Ernst Schweninger: Traveling with the celebrity doctor to the European adventure!

Ernst Schweninger: Traveling with the celebrity doctor to the European adventure!

On May 18, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., the Neumarkt City Museum is hosting a special tour for International Museum Day. This tour highlights the special exhibition “Ernst Schweninger – The Celebrity Doctor of the German Empire”. The exhibition not only focuses on the life and work of the famous doctor, but also his great passion for traveling to distant countries. Neumarkt currently reports, that Schweninger used the developed railway network of the 19th century to take city trips, often combining patient visits with his trips.

At the age of 22, Schweninger already visited impressive places such as Lake Garda, Genoa, Nice and Geneva. A year later he received a scholarship that enabled him to spend research semesters in Vienna and Strasbourg. After the death of Otto von Bismarck, he accompanied wealthy patients and friends on extensive trips through Europe, reaching as far as the North Cape and as far as Capri and Istanbul.

A look at Schweninger's lifestyle

After his marriage in 1898 to Magdalena von Moltke, divorced from Lenbach, stays on the French Riviera became an integral part of his spring travel program. But the outbreak of the First World War brought Schweninger and his passionate travel life to an abrupt end. This was a significant setback for him and severely limited his mobility.

In the context of travel habits at the time, it is interesting to note that travel in the 19th century was unaffordable for a large segment of the population. According to an article about everyday life and travel in the German Historical Museum, travel was mainly reserved for privileged classes until the 20th century. DHM describes that only a few people had vacation days and the financial means to travel. The term “tourist” only appeared in the German-speaking world in the 1830s, initially referring to distinguished travelers without a fixed destination.

The development of travel and the role of Schweninger

It should also be emphasized that the first travel agencies in Germany were only opened in Breslau in 1863 and the development of tourist infrastructure contributed significantly to the popularization of travel. While Schweninger's travels were heavily influenced by a social framework, the opportunities for ordinary workers and farmers were more limited: they often traveled only for day trips or to visit relatives.

Until World War I, only about ten percent of workers had a certain number of days off per year, which continued to make travel an unattainable luxury for the majority. In this light, Schweninger's experience as a "celebrity doctor" appears to be a striking contrast to the ordinary citizens of his time, who rarely had the opportunity to explore the country. The difference in travel habits illustrates the social classes and their access to education and recreation in the 19th and early 20th centuries.