Mountaineering as a specific form of recreation in the late 19th century

Aim of this paper is to characterize mountaineering in the late 19th century as a specific form of recreation on the example of the Prague section of ‘Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenverein’ (DuÖAV). Alpinism developed in the second half of the 19th century in the context of the political and economic changes in Central Europe, which also gave rise to many other sports. History of the club and description of the membership and its structure serves as an introduction to the issue. First we describe sources of motivation of members of the section to engage in alpinism. This factor is closely related to the financial demands of this sport at the end of the 19th century. Another essential factor is travelling in relation to destinations of Prague alpinists. The last studied factor is an estimation of time-demandingness in relation to physical activity. This paper is a part of a research focused on establishment and existence of ‘Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenverein’ in the Czech Republic before World War II