Vienna

Mark Twain, accompanied by his wife Olivia and his daughters Jean and Clara, stayed in Vienna from 27th September 1897 until 26th May 1899.

There are 3 subtopics.

Book Announcement

This book announcement was a joke made by Mark Twain during his last week in Vienna and everybody believed it. In an interview with Dr. Johannes Horowitz, correspondent for the New York Times, Mark Twain further expanded on his joke by explaining that his book would not be published until 100 years after his death, because then he would not have to bear the consequences of offending anyone (Scharnhorst, The Complete Interviews). The Viennese people were very concerned, fearing what the usually very outspoken Mark Twain had to say about them. A few days later, Mark Twain felt obligated to clarify his joke through his friend the journalist Eduard Pötzl (see "Mark Twain über den Weltfrieden," Neues Wiener Tageblatt, 27 May 1899). The reason for this joke, as Carl Dolmetsch concludes, was to draw attention to his actual works ...continue reading

Hotel Krantz

Notice from Neue Freie Presse announcing Mark Twain's stay at the Hotel Krantz in Vienna. Source: "Mark Twain," Neue Freie Presse, 16 Oct. 1898, 5, https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=nfp&datum=18981016&seite=5.

On October 16, 1898, the Austrian daily newspaper Neue Freie Presse reported that Mark Twain arrived at the Hotel Krantz from Kaltleutgeben with the intention of spending the winter in Vienna (see image). Although the hotel had opened only a few months before Mark Twain's arrival, it had already earned a good reputation. It was described as comfortable and known for serving good food and drinks. This reputation was also reflected in the guest book, which listed such illustrious names as His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Bavaria and the Duke of Oldenburg, Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden, Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern, Prince Albert of Belgium, Duke Günther of ...continue reading

Visit to Parliament

Shortly after arriving in Vienna, Mark Twain started to take an interest in local politics. On 28th October 1897, he attended a sitting of the Austro-Hungarian parliament for the first time (Dolmetsch 72). He describes it in great detail in his essay "Stirring Times in Austria", first published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in March 1898 and later republished in the collection How To Tell a Story. Twain writes that the event was constantly disrupted by heckling of the politicians. Curses and threats were made against the speaker and everybody had wooden planks that were banged on the desks to make loud noises. Many sittings of the parliament went like this, making actual debates almost ...continue reading