters verpachtet und schließlich an die Familie Krakhofer verkauft. Neben dem etwas abgesetzt von die Straße liegenden Restaurant un mittelbar an der Leitha erstrecht sich noch jetzt ein Park mit alte Bäumen. Andere Lokale in Flußnähe bestanden nur vorübergehen. In der „Ungarischen Krone” sind Raufereien zwischen Soldaten während des Ersten Weltkriege verbürgt, wie die heutige Besitzerin Cilli Krakhofer berichtet.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Člověk míní, ale pánbůh mění. Tam u řeky až mezi zahradami našel jsem vopravdu takovej lokál, tichej jako kaple, jako stvořenej pro kravál.

Sources: Klara Köttner-Benigni, Konrad Biricz

Literature
References
a"Ungarische Krone"Ungarische Krone Hotel und Restaurant2020
bDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
cBruck a. d. L.Der neue Bezirksbote24.3.1935
dGasthausverpachtungDer neue Bezirksbote26.12.1920
Invalidovnann flag
Karlín/24, Královská tř.
Wikipedia czen MapSearch
invalidovna.jpg

Soupis památek historických a uměleckých v politickém okresu Karlínském,1901

invalidovna.png

Knappův průvodce po Praze a okolí,1900

Invalidovna appears in the story Švejk tells Sappeur Vodička about liquor trader Paroubek who chased a Slovak across Karlín and Žižkov, all the way to Malešice.

Background

Invalidovna is a former institution for war invalids and veterans in Karlín, built from 1731-1737. Its model was Les Invalides, a building for veterans inaugurated in Paris in 1679. The building was seriously damaged by the floods in August 2002. Until 2013 it was partially used by VÚA. During World War I it was used as a lasaret.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Potom ještě řekl Paroubkovi, že je huncút a šaščínská bestie, tak ho milej Paroubek chyt, votlouk mu jeho pastě na myši a dráty vo hlavu a vyhodil ho ven a mlátil ho po ulici tyčí na stahování rolety až dolů na Invalidovnu a hnal ho, jak byl zdivočelej, přes Invalidovnu v Karlíně až nahoru na Žižkov, vodtud přes Židovský pece do Malešic, kde vo něj konečně tyč přerazil, takže se moh vrátit nazpátek do Libně.
Literature
Na Růžovém ostrověnn flag
Zaběhlice/59, -
Wikipedia cz MapSearch Švejkův slovník
ruzovyostrov.jpg
ruzovyostrov.png

Hlas lidu,26.7.1909

ruzovyostrov2.png

Na Růžovém ostrově in Záběhlice was yet another place where Sappeur Vodička had been involved in fighting, the noise could be heard all the way to Michle.

Background

Na Růžovém ostrově was a large restaurant with a garden, owned by Václav Růžička, located in Záběhlice on an artificial island in the Botič stream called Růžový ostrov (Rose Island).

The restaurant was in business from at least 1880[a] and was in 1883 owned by some Almer[b]. By 1886 Růžička had been taken over[c] and he probably managed it until he died on 21 February 1924. He was buried at the cemetry in Zaběhlice[d]. After Růžička's death the restaurant was managed by his daughter Růžena Burgetová[e].

Rose Island was a popular excursion destination, and arranged dancing, meetings, and other gatherings. It was operating until 1928 but since then the building has been used for other purposes.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] „Plácnu taky ženskou, Švejku, mně je to jedno, to ještě neznáš starýho Vodičku. Jednou v Záběhlicích na ,Růžovým ostrově’ nechtěla se mnou jít jedna taková maškara tančit, že prej mám voteklou hubu. Měl jsem pravda hubu vopuchlou, poněvadž jsem právě přišel z jedný taneční zábavy v Hostivaři, ale považ si tu urážku vod tý běhny. ,Tak tu máte taky jednu, velectěná slečno,’ řek jsem, ,aby vám to nebylo líto.’ Jak jsem jí tu jednu utrh, povalila celej stůl na zahradě i se sklenicema, za kterým seděla s tatínkem a s maminkou a s dvěma bratry. Ale nebál jsem se celýho ,Růžovýho ostrova’.

Sources: Jaroslav Šerák, Česká televize

Also written:Roseninsel de

Literature
References
aZe ZáběhlicČeské noviny26.8.1880
bKrádežeČeské noviny9.2.1883
cHospodářský spolek okresu Král. VinohradskéhoNárodní politika5.5.1886
dÚmrtiNárodní politika23.2.1924
eRománové restaurační a jiné zábavní podnikyJaroslav Šerák2009 - 2021
Hauptwachenn flag
Királyhida, Lagerstrasse
MapSearch Švejkův slovník
hauptwache.jpg
allee.png

Militär-Adressbuch für Wien und Umgebung,1913

Hauptwache is mentioned because Švejk and Sappeur Vodička were led to the prison here after the fight in Soproni utca. It is also the place where Einjährigfreiwilliger Marek re-enters the story for the first time since the troop transport had a break at a railway station in Vienna. He had refused to clean the latrines and been locked up. The greater part of the action in [II.4] takes place here.

Background

Hauptwache was the main guard building and command centre in Brucker Lager in Királyhida. This was also where the camp prison was located. Some time after 1955 the building was demolished[a]. There was also a guard in the so-called Neues Lager but this was merely referred to as Wachhaus. It has not been possible to verify that it has prison cells here. Soldiers from Infanterieregiment Nr. 91 were garrisoned in Altes Lager (old camp) so this is surely where the action in The Good Soldier Švejk took place[b]. The main guard house in the old camp was located halfway down Lagerallee.

Klara Köttner-Benigni

Die Hauptwache war das Zentrum des „Brucker Lagers”. Hier wurden die Wachen vergattert und in ihre Lagerbereiche abkommandiert, um für Ordnung und Disziplin zu sorgen. So liefen hier auch alle Nachrichten und Meldungen zusammen. In der Hauptwache waren auch die Arreste untergebracht. Die wechselnden Regimentsmusikkapellen konzertierten vor der Hauptwache. Nach 1921 wurde das Objekt umgebaut und als Offizierscasino und Lagerkaffeehaus verwendet. Die Bevölkerung nannte es "Milchmariandl”. 1955 fand in dem Objekt das Bankett aus Anlaß der Übergabe des „Brucker Lagers” durch die sowjetische Besatzungsmacht an die österreichischen Behörden statt. Anschließend wurde es nicht mehr verwendet und bedauerlicherweise abgerissen.

Quote(s) from the novel
[II.3] Starý sapér Vodička po celou cestu tvrdošíjně mlčel. Až teprve když vcházeli na hauptvachu, řekl zasmušile k Švejkovi: „Nepovídal jsem ti to, že Maďary neznáš?“
[II.3] Je s ním nějaký sapér Vodička, u kterého po rvačce našli, když je přivedli na hauptvachu, váš dopis, který jste poslal paní Kákonyiové.
[II.4] "Nechtěl jsem pucovat hajzly na hauptvaše," odpověděl, "tak mě vedli až k obrštovi. A to je pěkná svině..."

Also written:Main guard-house en Hauptvacha/Hauptwacha Hašek Hovudvakta nn Hlavní stražnice cz

References
aDie „Abenteuer des Braven Soldaten Schwejk” in ÖsterreichKlara Köttner-Benigni - Konrad Biricz1983
bZ mých válečných pamětíJosef Novotný (ed. Jan Ciglbauer)2021
Index Back Forward II. At the front Hovudpersonen

3. Švejk's happenings in Királyhida


© 2008 - 2024 Jomar Hønsi Last updated: 16.3.2024