britzka introduction

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 sevaral ways, including German britschka and Russian brichka.