Johann Helffrich
Johann Helffrich (* in the 16th century) was a German traveler and writer.
The Leipzig citizen Helffrich toured Palestine , Alexandria , Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula in 1565 and 1566 . He held his experiences and observations in a travel diary firm, the 1579 under the title vnd warhafftiger Kurtzer report from Reyss from Venice to Hierusalem, From thence inn Egypt, auff Mount Sinai, Alcair, Alexandria, and folgends gen Venice widerumb was published . The book saw several new editions in various European countries in the following decades.
Helffrich is of particular importance because he was one of the first Europeans to visit and describe the historical sites of the areas visited with great interest. Among other things, he saw the Great Sphinx of Giza , the pyramids and explored the inside of the Great Pyramid of Cheops .
His reproduction and interpretation of what has been seen are often faulty and characterized by errors; for example, he claimed that the Great Sphinx of Giza was hollow and that priests had spoken to the people from within ; or he suspected that the sarcophagus in the burial chamber of the Cheops pyramid was made of cast metal. Nonetheless, his travelogue is significant, as it helped spark interest in the antiquity and history of Egypt in Renaissance Europe .
Works
- Kurtzer and warhieftiger report, Von der Reis from Venice to Hierusalem, 1579, digitized
literature
- CW Ceram: Gods, graves and scholars in the picture . Rowohlt, 1957
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Helffrich, Johann |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Helffrich, Johannes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German traveler to the Orient |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16th Century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1579 |