Johann Wilhelm Coaz

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Johann Wilhelm Coaz
Coaz on the summit of the Bernina on September 13, 1850

Johann Wilhelm Fortunat Coaz (born May 31, 1822 in Antwerp , † August 18, 1918 in Chur ) was a Swiss forest engineer and mountain topographer from the canton of Graubünden . Coaz was entitled to reside in S-chanf , Küblis , Valchava and Eclépens and an honorary citizen of Haldenstein . From 1838 he was a member of the Zofingia .

Coaz was the son of the professional officer Johann Wilhelm Coaz and his wife Salome geb. Kohl. 1841-43 he settled at the Royal Saxon Forestry Academy in Tharandt for forest engineer trained, then he was to 1851 Gebirgstopograf in Grisons in the service of the Topographical Bureau . During the Sonderbund War , Coaz was General Dufour's secretary . From 1851 to 1873 he was chief forest inspector for the cantons of Graubünden and St. Gallen (1873–75).

In 1864 Coaz was one of the founders of the Rhätia section of the SAC . In 1865 he was the third central president of the Swiss Alpine Club and was made an honorary member in 1901. In 1875 Coaz became the first federal forest inspector; he held the office until 1914.

Coaz was scientifically active in the fields of forest botany, topography, meteorology, glacier and avalanche science. In 1902 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern . His services include, among other things, the measurements for the Dufour map , the organization of forestry in Graubünden and St. Gallen as well as the organization of the federal inspection for forestry, hunting and fishing.

As a mountaineer and surveyor, he made 21 first ascents in the Alps, including Piz Kesch and Piz Lischana in 1846 and Piz Bernina in 1850 . Together with the Basel zoologist Paul Sarasin , Johann Coaz is one of the pioneers of the national park idea .

The Coazhütte in the Bernina region , built in 1926, is named after Johann Coaz .

literature

  • Conradin Ragaz: Johann Wilhelm Fortunat Coaz. In: Important Grisons from five centuries. Calven-Verlag, Chur 1970, Vol. 2, pp. 108-118.
  • Conradin Ragaz: Johann Wilhelm Coaz. In: Pius Bischofberger, Bruno Schmid. (Ed.): Great administrators of Switzerland. Union Druck + Verlag AG, Solothurn 1975, pp. 169-174.

Web links

Commons : Johann Wilhelm Coaz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ SAC: Johann Wilhelm Coaz: Vordenker and advocate
  2. ↑ SAC: From strict reservation to flexible network
  3. ↑ Pioneers of Alpinism ( Memento of October 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ First to climb
  5. ↑ www.graubuenden.ch: The milestones of alpinism in Graubünden
  6. ↑ Coaz Hut
personal data
SURNAME Coaz, Johann Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coaz, Johann Wilhelm Fortunat (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss forest engineer and mountain topographer, first to climb Piz Bernina
DATE OF BIRTH May 31, 1822
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 1918
Place of death Chur