Karl of Birago

Karl Freiherr von Birago

Karl Freiherr von Birago (born April 24, 1792 in Cascina d'Olmo near Milan, † December 29, 1845 ) was an Austrian military engineer and inventor of the bridge system named after him .

Life

He studied mathematics in Pavia , entered the military school in Pavia in 1812 and was assigned to the military-geographic institute in Milan in 1816, where he was involved in cartographic work until 1821 . From 1823 to 1826 he was a mathematics teacher at the pioneer school in Milan.

In 1825 Birago stepped forward with a war bridge he had invented, which was introduced in 1828. From 1831 to 1835 he worked as a captain in the construction of the fortifications of Linz and invented a new mount for the howitzers installed in the towers . In 1835 he was in charge of the fortifications of the Po crossing. As a major , he rejoined the engineer corps in 1836, for which he wrote several regulations and treatises.

In 1839 he built a military bridge over the Po near Brescello (the scene of Don Camillo and Peppone ), which exceeded all expectations. In 1840 a larger bridge train was built according to his ideas and the maneuvers practiced with it. In August he became a lieutenant colonel . Almost all European armies sent officers to Vienna to learn about the new bridge facilities. These bridges remained standard for many years, so the Birago Bridge in Switzerland was not decommissioned until 1937.

According to the draft of the curriculum for the newly established aristocratic Lombard-Venetian bodyguard, Birago became prime sergeant of the guard in 1840 and its colonel in 1841 . In 1844 he was transferred to the brigade command of the pioneering and pontooning corps, which had been united a year earlier, and he himself was promoted to the rank of baron.

Grave of Karl von Birago in the Vienna Central Cemetery

Birago died on December 29, 1845. His grave was in Vienna at the Sankt Marxer Friedhof and was moved to an honorary grave in the Vienna Central Cemetery (36-4-16).

The Birago barracks in Melk in Lower Austria was named in his honor.

family

His parents were the landowner Giacomo Antonio Birago and his wife Margherita Bosone . He married Karoline von Hietzinger (1818–1881) in 1844 . His wife was the daughter of the Reichsrat Karl Freiherr von Hietzinger and his wife Josefine Edlen von Engel . The marriage remained childless.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Birago, Karl Freiherr von . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 1st part. University printing house L. C. Zamarski (formerly JP Sollinger), Vienna 1856, pp. 402–404 ( digitized version ).
• Wilhelm Edler von Janko :  Birago, Karl Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 654.
• Oskar Regele :  "Birago, Karl Freiherr von". In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 251 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Bruno W. Koppensteiner: Karl Freiherr von Birago: bridge designer, fortress builder and diplomat , Austrian militia publisher
• Birago Karl Frh. From. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 86.
• Meyer B. (2007): Karl Freiherr von Birago (1792-1845) , in “Culture and History of Technology, Geomatique Suisse”, n. 1, 2007, p. 23.

Web links

Commons : Karl von Birago  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Karl Freiherr von Birago (1792–1845) in Geomatik Schweiz 1/2007 (PDF; 569 kB)