«Красота в упряжке» "Beauty in harness"

Pre-Christmas Europe once again passed by. And the soul insistently asks for something festive, magical, beautiful and fabulous. And then I remembered the exhibition that I got to last autumn in Prague. There were presented carriages, carriages, open carriages, sleighs of the 18th - early 20th centuries. in. from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Not Christmas, of course, but it was beautiful! ; )

And not only beautiful! Therefore, I suggest that the "boys" do not rush to leave this topic, immediately classifying it as a "girlish" one. Quite the contrary - the topic is very masculine, because carriages and sleighs then were the same as cars are now. I, wandering around the exhibition, tried to find a modern analogue for almost every carriage. In many cases it worked! : ))

At the entrance we are met by the Ceremonial Carriage of Josef Adam I, Prince of Schwarzenberg, created in 1742-43 for the participation of the Prince in the coronation of Maria Theresa.

This is one of the six ceremonial carriages of the Schwarzenberg family, known as the Galawagen (any associations arise? ; )).

Prague Archbishop Wilhelm Florentin von Salm-Salm, as befits a man of God, used a more modest and younger carriage (the last third of the 18th century), but it is still impressive. And it belongs to the "youngest" Galawagen in the Czech Republic.

But Galawagen is not Galawagen, but it was shaking and rocking their poor fellows there inside not weakly. Wooden wheels, no shock absorbers. One joy - you can’t rush very fast on ceremonial carriages, so I think they adapted. And the belts on which, let's say, the cabin itself was attached, slightly smoothed out the shaking.

Ladies are more fortunate in this regard, although even here I'm not completely sure. They had such sedan chairs for walking in the garden, moving around the city for short distances, etc.

They were produced mainly in Southern Europe, and, in particular, in Genoa, as presented at the exhibition. Well, here I have an analogy with something like Smart, although he still goes by himself. : )

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Another Prince of Schwarzenberg, Johann Adolf II, to participate in another coronation - Queen Victoria in June 1837, ordered a carriage from Barker & Co. , a supplier to the British Royal Court. And what is interesting - in the future, this company took an active part in the automotive industry, supplying bodies for luxury cars - Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Daimler.

The interior and exterior decoration of the carriage corresponded to the high position of the customer and the premium reputation of the company. Here is a clear Rolls-Royce!

At the beginning of the 19th century, the championship passes to the berlingot type carriages, which could accommodate 2 passengers and were intended to travel short distances - to a ball, theater or other social events.

However, against this background, it is not clear to me why Citroen also called its semi-truck model Berlingo - it’s definitely not comme il faut to go to the ball on such a car (photo from the official website of Citroen in Ukraine).

Here is "Berlingo » The Austrian Emperor and the Czech King Ferdinand I the Good corresponded to all the canons of his model. Then Franz Joseph himself rode it during the First World War - feel the quality work!

And as history testifies, used carriages were popular in those days.

A striking example of this is the pearl of the exhibition, the Ceremonial carriage of the Archbishop of Olomouc Antonin Theodor Colorado-Waldsee, which he used to travel to the Church of St. Wenceslas, where he was enthroned in 1777.

>A this carriage began its history in the first third of the 18th century. in Vienna, where it was supposedly made for the Kinski family. Perhaps this fact explains the richness of her jewelry!

Well , and the carriage was harnessed by six horses, the length of the harness of which ranged from 12 to 14 m. And together with the carriage, the entire length of the “wheeled vehicle” exceeded 18 m. In general, you already understood how there is a limousine! ; )

And I would like to say a few words about the harness, which in itself is a work of art. It also dates from the beginning of the 18th century.

and made in the Rococo style, which involves decoration with feathers, tassels, gilding, etc.

In the 19th century, there was such an exotic thing as a horse-drawn railway. Its first line in Europe was laid from Linz to Č eské Budě jovice, and in 1836 it was extended to Gmü nd. Thus, its total length was 200 km, making this road the longest in the world!

And it was here that first-class horse-drawn carriages, known as Hannibal, were launched, and later, due to the increased popularity of transportation, second-class carriages also appeared. Such a "Intercity" in Austrian.

Among other "public transport" stands out a two-wheeled cart, named after its inventor Hans Kab and patented by him back in 1834.

Due to its lightness and maneuverability, it was often used in London as a taxi (almost our Daewoo Lanos).

And , of course, stagecoach! 4 horses, 10 passengers and 2 luggage racks - that's the whole set for the trip. And it was produced by the famous Italian company Cesare Sala, which served in the 19th century. supplier to the Roman Royal and Imperial Courts of Vienna, and later on as a bodybuilder for Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Isotta Fraschini.

But respected and busy people, of course, used private transport, such as, for example, another Archbishop of Olomouc - Frantisek Salesky Bauer. He had an extensive "garage", consisting of at least two crews - executive

and for travel.

Although to my unenlightened eye they are quite similar.

Interior trim and handle holders, comfortable lanterns, archbishop's symbols - everything is provided for to the smallest detail, although the carriages were created back in 1820. I classified them as Volkswagen Touareg.

>A here is Karl Max, Prince Lichnovsky (not to be confused with Karl Marx), for trips with his numerous diplomatic missions, he ordered a 2-seater coupe-type carriage from the Berlin company of Eduard Zimmermann. And he demanded to decorate it not only with his coat of arms, but also with red lines on a black background. As for me, it pulls on Maserati or Porsche.

Were in those days and the flagships of carriage building. One of them is the prestigious Swiss firm Reinbolt&Christe from Basel. It is their authorship that belongs to the ducal carriage built in 1890, equipped with excellent rubber wheels that reduce shaking, a handbrake, flaps that protect the windows of the carriage from dirt, and a chic interior.

This crew accommodated 3 passengers, 2 coachmen and one lackey at the back. I think this vehicle can be safely attributed to the Maybach category. : )

>Motto century of the XX was "Utilitarian, utilitarian and once again utilitarian. " Carriages and carriages acquire strict forms, dark colors and a minimum of decorations. At the same time, more attention is paid to their suitability for long journeys - a leather upper and a lower leather cavity, known as a "tabler", to protect against rain, a roomy box under the seat for luggage, etc. Although there are some frills here - the use of expensive woods, high-quality articulation of parts, a spacious "salon" classify such carriages as "my lord". And in our opinion, I would call it a "representative class car" like "Mercedes". ; ) Here's how, for example, the carriage of Princess Metternich-Winneburg, built in 1914

The carriage of the famous Czechoslovak President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk looked somewhat simpler, which he used mainly during the visits of distinguished guests. Well, here it’s not the carriage that paints the person, but the person paints the carriage. Moreover, the current President of the Czech Republic also drives a car of the domestic manufacturer Š koda Auto a. s.

A imagine how lucky the children of that time (well, of course, from wealthy families) - toy carriages, sleighs, horses. Just delight!

>A also mini-carts, where instead of horses it was possible to harness dogs from dad's kennel,

or children's sledge from a rod with a ringing bell!

And since we have moved on to the second section of the exhibition, I propose to talk a little about winter vehicles.

This is now changed tires from summer to winter and ride on. Before, it was more difficult. ; )

Here we are met by the sleigh of Napoleon I Bonaparte, on which, according to a nearby sign, he made his way through Poland to Dresden during the retreat from Russia in 1812. As for me, he must have been terribly uncomfortable - moreover, that blew from all sides, so also the fifth point almost rolled along the ground. Brrr!

The sleigh of the monks of the Benedictine monastery in Western Bohemia seemed to me no less uncomfortable

and Cisterian abbey in Vyshebrody.

How monks, even taking into account all their monastic lifestyle and asceticism, were placed in them? Mystery!

But the sled with various decorations in the form of cupids, dolphins, birds, etc. was pleasantly pleased.

Well, the most impressive specimens of the collection are Golden

and the Silver Sleigh,

related again with the name of Joseph Adam I, Prince of Schwarzenberg, who presented them to his wife Maria Theresa, Princess of Liechtenstein (not to be confused with the Austrian Empress). True, only 4 of these sledges were made, but two are presented at the exhibition.

At that time, Europe was experiencing a "sledge boom" that came from the Nordic countries. Merry sleigh races or ceremonial cavalcades were the favorite pastimes of the time, which were indulged in by high-society ladies from the Christmas festivities until the beginning of Lent. One or two horses were harnessed to the sleigh, which was driven by a gentleman, who was located behind the lady. And on the runners on both sides there was one more person - they helped the gentleman manage the sleigh and maintain the balance of the crew.

In general, people knew how to have fun! : )

And if you look closely at the photo of the Silver Sleigh, you will see in the background… No, not just another children's sleigh, but… skates! This is how well-bred ladies rode at that time - they were located inside, and the gentleman, on skates familiar to us, pushed such a cart on the ice in front of him. Everything is noble! ; )

Not I know how you are, but I unexpectedly liked the exhibition! So I recommend - you will see something like this, do not jump pass by! ; ))