Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld

Alfred Anthony Freiherr von Siegenfeld (born June 26, 1854 in Graz , † November 5, 1929 in Vienna ) was an Austrian heraldist and archivist .

Life

Siegenfeld's ancestors came from Aachen, his grandfather Franz was a major general († 1815), his father Josef was a cavalry master († 1886). He studied philosophy and law in Graz, and in 1873 he spent a year of study in Göttingen . In 1877 he joined the army as a professional officer, graduated from the Vienna War School between 1880 and 1882 and served in the following years with various dragoons and lancers regiments, in the general staff and with the honved hussars as a captain. Siegenfeld tried to get a job in the house, court and state archives as early as 1882. In 1894 he finally entered the archive, at that time as a second class draftsman. In 1897 he became an archivist first class, in 1905 an ancestor examiner at the Oberstkämmereramt, in the same year permanent advisor on the committee of the Central Commission for the Preservation of Art and Historical Monuments, on May 22, 1905 he was given the title and character of house, court and state archivist In 1911 he was appointed section councilor, in 1913 he was promoted to second deputy director, in 1917 the title and character of court and ministerial councilor . Siegenfeld retired on November 30, 1918.

Siegenfeld was considered the first authority of the entire Austro-Hungarian monarchy in genealogical-heraldic questions. He worked on a business assignment u. a. the expert opinion on the representation of the occupation countries Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Hungarian royal title, the expert opinion on the amalgamation of the archducal Austrian and Countess Chotek coats of arms on the occasion of the marriage of the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand with Sophie Countess Chotek . Siegenfeld, as a member of the commission for the new creation of a common national coat of arms for the signs and stamps of the offices, the flags of the army, the flags of the navy and the standards of the court, the necessary historical reports (1903-1917). In the archive itself, Siegenfeld was responsible for the rich collection of documents and the registers of the Reich. He also put on the collection of death and marriage notices, which still exists today under the name "Party Note Collection". Siegenfeld made a special contribution to building the new house, court and state archives. The iron document boxes, which are still in use today, were constructed based on his design and were subsequently used in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb. Siegenfeld was also vice-president of the genealogical-heraldic society "Adler".

As an outstanding heraldist, he played a major role in the development of the coat of arms of Burgenland . In addition to many heraldic publications, he had made a name for himself by working on the book of arms for the “ Neuer Siebmacher ” collection . Here he was not only an author, but also a draftsman for the volume Steiermark .

Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld was an uncle of the psychoanalyst Otto Gross and a cousin of his father, the criminologist Hans Gross .

Fonts

• The state coat of arms of Styria. Graz 1900.
• Volume Steiermark of the collection "Neuer Siebmacher"

literature

• Anthony von Siegenfeld Alfred. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 24.
• Siegenfeld, Anthony Alfred von. In: Franz Huter: Biographies of the archive officials since 1749 . In: Ludwig Bittner (Ed.): Inventories of Austrian State Archives V: Inventories of the Vienna House, Court and State Archives 4: Complete inventory of the Vienna House, Court and State Archives , first volume. Holzhausen, Vienna 1936, pp. 1–166, here: pp. 138–140 ( digitized version ).

Web links

• Literature about Alfred Anthony von Siegenfeld (selection) on the website of the Historical Commission for Styria

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Date of birth according to .pdf Anthony von Siegenfeld Alfred. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 24.