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On expeditions lasting several years, traditional festivals and customs from the expedition participants' homeland are of great importance. Christmas and the turn of the year offer an opportunity to pause, celebrate and make sentimental memories of those who stayed at home - a look at the memories of two people involved.
The search for clues leads to two ships that spent Christmas far from home. The frigate SMS Novara set off from Trieste on April 30, 1857 and returned after sailing around the world on August 26, 1859. The Admiral Tegetthoff of the Austro-Hungarian North Polar Expedition, also known as the Payer-Weyprecht Expedition, in which new territory in the truest sense of the word, the Franz Joseph Land, was discovered in the far north, set off from Geestemünde (Bremerhaven) on June 13, 1872. The expedition members left the ship on May 20, 1874 and returned home under adventurous circumstances at Vienna's North Station on September 25, 1874.
1857: "... when Christmas week began [...] the bathing season on board again ..."
The chronicler of the Novara's circumnavigation was the geologist Ferdinand v. who was on board. Hochstetter (1829–1884), who regularly sent reports to Vienna. About Christmas 1857, the evening paper of the Wiener Zeitung of October 30, 1858, almost ten months later, read: "Moving forward quickly with the trade winds, we passed the Tropic of Capricorn from December 16th to 17th and on the 17th had the sun vertically above our crown [...]. Flying fish, the inhabitants of the tropical seas, were seen again on the 18th, and when Christmas week began, the time when one When we were looking for cozy warmth at home by the fireplace, the tropical heat began for us at first with 24° C., but then increased by almost one degree day after day to 28° and 29° C., which meant that the bathing season, the shower powder season and the time of white clothes began again on board, and we also had a white Christmas." Once again it shows that the men far from home knew how to make the most of the opportunity.
Christmas: "Everyone in their own way"
"We celebrated Christmas Eve in the southern hemisphere at a latitude of 5° - 6°, first in cheerful company and then each in our own way with memories and thoughts of home and his family. On Christmas Day there was a solemn mass and then, according to traditional custom, a festive dinner with the officers, to which the commodore, the commander and the natural scientists were invited." In addition to Hochstetter, there was, among others, the zoologist Georg v. Frauenfeld (1807–1873) and the painter Joseph Selleny (1824–1875) on board.
Turn of the year 1857/58 at the equator
A little later it started to rain heavily, followed by tropical nights at the equator. "For three long and hot days from December 29th to December 31st, we lay between 1° south and 0° in no wind and had to sweat profusely at 28-29° C on New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve. Nevertheless, the champagne glass rang brightly in the lively circle for the well-being of loved ones and friends back home." If they had heard the New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic from the Musikverein in our day, they would have listened to the sounds of the musicians who had traveled with them, as Hochstetter writes: "Funny music woke me up on New Year's morning in 1858."
Christmas 1872 in the Arctic Ocean
The experiences of the men on board the Admiral Tegetthoff, which fought its way to the far north using wind and steam power, were completely different. The diary of the engineer Otto Krisch, who was born in 1845 and died on the expedition on March 16, 1874, provides insight into everyday life on board. As early as August 1872, the ship was stuck in the ice and drifted north. The men tried again and again to blow the ship free of the ice in order to make progress with the full power of the engine, but without success. "But it was all in vain, the ship didn't move from the spot. [September 13, 1872]." Regardless, on December 23rd the boxes with Christmas presents were taken from the hold of the ship to the cabin.
"24 pieces of small wax candles and 100 pieces of fine cigars"
The patrons of the gifts were the k.k. Navy and the Hamburg provisions supplier Richer. The latter donated, among other things, "two bottles of champagne, a cake, two cans of confectionery, six bottles of cognac, six small porcelain figures introducing girls" as well as a picture of him and that of a Christmas tree, along with candles and cigars. The Christmas menu surrounding the team of Julius Payer (1842–1915) and Carl Weyprecht (1838–1881) reads no less exquisite. It consisted of: "Turtle soup, cod, haring, anchovies, an excellent apple strudel made by Mr. Orel, fresh and dried fruit, as well as several bottles of good wine."
Turn of the year 1872/73 in the Arctic Ocean: “Champagne as a lump of ice”
After a tombola was held on board on St. Stephen's Day, where a silver watch, a meerschaum pipe and a meerschaum spitz could be won as prizes, the preparations for the turn of the year took place. Eduard Orel, the second officer, served pear strudel. When they got the champagne it was frozen. The men knew what had to be done: "... it was broken with a knife and poured into the glasses while it was frozen; whereupon everyone tried to thaw the wine with the warmth of their hands." The actual turn of the year also had its ceremonies. "When the clock struck midnight, we got up from our seats and greeted the New Year with three hurrahs; then a procession was held around the ship with torchlights and not particularly harmonious music played by the crew..."
Viennese memories and artistic inspirations
After his death in Vienna's Leopoldstadt in 1884, Hochstetter was honored by the well-traveled men of Novara with the Hochstettergasse. Payergasse and Weyprechtgasse in Vienna-Ottakring were named after the polar explorers. Since 1967, the Große Breitenseer Kaserne in the 14th district of Vienna has been known as the “Vega-Payer-Weyprecht-Kaserne” and bears the name of the mathematician Georg Freiherr v. Vega (1754–1802) and the two polar explorers. The Nordpolstrasse near the former Nordwestbahnhof also reminds of this expedition. Meanwhile, Franz-Josefs-Land, which was once on the left bank of the Danube and was a popular entertainment district in the late 19th century, has disappeared. In terms of literature, Christoph Ransmayr was inspired by the polar expedition to write his novel “The Terrors of Ice and Darkness” (1984). The Viennese artist Herbert Starek took up the Novara expedition in the pigment print “A Journey Around the Earth” (2019). (Thomas Hofmann, December 23, 2019)