CHAPTER 9: RIZAL’S GRAND TOUR
OF EUROPE WITH VIOLA (1887)
Prepared by: Reyes and Nale
THE TOUR BEGINS
• After receiving Paciano’s remittance of P1,000, Rizal paid Viola P300 for the
publishing of the Noli. Having paid his debt and enough funds in his pocket,
Rizal was ready to see Europe.
• At dawn of May 11, 1887, Rizal and Viola and two brown-skinned doctors left
Berlin by train to their first destination: Dresden, “one of the best cities in
Germany.”
DRESDEN AND TESCHEN
• In Dresden, Rizal and Viola visited the
Regional Floral Exposition.
• They also met Dr. Adolph B. Meyer and
visited the Museum of Art which
contained the painting “Prometheus
Bound.”
• They also met Dr. Feodor Jagor, who
upon learning their intent to see
Blumentritt, advised them to wire him of
their coming.
• From Dresden, they traveled to Teschen
(now Decin, Czechoslovakia) where
they sent a wire to Blumentritt as per the
suggestion of Dr. Jagor.
LEITMERITZ
• For the first time, the two scholars—
Rizal and Blumentrit met—who
came to know each other by
correspondence.
• Blumentritt, the genial host helped
Rizal and Viola get a room at Hotel
Krebs, after which he introduced
them to his family.
• The professor was married to a
good cook named Rosa and has 3
children: Dolores (called Dora or
Dorita by Rizal), Conrad, and Fritz
LEITMERITZ
• One afternoon, Rizal was invited to a
beer garden where the best beer of
Bohemia was served.
• There they met the burgomaster (town
mayor) who was amazed at Rizal’s
fluency in the German language.
• He was even more amazed calling him
“privileged talent” after learning that it
took only 11 months for Rizal to reach
that level of fluency.
• In Leitmeritz, he also met Dr. Carlos
Czepelak, a polish scholar and Prof.
Robert Klutschak, an eminent naturalist.
PRAGUE, BRUNN AND VIENNA
• After Leitmeritz, Rizal and Viola carried letters of recommendation from
Blumentritt to Dr. Wilkomm, a professor of natural history in the University of
Prague who showed them around the city’s historic spots.
• Then at Brunn, according to Viola, “nothing of importance happened in this
city.”
• On May 20, Rizal and Viola arrived at the capital of Austria-Hungary—Vienna.
This city fascinated Rizal because of its beautiful buildings, religious images,
haunting waltzes, and majestic charm. Vienna was truly the “Queen of the
Danube.”
• Another letter from Blumentritt led them to meet Norfenfals, one of the greatest
novelists in Europe during that time.
• They stayed at Hotel Metropole and met 2 friends: Masner and Nordmann,
Austrian scholars.
FROM LINTZ TO RHEINFALL
• On May 24, Rizal and Viola left Vienna
on a riverboat to see the beautiful
sights of the Danube River.
• The river voyage ended in Lintz. And
from there, they traveled overland to
Salzburg, then to Munich, then to
Nuremberg, one of the oldest cities in
Germany.
• After that, to Ulm, where the cathedral
of the city were “the largest and the
tallest in all Germany.”
• From Ulm, they went to Stuttgart,
Baden, and then Rheinfall (Cascade of
the Rhine), where they saw a waterfall
described as “the most beautiful
waterfall of Europe.”
SWITZERLAND
• From Rheinfall, they crossed the border to Schaffhausen, Switzerland and
then continued their tour to Basel, Bern, and Laussanne.
• After sightseeing in Laussanne, Rizal and Viola left on a little boat, crossing the
foggy Leman Lake to Geneva. The people of Geneva were linguists,
speaking French, German, and Italian. Rizal conversed with them in these
three languages.
• On June 19, 1887, Rizal treated Viola to a blow-out. It was his 26th birthday,
and according to Filipino custom, he celebrated his birthday with a
sumptuous meal.
• On June 23, they parted ways—Viola returned to Barcelona, and Rizal
continued to tour Italy.
RIZAL RESENTS EXHIBITION OF IGOROTS
IN 1887 MADRID EXPOSITION
• An Exposition of the Philippines was held in Madrid, Spain which exhibited the
deplorable conditions of the primitive Igorots, some of whom died, and
whose scanty clothing and crude weapons were objects of mockery and
laughter by the Spanish people and press.
• Being a champion of dignity, Rizal was outraged by this degradation of his
fellow countrymen, the Igorot of Northern Luzon.
• In a letter to Blumentritt, Rizal said he was in favor of holding an exposition,
“but not an exhibition of odd individuals, showing our countrymen as a
curiosity to entertain the idle inhabitants of Madrid.”
ITALY
• From Geneva, Rizal went to Italy. He visited Turin, Milan, Venice, and Florence.
On June 27, 1887, he reached Rome, the “Eternal City” and also called the
“City of the Caesars”
• On June 29th, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, Rizal visited for the first time the
Vatican, the “City of the Popes” and the capital of Christendom.
• Every night after sightseeing the whole day, Rizal returned to his hotel very
tired. “I am tired as a dog,” he wrote to Blumentritt, “but I will sleep as a god.”
• After a week of a wonderful sojourn in Rome, he prepared to the Philippines.
He had already written to his father that he was coming home.
RIZAL’S GRAND TOUR OF EUROPE
WITH VIOLA (1887)
1. DRESDEN 12. STUTTGART
2. TESCHEN 13. BADEN
3. LEITMERITZ 14. BASEL
4. PRAGUE 15. BERN
5. BRUNN 16. LAUSSANNE
6. VIENNA 17. GENEVA
7. LINTZ 18. TURIN
8. SALZBURG 19. MILAN
9. MUNICH 20. VENICE
10. NUREMBERG 21. FLORENCE
11. ULM 22. ROME
QUIZ
1. This painting was contained in the Museum of Art in Dresden
2. Blumentritt helped Rizal and Viola get a room where?
3. Blumentritt was married to a good cook who was also the mother of Dolores,
Conrad, and Fritz.
4. It took Rizal how long to be fluent in German?
5. A professor of natural history in the University of Prague who showed Rizal and
Viola around Prague's historic spots
6. This city was described as the "Queen of the Danube"
7. This city is where the largest and the tallest cathedral is in all of Germany.
8. After sightseeing in Laussane, Rizal and Viola left crossing which lake?
9. Rizal was outraged by the degradation of what group of people?
10. This city was described as the "Eternal City" or the "City of the Caesars"
