Adolf Schmidl

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Adolf Schmidl 1864

Adolf Anton Schmidl (born May 18, 1802 in Bad Königswart , Bohemia , † November 20, 1863 in Budapest ) was an Austrian topographer , geographer , speleologist and writer , as well as professor at the Joseph Polytechnic in Ofen . He developed caving as an independent scientific discipline.

Life

Adolf Schmidl's father, a Saxon physician, probably came to Vienna around 1871. His son attended the Academic Gymnasium in Vienna from 1812 to 1818 and then studied law and philosophy . In 1844 he received his doctorate. phil. As an intern in the public service, he was employed in the Imperial Coin and Antiques Cabinet (today in the Kunsthistorisches Museum ) and at the University of Vienna . From 1833 he worked as an educator in the Lobkowitz family . When the Imperial Academy of Sciences was founded in 1847, he became its first actuary (the responsible administrator). After the revolution of 1848 he became a member of the Vienna City Council and held this office until 1850. At the university and at the Polytechnic Institute he taught in the subjects of art history and geography from 1848 to 1852 , until in 1857 he received a professorship for history , geography and statistics at the Josephs Polytechnic in Ofen. He died in Budapest in 1863.

Drawing of the Postojna Caves in present-day Slovenia from 1854

Adolf Schmidl traveled and wandered through large parts of the Habsburg Monarchy and wrote several travel diaries about it. In the karst landscape of present-day Slovenia , he dealt with the existing caves (examples: Adelsberg Grottoes , Škocjan Caves , Pivka Jama ), developing a new scientific approach to it, which he also tried out in caves in other parts of the country. For this branch of research, which soon became independent, he coined the term "caving". In the period from 1844 to 1848 he was editor of the renowned popular science magazine " Austrian papers for literature and art, geography, history, statistics and natural history " .

plant

Schmidl's extensive geographical writings dealt particularly with Vienna and the surrounding area, the center of his life for 40 years, although he described numerous other, even remote, landscapes in detail. He had developed a regional geography scheme, according to which he constructed his reports.

“Regional studies and history are two very different things, and indeed there is still so much to be done in Austria in the field of regional studies that one can forgive an author if his book only gives: what is there, and not also: what was there! "

The following works are mentioned in extracts:

  • "The Schneeberg in Lower Austria with its surroundings from Vienna to Mariazell." (1831)
  • “Vienna as it is in relation to topography, statistics and social life.” (1833); Translated into French in 1837
  • “Travel guide through the Archduchy of Austria with Salzburg, Upper Styria and Tyrol; Kingdom of Hungary…; Kingdom of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, ... " (1834, 1835; 1836)
  • “ Vienna's surroundings for twenty hours in a circle . Described after my own hikes. ” (3 volumes, 1835–1839).
  • "The Austrian Empire." (7 parts; 1837–1843, unfinished)
  • "Handbook of Geography of the Austrian Imperial State." (1850)
  • “ Signpost to the Adelsberg Grotto and the neighboring Karst caves” (1853); Translated into French in 1854

In addition to his scientific work, he was also active as a writer in his early years, sometimes under the pseudonym Salmoser . He wrote around fifty historical dramas, comedies and novellas, which he published in the magazine "Österreichische Blätter für Literatur und Kunst, ..." (see above) , which he edited .

Honors

Publications

  • Adolf Schmidl: Vienna's surroundings for twenty hours in a circle. Described after own hikes. Printed and published by Carl Gerold, Vienna 1835 (preface by Peter Csendes in Reprint 2002, Archiv Verlag Vienna).

literature

Web links

Commons : Adolf Schmidl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Adolf Schmidl  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adolf Schmidl: Vienna's surroundings for twenty hours in a circle. Foreword p. IV – V.
personal data
SURNAME Schmidl, Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidl, Adolf Anton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian topographer, geographer, cave explorer and writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 18, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Bad Königswart , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1863
Place of death Budapest