Britzka

A britzka (also spelled "brichka" or "britska") is a type of horse-drawn carriage. It was a long, spacious carriage with four wheels, with a folding top over the rear seat and a rear-facing front seat. Pulled by two horses, it had a place in front for the driver. It was so constructed as to give space for reclining at night, when used on a journey. Its size made it suitable for use as a 19th century equivalent to a motorhome, as it could be adapted with all manner of conveniences (beds, dressing tables and so on) for the traveller. The great railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel used a britzka as his travelling office while surveying the route of the Great Western Railway, carrying with him his drawing board, outline plans, engineering instruments, fifty of his favourite cigars and a pull-out bed.

The term is a variant of the Polish term "bryczka", a "little cart", from "bryka", "cart", possibly coming into English via several ways, including German "britschka" and Russian "brichka".

External links

* [http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/BRI_BUN/BRITZSKA_or_BRITSKA_from_the_Po.html Britzska , or britska (Online Information article).] Online Encyclopedia, based on the 11th Edition Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1911.