ABSTRACT
Central Europe, particularly the territory of the future countries of Bohemia, Poland and Hungary, lay on the cross-road of medieval travellers. These travellers came from different countries and were of different origin and religion. The diverse evidence they left behind varies in nature, being influenced by the religious, social and cultural background of the travellers themselves as much as by the country they were describing. The purposes of the travellers’ stay were quite different as well. Some of them were long-term visitors to the countries of Central Europe who settled down or lived in the region for an extended period. Others crossed the region ‘in transit’ as a part of a longer journey. After the beginning of the eleventh century, the overland route of pilgrims to the Holy Land ran along the line traced by the valley of the Danube and crossed a good part of the region. Among the crusaders, too, there were a good number who put down written notes on their journeys, including their travels through Central Europe. Some of these authors provide us with first-hand information, whereas others compiled their works on the basis of others’ notes. Here, too, previous experiences and preconceptions were quite different. It is easy to accept this and to understand how much and to what extent their cultural background influenced the perception of their personal experiences. The notion of towns, for example, was quite different for a Christian traveller who arrived from Western Europe as compared to the experiences of a Muslim traveller coming from the Iberian Peninsula.1 The motives which drew them to this region were as various as their expectations and presumptions.
