Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener o podróżach i w podróżach po Europie

Abstrakt

Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener about journeys and on journeys across Europe

The paper presents the problem of travelling on the basis of the novel “Valérie” and the volume “The Memories of Childhood and Youth” by Beate Barbara Juliane von Krüdener (1764–1824). Krüdener was a French-language writer, born in Riga, belonging to the honourable family of Baltic Germans, who, at the end of her life, was an advisor to Alexander I. The paper consists of five parts: “Who was she?” (the writer’s biography) “On the Baltic Sea” (a picture of Denmark in “Valérie” and Livonia in the memories), “In Saint Petersburg” (a picture of  Russian tsars), “Towards the West” (a picture of Denmark and Italy in “Valérie” and Germany, France, England in the memories) and “The Conclusion” (the concept of a “Russian European”). Krüdener’s journeys were of intellectual type (meeting with political and cultural elites of Europe, participation in cultural life). Northern Europe (cold and melancholic) is contrasted with southern Europe (warm and cheerful).