Franz Smutny

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Franz Smutny (1895)

Franz Smutny (born December 11, 1867 in Sedletz , Kuttenberg , Kingdom of Bohemia ; † July 7, 1932 in Salzburg , Austria ) was an Austrian sports pioneer , inventor , civil servant and journalist .

Live and act

Franz Smutny was born on December 11th, 1867 as the son of an inspector of the tobacco industry in the village of Sedletz near Kuttenberg (today: Sedlec, a district of Kutná Hora) in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The Roman Catholic Smutny graduated from the Untergymnasium and the commercial academy in Graz , before he signed up in 1886 as a one-year volunteer for the kk Landwehr Infantry Regiment "Laibach" No. 27 . The regiment was the 44th Landwehr Infantry Brigade , which in turn was part of the 21st Landwehr Infantry Division , which was subordinate to the Landwehr Command in Graz. In 1888 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the reserve; in 1897 he held the rank of lieutenant. He worked for several years as a teacher at the military cycling school in Graz - the first course was held in 1895/96 after successful autumn maneuvers in 1894 - and also worked with the couple Carl and Elise Steininger . In 1896, the book he wrote, Instructions for the treatment of bicycles and their practical use, especially for military purposes , was published in Graz .

In his civil profession he was a worker in the Grazer Waggon- & Maschinen-Fabriks-Aktiengesellschaft vorm from 1887 . Joh. Weitzer , which was once founded by Johann Weitzer , and joined the Styrian regional service two years later. There he last worked in the state accounting department. Smutny was one of the first drivers in Graz and was involved in one of the first car accidents there in November 1899, which was caused by a passerby.

During his military service, Smutny distinguished himself as a skilful cyclist in various maneuvers and was already inventive at this time. So he constructed a collapsible military bicycle and also campaigned for the establishment of a cycling company. During the First World War , Smutny commanded the Voluntary Cyclist Half Battalion in Graz and was awarded the Medal of Bravery in 1915 . Used in maneuvers with a hussar regiment, Smutny was recognized in an article: It was primarily thanks to him that Austria, which was originally backward on this issue, caught up in the army cycling sector, and even assumed a leadership role. A year later he was sentenced to several years imprisonment together with his adjutant and his accounting officer in Trieste for misappropriating Aryan funds.

In addition to promoting cycling, he also campaigned for the popularization of winter sports and invented, among other things, the so-called Leoben steel toboggan . Due to its elasticity, this was particularly suitable for racing purposes and has been sold thousands of times over the years. He also suggested an artificial toboggan run in Graz for the summer months. In addition, Smutny was a sports editor at the Grazer Volksblatt and in 1899 acted as proponent for the establishment of the Graz Football Association, which later became the Academic Sports Association. Around 1926 he settled in the city of Salzburg, where he was a sports and local editor for the Salzburg Chronicle . Smutny died on 7 July 1932 at the age of 65 in Salzburg.

Works (selection)

  • Franz Smutny: Instructions for handling the bicycle and its practical use, especially for military purposes . Graz 1896.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wolfgang Wehap: Biografisches Rad-Lexikon Steiermark , p. 131. Retrieved on November 7, 2018. (PDF file)
  2. ^ "Baar" or "with details" - J. Puch's machine sales book , accessed on November 6, 2018
  3. ↑ Cless & Plessing: Appearance in the short hype of the chainless , accessed on November 6, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Smutny, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian sports pioneer, inventor, civil servant and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Sedletz , Kuttenberg , Kingdom of Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH July 7, 1932
Place of death Salzburg , Austria