The Nation as a Touristic Experience in a Guidebook to Lake Balaton (1878) by Aladár Jalsovics

This analysis explores the imageries of Lake Balaton and its region created by guidebooks and other publications of early tourism. These works refer to certain elements of the cultural and literary traditions related to the lake. The paper also identifi es the most emphatic elements of these traditions in the guidebook genre. Consequently, the analysis demonstrates how Hungarian literary history narratives and cults represented in guidebooks defi ned the complex touristic imagination of Lake Balaton’s region. Firstly, a typology of the guidebooks and the evolution of this genre in the 19th century are outlined. Secondly, the paper shows a detailed analysis and interpretation of a Balaton guidebook by Aladár Jalsovics from 1878.