Aniela Walewska’s Carpathian trail

Abstract

The aim of the article is to bring back from obscurity a travel account, Wycieczka z Szczawnicy do Szmeks (A Trip from Szczawnica to Szmeksy) by a forgotten writer of the Romantic period, Aniela Walewska (1826–1873). During her Carpathian trip in the summer 1854 she admired mountain landscapes and visited historically attractive localities. The traveller began her several-day-long trip in Szczawnica, subsequently visiting, among others, Lubowla, Podoliniec, Kieżmark, Szmeks and Nowa Wieś. As she traversed the Carpathians, she got to know the local architecture, paint-ings and sculptures, saw buildings in fashionable resorts, enthused over the picturesque sight of the Pieniny range and the forbidding beauty of the Tatras, fully sensing the unique aura of the mountain scenery. The extraordinary landscapes were a source of many unforgettable emotional and aesthetic experiences for the writer. She was absorbed particularly by the Tatra waterfalls, which moved her heart and soul. In addition, Aniela Walewska made observations concerning the methods and condition of travel, noted down historical and tourist information, and revealed sensations and impressions accompanying her during the excursion. Thus her account can be regarded not only as a culturally and socially interesting document of the period, but also as a record of a personal, female experience of a newly explored space. In addition, it is also a document of the life of an individual — a nineteenth-century woman of letters — which should be classified as a valuable source for the study of her biography and work.