Vienna to Trieste - Part 2 Great Continental Railway Journeys


Vienna to Trieste - Part 2

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Vienna to Trieste - Part 2. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

I'm embarking on a new railway adventure

0:00:030:00:06

that will take me across the heart of Europe.

0:00:060:00:09

I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,

0:00:110:00:15

dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel

0:00:150:00:20

for the British tourist.

0:00:200:00:22

It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to navigate

0:00:220:00:26

the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.

0:00:260:00:31

Now, a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal an era

0:00:310:00:34

of great optimism and energy, where technology, industry,

0:00:340:00:39

science and the arts were flourishing.

0:00:390:00:41

I want to rediscover that lost Europe that in 1913 couldn't know

0:00:420:00:48

that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.

0:00:480:00:52

I'm continuing my journey

0:01:080:01:10

through three countries which, at the time of my guidebook,

0:01:100:01:13

were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

0:01:130:01:16

I started in the imperial capital Vienna,

0:01:190:01:22

and headed south through the mountains to the Semmering Pass.

0:01:220:01:25

Today I'm beginning in Austria's second city Graz,

0:01:260:01:30

before crossing the border to Slovenia

0:01:300:01:33

and her capital, Ljubljana.

0:01:330:01:35

I'll end my journey in the Italian port of Trieste.

0:01:350:01:39

Along the way, I'll delve into the history of caving...

0:01:450:01:48

-You will hang like this.

-I wondered how I would hang!

0:01:500:01:53

..explore Slovenia's patriotic past...

0:01:560:02:00

-It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.

-Yes.

0:02:000:02:04

..and absorb the national spirit.

0:02:040:02:08

-Want to try mine?

-Yeah, I'd love to.

0:02:080:02:11

Mmm!

0:02:110:02:13

THEY TOAST

0:02:130:02:16

This morning, I'm exploring Graz.

0:02:200:02:23

Known as a popular retirement town at the time of my guide,

0:02:230:02:27

the city has since undergone a rejuvenation.

0:02:270:02:30

With six universities, one in five living in Graz today is a student.

0:02:300:02:36

This was also the 2003 European capital of culture,

0:02:370:02:42

which saw the opening of the modern British-designed art gallery.

0:02:420:02:46

But it's the view over the city that Bradshaw's recommends.

0:02:550:02:59

My guidebook promises me a fine view from the Schlossberg,

0:03:040:03:09

that's the fortress mountain at 1,545 feet.

0:03:090:03:14

"Ascent by cable tram."

0:03:140:03:17

and on the south side, I'm promised a beautiful old clock tower.

0:03:170:03:21

Interestingly, when this was opened in 1894,

0:03:210:03:25

it was powered by a steam engine, which was at the top of the mountain,

0:03:250:03:30

and a boiler at the bottom, the two linked by steam pipes.

0:03:300:03:35

Extraordinary!

0:03:350:03:36

BELLS CHIME

0:04:020:04:06

Well, as I hoped, a lovely panorama over Graz,

0:04:120:04:16

with its combination of the Baroque and the ultra-modern.

0:04:160:04:19

I'm following my guidebook out of the city.

0:04:290:04:32

Bradshaw's tells me that, in the area surrounding Graz, the heights and

0:04:320:04:36

woods offer innumerable excursions, including Lurloch Grotto.

0:04:360:04:40

From the late 1800s,

0:04:440:04:46

Alpine adventure wasn't restricted to the mountain heights.

0:04:460:04:50

Beneath the ground, cave exploration was also becoming a popular pastime

0:04:500:04:56

and the world's first speleology society formed in France in 1895.

0:04:560:05:01

I'm meeting cave expert Heinrich in the Lurgrotte where,

0:05:010:05:05

over 100 years ago, tragedy was narrowly averted.

0:05:050:05:09

-Heinrich, I'm Michael.

-Hi, Michael.

0:05:090:05:12

What an extraordinary cave!

0:05:120:05:15

When was this cave discovered?

0:05:150:05:18

The cave was discovered in 1894.

0:05:180:05:21

It was very hard even to come here

0:05:210:05:24

because there were so many lakes and streams and pools to cross over.

0:05:240:05:29

You make it sound quite dangerous with all that water and so on.

0:05:290:05:33

Were there accidents in the early days?

0:05:330:05:36

There were a lot of accidents. The most famous was in 1894.

0:05:360:05:41

There were two competitive caving clubs who tried to be the first

0:05:410:05:47

to explore the cave and one of them entered the cave secretly.

0:05:470:05:53

It was a very unlucky exploration because a flood took place outside,

0:05:530:05:58

a very big thunderstorm and this thunderstorm flooded the entrance

0:05:580:06:04

of the cave, so they couldn't get out any more.

0:06:040:06:08

The group of seven cavers, including one 15-year-old boy,

0:06:090:06:13

were all amateurs.

0:06:130:06:15

When they failed to return home,

0:06:150:06:16

their families quickly raised the alarm.

0:06:160:06:19

Was there a very big rescue effort, then?

0:06:200:06:22

It was a very big rescue effort.

0:06:220:06:24

3,000 people involved in the rescue and many spectators.

0:06:240:06:29

It was a big event in the papers.

0:06:290:06:33

It attracted so much attention that Emperor Franz Josef

0:06:330:06:36

dispatched a military team.

0:06:360:06:38

They took some people from the army, they brought some logs

0:06:400:06:44

and made a blocking of the stream.

0:06:440:06:48

Finally, they had to dig a new tunnel to enable the cavers to escape.

0:06:480:06:53

Despite being trapped for nine days,

0:06:530:06:55

extraordinarily, no-one was seriously hurt.

0:06:550:06:58

Today, there are societies dedicated to cave rescue.

0:07:020:07:06

Henrich is part of one called Hohlenbaren,

0:07:060:07:09

'and they've agreed to let me take part in a rescue training exercise.'

0:07:090:07:14

OK, down here you will see there is a little rope.

0:07:140:07:18

and here we have a kind of break with a special knot.

0:07:180:07:21

-And then you'll let me down gently with this slipknot.

-Exactly.

0:07:210:07:24

Very good. OK.

0:07:240:07:26

You will hang like this later.

0:07:260:07:28

THEY LAUGH I wondered how I would hang.

0:07:280:07:31

-OK?

-Like this?

0:07:310:07:33

Yeah.

0:07:370:07:38

OK.

0:07:400:07:42

'Hearing water rushing around me,

0:07:420:07:45

'I try to imagine what a terrifying experience it must have been

0:07:450:07:48

'for those trapped here over 100 years ago.'

0:07:480:07:50

Michael, stop.

0:07:520:07:54

Stop.

0:07:540:07:55

Michael, you OK?

0:07:550:07:57

I'm fine.

0:07:570:07:59

Ah.

0:08:020:08:05

-Are you fine, Michael?

-I am. Thank you very much, Henrich.

0:08:050:08:08

-Welcome down to Earth!

-It's good to be back.

0:08:080:08:11

After such an adventure, I'll head for a night's rest

0:08:140:08:17

before continuing my journey south in the morning.

0:08:170:08:20

Back at Graz Station, my journey resumes

0:08:350:08:38

along Austria-Hungary's imperial rail route.

0:08:380:08:41

Today I'm leaving Austria for Slovenia.

0:08:430:08:47

I'll pick up a connection over the Slovenian border at Zidani Most,

0:08:500:08:55

as there's only direct train per day from Graz to Ljubljana.

0:08:550:08:59

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

0:09:110:09:13

My Bradshaw's gives my next destination its German name,

0:09:190:09:23

Laibach, but it's now known as Ljubljana.

0:09:230:09:26

It tells me that it's the capital of Carniola.

0:09:260:09:29

Well, it's now the capital of Slovenia.

0:09:290:09:33

And it tells me that the city was greatly injured by an earthquake

0:09:330:09:37

in April, 1895, so I'm expecting to find a city

0:09:370:09:41

in a new country with a different language and rebuilt.

0:09:410:09:45

Under the Austria-Hungarian Empire, those with power and influence tended

0:09:530:09:57

to speak German, while everyone else used their native language.

0:09:570:10:01

-Hello, ladies.

-Hello.

0:10:030:10:05

Do you mind if I join you for a moment?

0:10:050:10:07

Thank you very much indeed.

0:10:070:10:08

I wonder if you can help me.

0:10:080:10:10

The Slovenian language, is it like the Croatian language,

0:10:100:10:14

like the Bosnian language, or is it very different?

0:10:140:10:17

It's very similar, but it's not the same.

0:10:170:10:19

I think we understand each other, almost all.

0:10:190:10:23

Are you very proud of your own language?

0:10:230:10:26

Do you feel a very strong sense of ownership of your own language?

0:10:260:10:29

Well, youngsters, I think they are, like...

0:10:290:10:32

..more connected with English than like with their own language.

0:10:330:10:41

-So most people of your generation now speak English?

-Yes.

0:10:410:10:45

Although independent since 1991,

0:10:480:10:51

for much of the 20th century, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia.

0:10:510:10:55

I always feel excitement when I arrive in

0:10:570:11:00

one of the former communist countries, because Slovenia

0:11:000:11:04

has had a pretty rough passage since it left the Austro-Hungarian Empire

0:11:040:11:08

nearly 100 years ago.

0:11:080:11:10

Since the time of my guide, it's been a state, a kingdom,

0:11:210:11:25

three kinds of republic and, finally, an independent nation.

0:11:250:11:29

Throughout the upheaval, Ljubljana has been Slovenia's first city

0:11:320:11:36

and it's stunning.

0:11:360:11:37

I'm meeting historian Peter Krecic at the central Preseren Square

0:11:450:11:50

to discover more about the city as Bradshaw travellers

0:11:500:11:53

would have found it.

0:11:530:11:54

We meet in a really beautiful square,

0:11:550:11:58

but I hear from Bradshaw's Guide

0:11:580:12:02

that there was an earthquake here in 1895.

0:12:020:12:05

A lot of destruction?

0:12:050:12:07

Yes, quite a lot.

0:12:070:12:09

Maybe more than 50% of the buildings were destroyed

0:12:090:12:13

and it was really a dramatic view when you entered Ljubljana

0:12:130:12:19

immediately after the earthquake.

0:12:190:12:21

On that Easter Sunday, the city was devastated.

0:12:230:12:27

The earthquake was so powerful

0:12:270:12:29

that it was felt in Vienna almost 250 miles away.

0:12:290:12:32

It left many of the 31,000 population homeless,

0:12:340:12:38

so a plan to salvage the city was quickly put in place.

0:12:380:12:42

When it came to beginning to rebuild the city, how was that undertaken?

0:12:430:12:49

In that time, we had a good and capable member of Ljubljana Council.

0:12:490:12:56

His name was Ivan Hribar.

0:12:560:12:58

Later on, he became a mayor of Ljubljana for a decade

0:12:580:13:02

because of his successful reaction after the earthquake.

0:13:020:13:06

"Immediately," he said, "when the earth was still moving,

0:13:060:13:11

"going through the town, I was thinking of what to do."

0:13:110:13:17

He wanted broader streets, new parks, greenery in the town.

0:13:170:13:21

Councillor Ivan Hribar, a passionate nationalist,

0:13:220:13:26

recognised that this could be an opportunity to create

0:13:260:13:30

a contemporary Slovenian capital.

0:13:300:13:31

What had been a sleepy Baroque town became an architectural playground.

0:13:340:13:39

The city's interpretation of the Viennese Secession,

0:13:390:13:42

Austria's equivalent of Art Nouveau, adorned the streets and, by 1910,

0:13:420:13:48

over 400 new buildings had been constructed.

0:13:480:13:52

They were intended to embody more than architectural fashion.

0:13:520:13:56

This building was built immediately after the break of the centuries,

0:13:580:14:01

somewhere...1901.

0:14:010:14:04

And, as you see, the national feeling is put on the facade

0:14:040:14:10

in the form of the Slovenian flag.

0:14:100:14:12

You can see the red ground floor,

0:14:120:14:15

then the first floor is in blue

0:14:150:14:18

and the rest of the building is white.

0:14:180:14:20

-An extraordinary building.

-Yes.

0:14:200:14:22

At the start of the 20th century,

0:14:330:14:35

nationalism was on the rise across Europe.

0:14:350:14:38

Many Slavic groups in the Empire wanted greater independence

0:14:380:14:42

and Slovenia wanted to be a nation in its own right.

0:14:420:14:45

That passion expressed itself in architecture, literature,

0:14:470:14:50

science and art.

0:14:500:14:52

I'm meeting curator Andrej Smrekar.

0:14:540:14:57

-Andrej? Michael.

-Very nice meeting you.

0:14:590:15:02

-Your National Gallery is spectacular, absolutely beautiful.

-Thank you.

0:15:020:15:07

The gallery exhibits many works by the Sava Group,

0:15:080:15:11

a collection of Slovenian artists formed in 1906,

0:15:110:15:14

whose work became a plank of Slovenian nationalism.

0:15:140:15:18

Now this painting here, the image emerges perfectly clearly

0:15:210:15:25

and it is a man sowing a field,

0:15:250:15:29

taking the seed from a basket on his left hip

0:15:290:15:32

and presumably casting it with his right hand.

0:15:320:15:35

And in the background?

0:15:350:15:38

And in the background is a hayrack.

0:15:380:15:40

The painting is by Ivan Grohar, a Sava Group member.

0:15:420:15:46

Those artists exhibited across the Empire

0:15:460:15:48

at the start of the 20th century,

0:15:480:15:51

reaching a broad audience with their scenes of Slovenian life,

0:15:510:15:54

fuelling national pride and sentiment.

0:15:540:15:57

Why do you think that this image is so powerful for Slovenian people?

0:15:570:16:02

That's... That's us.

0:16:020:16:04

Because, from the start, the peasant was understood

0:16:040:16:10

as the essence of Slovenian identity.

0:16:100:16:14

Aristocracy was, in the 19th century,

0:16:140:16:17

perceived as foreign, as other.

0:16:170:16:20

The peasant represented the millennial struggle against

0:16:200:16:24

German domination.

0:16:240:16:26

That's what makes him so iconic.

0:16:260:16:28

The picture is saying, "This peasant is of the same stuff as the Earth."

0:16:290:16:34

I see that.

0:16:340:16:36

These images were part of Slovenia's national awakening,

0:16:360:16:40

strengthening national identity and the desire for independence.

0:16:400:16:45

This painting features on Slovenian coins even today.

0:16:450:16:48

Has it become the most important painting in Slovenian history?

0:16:480:16:52

I think so. I think it kept its centrality for the whole century.

0:16:520:16:58

-It's extraordinary, isn't it? The power of that is amazing.

-Yes.

0:16:580:17:01

With all this talk of Slovenian patriotism,

0:17:080:17:11

I'm anxious to absorb the national spirit.

0:17:110:17:14

TRADITIONAL SLOVENIAN MUSIC

0:17:160:17:22

So the Snopc o'tecca seems like a good place to pause.

0:17:300:17:34

-Hello!

-Hello.

0:17:380:17:40

-This is a very nice shop.

-Thank you.

0:17:400:17:43

-I was hoping to drink something typically Slovenian, please.

-OK.

0:17:430:17:48

What do you recommend?

0:17:480:17:49

-We have 80 different spirits.

-No!

-Yeah.

0:17:490:17:52

I think pear, apple and plum are the most typical ones.

0:17:520:17:55

Actually, the apple sounds quite nice.

0:17:550:17:58

All the schnapps are fruit-based and made using traditional techniques.

0:17:580:18:03

This revival of artisan distilling has become popular in recent years.

0:18:030:18:08

-Want to cheers with us?

-Yes, cheers!

-Na zdravje, we say na zdravje!

0:18:080:18:12

-Na zdravje!

-Na zdravje!

-Cheers.

0:18:120:18:14

Here, do you want to try my...?

0:18:160:18:18

-This is apple. You want to try mine?

-Yeah, I'd love to.

0:18:180:18:21

Mmmm!

0:18:230:18:24

Very nice to see you. Cheers.

0:18:240:18:26

-Na zdravje.

-Na zdravje, na zdravje, na zdravje.

0:18:260:18:29

My time in Ljubljana is almost up,

0:18:350:18:38

so I'm turning in before I embark on my final day

0:18:380:18:41

across the old Empire.

0:18:410:18:43

I'm heading back to the station for the last leg of my journey...

0:19:030:19:06

TRAIN HONKS

0:19:070:19:09

..although it's a bit more complicated than it was

0:19:090:19:12

at the time of my guidebook.

0:19:120:19:13

According to the timetables in my Bradshaw's Guide, 100 years ago

0:19:140:19:19

you could travel from Ljubljana to Trieste by train

0:19:190:19:22

in about three hours and ten minutes.

0:19:220:19:25

Today the journey takes rather longer,

0:19:250:19:27

and just now there are all sorts of problems with the lines

0:19:270:19:30

and there's a replacement bus service.

0:19:300:19:33

I don't fancy one of those,

0:19:330:19:34

so I've found a freight train that's going my way.

0:19:340:19:37

Good morning. I'm Michael.

0:19:400:19:41

Oh. Hello, I'm Zoron.

0:19:410:19:43

-Zoron, good to see you.

-Thank you.

0:19:430:19:45

-May I sit here?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Wonderful.

0:19:450:19:47

TRAIN HONKS

0:19:520:19:55

What is the cargo on the train today?

0:19:570:20:00

It's containers, all is containers from Austria,

0:20:000:20:05

for all Austria to the Adriatic Sea and then go on board.

0:20:050:20:10

540 metres long and 1,500 tonnes.

0:20:100:20:18

-Wow. That's a big train, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:20:180:20:21

Here is the route built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire

0:20:250:20:29

to carry goods to Trieste.

0:20:290:20:30

But this train is heading to Koper, Slovenia's only seaport,

0:20:330:20:38

about 13 miles outside Trieste.

0:20:380:20:40

TRAIN HONKS

0:20:420:20:45

BRAKES SQUEAL

0:20:470:20:50

Thanks, it was a great ride. Bye-bye, now.

0:20:500:20:52

Thanks.

0:20:550:20:58

I'm picking up my final connection for Trieste at Villa Opicina,

0:20:580:21:02

just over the Italian border.

0:21:020:21:04

A traveller using my Bradshaw's Guide 100 years ago could have travelled

0:21:170:21:20

on a tram on this route, because it began service in 1902.

0:21:200:21:25

And it's unusual, possibly unique, because at this point,

0:21:250:21:28

it's a conventional tram, but as we begin the very sharp descent into

0:21:280:21:32

the city of Trieste, a rope system takes over, balancing the tram

0:21:320:21:37

that's coming up the gradient with another that's descending.

0:21:370:21:41

Outside the city, a so-called shield wagon is added to the tram.

0:21:500:21:55

So now we're at the top of the gradient

0:21:590:22:02

and it is an incredibly steep gradient and the tram has engaged

0:22:020:22:06

with this cable, which is running along wheels, and as we go down,

0:22:060:22:09

we must be balanced by a tram that is now coming up,

0:22:090:22:13

but I am amazed by how steep this hill is.

0:22:130:22:16

Fantastico questo tram, no? E' unico, no?

0:22:190:22:23

E' unico, si.

0:22:230:22:24

It operates like a funicular, but its application to a tram is unique.

0:22:260:22:32

The cable system enables the vehicles

0:22:320:22:34

to get up and down the 27% gradient

0:22:340:22:38

before they continue as ordinary trams through the town.

0:22:380:22:41

We're in the city of Trieste,

0:22:430:22:45

which Bradshaw's tells me was the "Tergeste of the Romans,

0:22:450:22:48

"the principal seaport of Austria, situated on a gulf

0:22:480:22:52

"at the northeast end of the Adriatic,

0:22:520:22:55

"a thriving commercial place."

0:22:550:22:57

Indeed, it's difficult to overstate the importance of Trieste,

0:22:570:23:00

the place where Austria's imports and exports flowed, and the Adriatic,

0:23:000:23:05

the sea on which its dreadnoughts and battleships

0:23:050:23:09

could project the Empire's power.

0:23:090:23:11

At the time of my guidebook,

0:23:250:23:27

Trieste had become Austria-Hungary's economic hub.

0:23:270:23:30

During the second half of the 19th century, its population doubled

0:23:300:23:34

as migrants flowed in to find work building ships or heaving cargo.

0:23:340:23:39

By 1913, over six million tonnes of goods, including tropical fruit,

0:23:420:23:47

coal and cotton, were being moved by rail from ships through the port

0:23:470:23:52

and out to the rest of the Empire.

0:23:520:23:54

Today, cargo is brought into Trieste's new port.

0:24:030:24:06

One of the vital goods at the time of my guidebook

0:24:060:24:09

is still a major import today.

0:24:090:24:11

Alessandro, hi, I'm Michael.

0:24:140:24:17

-Hi, Michael, it's nice to meet you.

-Good to see you.

0:24:170:24:19

Alessandro's family has been roasting coffee for 130 years.

0:24:210:24:25

-This is an extraordinary display of coffee here.

-Yeah.

0:24:300:24:34

And how does coffee rank as a commodity?

0:24:340:24:37

Coffee is the third commodity in the world after gold and petrol,

0:24:370:24:42

so it's very important.

0:24:420:24:44

And today Trieste is one of the most important ports of delivery

0:24:440:24:48

for coffee in Italy and in Europe.

0:24:480:24:50

Just as at the time of my guidebook,

0:24:530:24:55

Trieste has a key role in the global coffee market.

0:24:550:25:00

Around two million bags of raw beans are processed

0:25:000:25:03

through the port each year.

0:25:030:25:05

But before they're used, they must be roasted.

0:25:050:25:08

So, Michael, let me introduce you to Massimo.

0:25:120:25:15

-Massimo is one of my roasters.

-Massimo, Michael.

-Nice to meet you.

0:25:150:25:19

That is not what I expected, because I always think of coffee beans

0:25:200:25:24

as being very, very dark brown.

0:25:240:25:27

And it has very little smell at the moment.

0:25:270:25:30

Yes, because the cellular matrix of the coffee is completely sealed.

0:25:300:25:36

-But when we roast it, it releases the flavour compounds.

-Lovely.

0:25:360:25:40

-And that's the process we're about to begin now.

-Yeah, exactly.

0:25:400:25:44

Whoa, that's heavy!

0:25:440:25:46

Each sack weighs 60 kilos

0:25:480:25:51

and they are passed through the roaster two at a time.

0:25:510:25:54

In order to retain their flavour, the beans must be roasted

0:25:540:25:58

at temperatures of up to 220 Celsius

0:25:580:26:01

in a wood-fired furnace.

0:26:010:26:03

In the early 20th century,

0:26:050:26:07

over 80% of Trieste coffee was bound for Vienna,

0:26:070:26:11

where the coffee culture was a vital part of daily life.

0:26:110:26:15

Now the coffee is being completely transformed. It's this wonderful

0:26:170:26:20

-dark colour and a fantastic aroma.

-Yeah, it is true.

0:26:200:26:24

The machinery may be modern,

0:26:280:26:30

but the technique and the skill are centuries old.

0:26:300:26:33

The national drink of Italy!

0:26:560:26:58

I've travelled from Vienna on railway lines

0:27:190:27:23

that helped to bind together the old Habsburg Empire

0:27:230:27:26

during its last years.

0:27:260:27:29

And that has enabled me to see Trieste for what it once was,

0:27:290:27:33

the gateway and shop window of Austria-Hungary,

0:27:330:27:37

an Empire that has now dissolved.

0:27:370:27:40

The rise of art and architecture in Slovenia was typical

0:27:400:27:44

of the nationalist movements that helped to loosen the bonds

0:27:440:27:49

of the Empire so that today, movement along the old tracks

0:27:490:27:53

is complicated by the existence of new national frontiers.

0:27:530:27:58

Next time, I'll find out how one of Italy's best loved

0:28:010:28:06

tourist attractions was saved from collapse.

0:28:060:28:09

They were very concerned that it was about to fall over,

0:28:090:28:13

and it actually was.

0:28:130:28:14

I'll attempt to carve out my place in Italy's artistic history.

0:28:140:28:20

Michelangelo, eat your heart out!

0:28:200:28:22

And I'll catch a spot of impromptu opera.

0:28:220:28:25

TENOR HOLDS LONG NOTE

0:28:250:28:28

Bravo. APPLAUSE

0:28:280:28:30

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS