Hermann Beyer-Thoma

Hermann Beyer-Thoma studied East European and Modern History, Slavic Studies, and Political Science at the University of Munich from 1973 onward. In 1987, he completed his doctorate there with a dissertation on the Finnish communists. After working on a number of externally funded research projects, he joined the East European Institute in Munich (later Regensburg) as a research associate in 1992. From 2008 to 2017, he served as managing editor of the Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas (Yearbooks for the History of Eastern Europe). His research has long focused on the history of migration. He is currently a member of the editorial team preparing the edition of the travel account discussed in this article, covering the years 1810–1817.

Hermann Beyer-Thoma

So ähnlich dürfte sich Riga mit seiner Schiffsbrücke, die gleichzeitig als Schiffsanlegestelle diente, Bronner präsentiert haben

Background Article

A German Professor’s Stopover in Riga, 1810

Riga Society through the eyes of a traveler—and what sources from the time reveal

Background Article

How did a German Emigrant find his Way in Eastern Europe at the Beginning of the 19th Century?

Spatial and cultural orientation during emigration using the example of Franz Xaver Bronner and his journey to Kazan and back again (1810–1817)

How someone finds their way in a foreign country can be explored in different ways. In the case of Franz Xaver Bronner's travels from Switzerland to Kazan in 1810, and his return in 1817, a geographical approach is used to provide a fact-based foundation.