Category: 19th century
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Paris, or why we hate
Visiting Paris can be an overwhelming experience. You may be struck with the so-called Stendhal Syndrome: the state where you are so overcome by the beauty and opulence of a place that you simply collapse under the weight of the impressions. More likely, you will experience the more aptly named Paris Syndrome, where you discover…
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Agder, or the benefits of child labour
The interior of southern Norway offers spectacular hiking opportunities. Dense, mixed forests are intersected by babbling brooks. Tranquil marshy pools dot the landscape and give home to a wide array of waterfowl. A lucky wanderer may spot both deer and the imposing, though mostly harmless elk. But what is idyllic in the daytime, takes on…
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Leipzig, or the rise and fall and rise of a European kingdom
Four or five kilometres south-east of Leipzig lies a war memorial: the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. The far more efficient German can do in one word what English does in seven: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It is a massive construction in rust-red granite, 91 metres tall, flanked at the top by gigantic, primeval warrior…
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Kerry, or the problem with genocide
On 16 November 1846, John Browne was walking from Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland, to his home north of Dingle. In Tralee he had tried to gain admittance into the poor house, but the place was already full, and Browne had no choice but to walk the 30 miles back home. On the way, he…