Kaspar Harb

Johann Peter Kaspar Harb (born June 24, 1800 in Graz , † November 28, 1861 in Leibnitz ) was an Austrian lawyer and civil servant . In addition to his duties in the service of the imperial-royal administration and the Archdiocese of Salzburg , he was interested in historical studies in the Styria area .

Youth and professional career

Harb was born as the son of the school assistant Peter Haeb and his wife Maria Josepha, geb. Freystätter, born in Graben , then a suburb of Graz. He attended grammar school there from 1810-1817 and studied philosophy and law from 1817-1824. He then completed two years of practical experience at the Graz Magistrate and the Klagenfurt Court of Appeal . On January 9, 1826, he was appointed legal advisor to the bishopric of Seckau ob Leibnitz , and remained in this position until 1836. In 1834 he married Josepha Mörth from Leibnitz. In 1836 he became administrator, local judge and district commissioner for the Neuschloß-Thalerhof estate near Graz. In 1850 he was appointed to Eibiswald as a kk district judge , in 1851 to Graz, and in 1854 appointed district chairman of Hartberg . In July 1861 he fell ill with typhoid , from which he was no longer to recover; in November of the same year he died and was buried in Leibnitz.

Historical activity

In addition to his professional activity, Harb dealt with historical studies, especially numismatics and heraldry . In the course of his life he built up an important collection of ancient and younger coins, which came to the Joanneum in Graz in 1889 after the death of his son . During his tenure as a judicial officer in Seggau, the "Old Tower" there, a structure consisting mainly of Roman spoils from the nearby Flavia Solva , was demolished. It is thanks to Harb's commitment that the more than 100 Roman stones recovered in the process have been documented and have been preserved in the lapidary of the castle. For his achievements in this regard, he was of Emperor Ferdinand I , the Medium Golden Civil Medal of Honor awarded. A street in Leibnitz is named after him. Harb was a founding member and 1851-1854 committee member of the Historisches Verein für Steiermark , in whose publications he published several works.

literature

• R. Knabl: Kaspar Harb: Nekrolog. In: Mitteilungen des Historisches Verein für Steiermark 13 , 1864, pp. 147–152.
• S. Karl, G. Wrolli: The old tower in Seggau Castle in Leibnitz. Historical studies on the oldest component of the Leibnitz castle complex in Styria. Lit-Verlag, Vienna 2011.