Otto Margulies (alpinist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Otto Margulie's grave
The Mountaineers Cemetery Johnsbach (2012); Otto Margulies' grave is the second (in the middle) from the left; his mother's is just behind

Othmar "Otto" Margulies (born May 24, 1899 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary ; † June 28 or 29, 1925 in the Hochtor-Nordwand , Gesäuse , Austria ) was an Austrian alpinist . He is considered a pioneer in mountaineering for the disabled.

Life

Otto Margulies was born on May 24, 1899 as the son of the private civil servant Ulrich Margulies (born December 27, 1858 in Skalat , Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ; † April 14, 1918 in Vienna , Cisleithanien ) and his wife Rosa Margulies (born May 29, 1860 in Vienna; † October 26, 1935) was born in Vienna and was baptized Evangelical Lutheran . Already as a child he was encouraged to do sports by his mother and began to mountaineering at the age of 13, where he was already doing difficult mountain climbs at that time . In his youth, especially from 1915, Margulies was an avid gymnast, athlete and mountaineer. After he prematurely passed the Matura at Elisabeth-Gymnasium , today's Rainergymnasium , in the 5th Viennese district Margareten in 1917 , he then volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian Mountain Artillery Regiment No. 2 in Payerbach . In October of the same year, Margulies fell while touring the Rax from the Wiener Neustädter Steig on the back wall and sustained a serious leg injury. His leg subsequently had to be amputated, probably due to a medical malpractice.

From 1919 to 1923, Margulies took courses in chemistry , German studies , psychology , education and philosophy at the University of Vienna , became a member of the Constantia fraternity and also worked as a bank clerk at the Austrian Credit Institute for Commerce and Industry . Already at this time he regained his athletic skills through tireless training and began developing his own techniques for coping with alpine terrain , adapted to his own possibilities as a prosthesis wearer. He also developed his own techniques for skiing for prosthesis wearers. In addition, he was active as a swimmer and artificial jumper at the Austrian Swimming Club in Vienna and was also active as a fencer . In 1920 he joined the Bayerland section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club , or DÖAV for short. A year later he joined the Donauland section , which was founded in response to the anti-Semitic orientation of the DÖAV, and from then on appeared as a committee member and second secretary. Furthermore, Margulies belonged to the Friends of Nature and was active in their alpinists' guild. Despite his physical limitations, he achieved considerable alpine performance, and as a prosthesis wearer he even managed to climb the first time . His ascents taken him into the Silvretta Group ( Dreiländerspitze ) in the Verwallgruppe ( Seekopf ), in the Goldberg Group ( Sonnblick ), as well as in the Mont Blanc massif ( Dent du Géant , Pointe Helbronner , Grand Flambeau ).

The first ascents include the Totenköpfl south-east face on the Admonter Reichenstein in Gesäuse (1920), the Sommerstein north face in the south of the Steinerne Meer in the Berchtesgaden Alps (1920) or the Hohenwartkopf south ridge in the Glockner group (1924). As a soloist or guide, Margulies reached thirty peaks over 3,000 meters, where he mainly chose climbing routes due to his physical limitations. His tour partners included Karl Hanns Richter , a geologist and pharmacist from Vienna, and Hans Eitelberger. In addition, Margulies also appeared as the author of tour reports and always tried to encourage the group of war invalids in particular to engage in alpine sports. For this reason, he can now be regarded as a pioneer of disabled sports, especially disabled mountaineering. On July 28 and 29, 1925, he was together with his mountain comrades Ernst Glattau, Hans Spiegler and Franz Wegscheider on the Jahn-Zimmer route of the Hochtor north face in the Ennstal Alps in the Gesäuse, when he and his three comrades were with died in a sudden sudden fall in the weather. Subsequently, at least Margulies and Wegscheider were buried at the Johnsbach mountaineering cemetery. Three other mountaineers who died in the same fall in the weather in the Ennstal Alps were also buried here. A memorial plaque to the west of the Hochtorg summit still remembers the four deceased mountaineers:

Dedicated to the memory of the mountain comrades
Franz Wegscheider, Stud. Phil.,
And Ernst Glattau, bank clerk,
who died on June 28, 1925
with their companions Otto Margulies and Hans Spiegler on the Jahn-Zimmer route of the Hochtor north face
.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Memorial plaque west of the Hochtorg summit , accessed on March 2, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Margulies, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Margulies, Othmar (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian alpinist
DATE OF BIRTH May 24, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 1925 or June 29, 1925
Place of death Hochtor north face , Gesaeuse , Austria