Franjo Rački's itineraries

Abstract

Franjo Rački (1828-1894), renowned as an excellent Croatian historian, less so as a man of letters, wrote two itineraries of which the two shorter ones have gone uninentioned in the literature reviewing his book of travels (S. Ježić, M. Peić). The longer itinerary, Travel Reminiscences from Russia, published in Vijenac (1886-87) and in limited copies as a separate text (1887). describes the journey from Zagreb to Cracow, via Belgrade, Buchurest, the Black Sea, Odesse, kiev, Moscow, Petersburgh and Warsaw. Rački undertook the journey on the occassion of being invited to participate in the 6th Congress of Archeologists in Odessa in 1884. After a two- month long journey, Rački wrote Travel Reminiscences from Russia and gave to 19th century Croatian literature the most comprehensive account of Russia of the times. This work, besides incontrovcrtibly having literary distinction as a book of travel, excels in its scientific observations so that, by its mode of expression and its content, it transcends the genre of the classic itinerary.