Sandor P. Vaci: An English Dimension
Manage episode 308038599 series 2815518
István Széchenyi (1791–1860) was a man in a hurry. He wanted to bring Hungary into the nineteenth century, with railways, steam ships, tunnels, and bridges – not least one that spanned the Danube to unite Buda and Pest.
Széchenyi’s inspiration was England, which he visited five times. This book contains extracts from Széchenyi’s diary recording his stays in England in 1832 and 1834. They show the author’s enthusiasm for the new inventions and industrial processes that were being pioneered – from the ‘little devil’ of a steam train that ran between Manchester and Liverpool, to the construction of piers to support bridges, and even the operation of a bathroom shower.
But Széchenyi recognised that importing English methods was not enough to transform Hungary. A change was needed in what he called the ‘intelligence’ of the people, otherwise the transformation could only be superficial.
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