2025 Vol. 16 №1

“Bavaria, which I will never forget”: to the image of German space in “Travel letters from England, Germany and France” by Nikolay Gretch

DOI

10.5922/2225-5346-2025-1-10

Pages

167-188

Abstract

The paper deals with images of Bavarian space based on the travelogue “Travel letters from England, Germany and France” by Nikolay Gretch from the imagological and semiotic points of view. The representation of the metropolitan and provincial imagery of Bavaria is analyzed. Its liminality, fixed in Gretch’s text, is revealed, i. e. intermediate position between North and South. A connection is established between the analyzed loci and such spatial types as the spaces of demi-natural idyll, historical memory, art (and science), as well as German philistinism. The central place in Gretch’s representation of Bavaria is occupied by the city images of Regensburg and Munich, the latter in particular. The description of the Bavarian capital encompasses all the spatial types mentioned, making it the most intricate and multifaceted. The images of Regensburg and the adjacent hall of German fame Valhalla are associated with spaces of demi-natural idyll, historical memory and art. Other loci mentioned in the text are simpler in structure. In addition, Gretch’s representation of the Bavarian space reveals its connection with four modes of describing Germany in Russian literature of the 19th century: sentimentalist, romanticist, neutral-factual and travesty world-images.

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