Candidate Pontz von Engelshofen

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Candidus Pontz Reichsritter von Engelshofen (also Candid (us) Ponz von Engelshofen ; * February 22, 1803 in Vienna , † August 8, 1866 in Stockern ) was a pioneer of Austrian prehistoric research and a local researcher .

Life and work

Candid of Engelhofen came from the 1697 with the title "of Engelhofen" in the equestrian set gender. He entered the Theresian Military Academy in 1818 and was retired as an ensign in 1825. After the death of his father, he quit the service while retaining the character of an officer (most recently Rittmeister ) and took over the Stockern estate together with his brother. From this point on, the intensive collecting and research activity began, which lasted until his death. Engelshofen documented all his activities for archeology in detail in diaries. The first noted find, a Roman grave from Wiener Neustadt , dates back to 1826. He was also relevant during his service in Moravia . The collecting activity from 1837 and the simultaneous contact with the University of Vienna ( Eduard Sueß ) are understood today as the beginning of the "Waldviertel prehistoric research". Engelshofen is known as the "nestor of down-to-earth collectors and researchers". He was the teacher of Johann Krahuletz , whose research results are kept in the Krahuletz Museum in Eggenburg .

The Engelshofen Collection was set up in Stockern Castle like a museum. After Engelshofen's death, it came into the possession of Ernst Karl von Hoyos-Sprinzenstein and was housed in the Rosenburg . However, it has not been open to the public since 2012. By Anton Hrodegh and its student Angela Stifft-Gottlieb done an inventory and exhibition installation. The collection contains objects from 357 sites, mainly from northern Lower Austria ( Waldviertel , Weinviertel ). A small but selected part of the prehistory collection was donated to the Prehistoric Department of the Natural History Museum in Vienna. In addition to the prehistoric collection, there is also an important geological-palaeontological and a very extensive collection of weapons (medieval and modern). The paleontological collection was loaned to the Krahuletz Museum Eggenburg in 2013 . Since October 2014, part of it has been presented in the museum's permanent exhibition.

The importance of Engelshofen lies primarily in the fact that he was a pioneer and that he documented his collections in a way that was useful for today's professional standards. Candid von Engelshofen did not publish himself, but his written legacy is an inexhaustible source for local research into prehistory.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Kalchhauser: Inestimable value. In: Niederösterreichische Nachrichten . Horn edition, week 39, September 25, 2013, p. 30.
personal data
SURNAME Pontz von Engelshofen, Candidate
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pontz Imperial Knight of Engelshofen, Candidate
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian pioneer of research into prehistory
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1803
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH August 8, 1866
Place of death Stutter