CYCLING ACROSS GALICIA. SOME REMARKS ON A GUIDE FOR CYCLISTS FROM THE LATE 19TH C. (Rowerem przez Galicje: uwagi na marginesie lektury przewodnika dla cyklistów z konca XIX wieku)

In 1898 Lvov saw the publication of a guide to Galicia for cyclists written by Kazimierz Hamerling, a well-known promoter of cycling and an eminent sports journalist. The guide was innovative in many respects; it surprised the readers with the very topic as well as with its treatment and with the precision of descriptions. Although the book is known to contemporary researchers, it is rather underestimated. In the present article Hemerling's guidebook is explored as a source of data on cycling in Galicia in the 19th c. It contains invaluable information on the infrastructure used by cyclists at that time, which included hotels, restaurants, service stations, tourist information facilities, etc. It also helps to reconstruct the condition, density and configuration of the roads used by cyclists. The indication of the difficulty of the routes and the distances of the excursions proposed allow the author to draw some conclusions about the mentality and skills of cyclists. The guidebook contains very precise information on marked cycling routes in Galicia at the end of the 19th c. Hemerling also provided his readers with a map of cyclist-friendly places in which the cycling sport was promoted.