Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustible liquid derived from petroleum. Its discovery is generally attributed to Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner who distilled kerosene from bituminous coal and oil shale in 1846. To obtain kerosene distilled from oil, however, one has to wait a few years and travel to the other side of the world: to… Continue reading The Habsburg origins of the kerosene lamp
Have you ever wondered where masochism comes from? It started during the Habsburg Empire, in Galicia (which used to be a region from eastern Poland to western Ukraine). Leopold von Sacher-Masoch grew up there, raised by his Ukrainian nurse who has had a huge influence on him. She told him Ukrainians tales and sang to… Continue reading The Origin of Masochism, an Unfortunate Writer and Galicia
Galicia is a historical and geographical region in central-eastern Europe, today divided between western Ukraine and eastern Poland. The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was created following the Partitions of Poland starting in 1772 and was under the rule of the Habsburgs. It was an economic resource, a cultural hub and a strategic military region,… Continue reading Keeping Galicia’s heritage alive
Should we make a travel guide dedicated to ‘regions that no longer exist’, Galicia would certainly be among the most popular. Indeed, not only did this province arise from the partitioning of a former state, the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation, but it disappeared along with another bygone empire, the Habsburg Empire, of which it was a part.… Continue reading Habsburg Galicia: troubled and wonderful diversity
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