Trail 1: In the footsteps of the first Hungarian traveler in London

All the Variety of Europe: follow the footsteps of Márton Szepsi Csombor, one of the first Hungarians who set foot in London, through the City of London to Westminster.

Csombor’s account of his journey, Europica Varietas, is the first Hungarian travel book, and it was published in 1620. Csombor was a schoolmaster of Calvinist faith in Kassa (Kosice, Slovakia) and he undertook his journey across Europe, on foot, in 1618. He is the first writer to describe London in Hungarian.

Find out how expensive travelling was for a Hungarian in 17th-century London, marvel at the size of the city and the beauty of its women. Join the traveller for a stroll along the Thames, to be followed by a beer in the pub. Hang out with other visitors to the city in 1618.

Read the full Hungarian text. The passages cited, and rearranged in the style of a modern travel guide, are from the English version by Bernard Adams, 2014.