Forrai Ibolya szerk.: Egy pesti polgár Európában - Negyvennyolcas idők 3. (A Néprajzi Múzeum forráskiadványai 6; Budapest, 2000)

A CITIZEN OF PEST IN EUROPE (Summary)

A CITIZEN OF PEST IN EUROPE Autobiography, travel notes and diaries of Heinrich Giergl, glass-master (1845-1865) Forty-eighter times Vol. Ill ( Source publication ) (Summary) Heinrich Giergl (1827—1871), was a glass-master in Pest. The literature on applied arts regards his work as being of considerable value and products from his workshop are preserved in the Museum of Applied Arts. He recorded the events of his life in a diary and supplemented this by writing his memoirs. Writing was his favourite pastime. He also wrote poems, a drama, philosophical reflections and notes on his trade. His writings are still preserved by his descendants who took the initiative to have them translated into Hungarian from German. Other documents from the life of Heinrich Giergl have also been preserved: the journeyman's book that served as a travel document when he went abroad to learn the trade; the drawings he did to illustrate his writings and a painting of a coastal landscape. Heinrich Giergl began his diary in 1845 when he set out as a journeyman and kept it regularly for three years. On April 28, 1845 he took a boat for Vienna where he worked for several masters including the excellent Lobmeyr who had a shop in Kärntner Strasse — still operating today - from whom he learnt the most. Through the contacts of family and friends he then travelled to Italy where he was able to visit his elder brother serving in the army and made the acquaintance of a fellow journeyman, the tailor Carl Lederhass. After travelling extensively in the cities and countryside of Northern Italy, he crossed the Brenner Pass to Austria, now travelling with his companion and went on to the German lands, reaching Cologne and Berlin. He was in Berlin during the revolution of March 18-19, 1848, and then had to return home. The travel diary records a wealth of experience. He carefully observed the local way of life and customs, giving the reader abundant information on dress, social life, eating habits, buildings and interiors, and transport. He also observed the events, ceremonies and sights of feast days. He also wrote about the ceremonies of Easter week, May Day amusements in the Prater and the concerts of Johann Strauss. He was especially fond of the theatre and opera, taking every opportunity that came his way to attend performances. Heinrich Giergl's forebears on both sides had come to Pest from German lands. While there were no longer any ties with his father's family who had come to Hungary a century before Heinrich's birth, his visit revived the contacts with his mother's relatives. In Baden he got to know his grandfather's sister and her descendants who received him warmly as a member of the family, supported him and showed great interest in their relatives in Hungary. They had no cause to be ashamed of Heinrich Giergl: his behaviour, general culture and manner made a very good impression also on higher social circles with which they had contacts. The experiences he acquired in the world of work in German cities were not very positive: it was extremely difficult for journeymen to find employment. He was given a leaflet by the German authorities warning him not to become involved in communist organizations. He was kept under strict control in other respects too: unpleasant restrictions were often imposed on his arrival and departure from cities, making him feel that journeymen were kept under close surveillance. However, he was not prepared for the succession of revolutionary events that occurred in early 1848. He was an eye-witness to the revolution in Berlin and made a detailed