The village of Marianka near Bratislava has been famous for centuries because of its monastery and as a worship site for pilgrims from western Slovakia, Moravia, Austria and Hungary. Because of its immense the monastery and pilgrimage site have been depicted in many different postcards.
The village itself, near the monastery, has not often been in the lens of photographers and that is why this postcard is so precious. But the postcard is also special because it belongs to the classical period of the first postcards, made sometime at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The postcard was made by Wetschl from Stupava, a relatively unknown publisher who was likely hired by Lörincz Prack, the owner of the pub we see. It appears that Wetschl primarily published promotional postcards as there is a similar one featuring a pub in Stupava.
Another interesting item in this postcard is the nice round moon shining in the sky. But the moon is definitely not genuine as some postcard producers liked to add such an object to their works, probably to make them more romantic. Collectors know of dozens of these so-called “moony” postcards.
Another interesting thing is the activity in front of Prack’s pub. The huge pile of broken ice was probably just emptied from the first carriage while the second carriage remains fully loaded with ice. It is likely the pub owner used the ice to cool and freeze his pub grub. The pub owner and sponsor of the postcard is probably the gentleman in the dark suit standing with his family between the two carriages.
