Brandes in Warsaw
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Brandes came to Warsaw in 1885
The Danish scholar Brandes first travelled to Warsaw in 1885 to give a series of lectures on literature, where he was particularly struck by the strict repression exercised by the Russian authorities. There was strict censorship, permits and case processing were arbitrary, and then customs officials confiscated his pistol and cartridge box, which Brandes apparently considered it perfectly natural to walk around with.
Krøyer – sketch for painting of Brandes (1900)
Censorship in Poland during Russian rule
The Russian administration is described in this section on censorship, among other things:
“In addition to the ineffective censorship mentioned above, there is also effective censorship. The weekly Prawda (Truth), the most modern magazine in Poland, the organ of the positivists. It has 3,400 lines. In some cases, 7,000 lines of proofreading have been cancelled in a single issue before the magazine was published. Censorship seems to be too capricious to predict what it will accept.“
Brandes in Warsaw: A slightly sad city in winter
Brandes begins his arrival in Warsaw with the following description:
“Warsaw is a city of more than 500,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Vistula River, a river that is at least as wide as the Alssund at Sønderborg. A mighty iron bridge leads across the river from the site of the castle to the suburb of Praga, so tragically famous in Polish history. In the winter, full of greyish drift ice, the river looked slightly mournful.
A run-down provincial town
The city spreads over a very large area, but with its bygone glory and horrific memories that you encounter at every turn, it makes a wistful impression. In the last century it was the most magnificent city in Europe after Paris; now it’s a provincial Russian city. Once known for its lavish splendour, it’s now a neglected city that’s falling further into disrepair by the day, with the authorities doing little to improve the city’s appearance and infrastructure. It hurts to see the poorly paved streets, or the horrible old sandstone figures in Saski Park, especially when you’ve just arrived from a lavish city like Vienna, or a rapidly developing city like Berlin.“
No local self-government in Warsaw
Brandes goes on to describe the city’s fate as an outpost of the Russian Empire, a capital of a non-existent country, a city without a municipal council, with tax revenues that are partly passed on to Russia and with widespread corruption among officials.
Everything has fallen into disrepair since the revolution of 1863
Brandes in Warsaw walks a lot around the historic centre, and from here he writes:
“Since the ill-fated revolution of 1863, nothing has been done to improve sanitation or infrastructure, and the city suffers from health problems due to a lack of water and sewerage; the subsoil of the streets is so loose that the paving is falling apart where the streets slope, but since 1863 nothing has been done to rectify the deficiencies. In all these years, not a single public building has been constructed, apart from the town hall, which burned down. The entire civil and military administration is housed in confiscated private and public buildings. The ravages of time are everywhere and no one is trying to repair the damage. Thorvaldsen’s Copernicus monument, which has become so popular in Warsaw that people have started referring to a statue as a Copernicus, is covered in excrement that won’t be removed. The plinth under the statue is crumbling, but no one is restoring it.“
Gloomy and brooding citizens
About the city’s citizens, he writes:
“There is much traffic in the streets; in the squares there is the same life as everywhere else; buying and selling takes place in the open air; but it is remarkable to the traveller that where the population is gathered in large numbers, as when on Sundays they stroll along the main streets, you never see the well-contented and prosperous citizens of other large cities; everybody has a gloomy expression or a brooding countenance. You never see a light-hearted scene on the street, there’s never a light-hearted remark.“
Only 20% of the population can read and write
Later on education and illiteracy:
“For example, as strange as it may sound, it is forbidden to teach ordinary people, as it is only allowed to teach in Russian, which ordinary people do not understand. Ignorance is high; only 20% of the population can read and write. Even for the stranger who only spends a few weeks in Warsaw, this is striking. You never see, as in other cities, a horse-drawn carriage driver reading a newspaper, the drivers usually don’t even know the numbers. You give the street name, say “left” and “right”, and signal when to stop.
Please send an email to m@hardenfelt.pl if you would like a English-speaking tour guide to show you the most important places in Warsaw.
