Rudolf Saar (cave explorer)

Rudolf Saar (originally Rudolf Freiherr von Saar , born November 11, 1886 , † May 27, 1963 ) was an Austrian pioneer in cave exploration .

Life

After completing secondary school and studying natural sciences for six semesters, Rudolf von Saar turned to studying law . Before the First World War he came into contact with cave exploration and was instrumental in exploring the Dachstein caves. On his initiative, the Lower Austria section of the Association for Speleology in Austria was founded in 1913. In 1917 and 1918 he was assigned the task of recording and exploring caves that could be used by the military as a cave advisor to the General Staff Department of the 11th Army Command on the South Tyrol front.

In 1921 he was appointed to the State Office for Agriculture and Forestry and Saar was primarily involved in the Austrian cave fertilizer campaign. In the same year he was entrusted with the administration of the Dachstein cave company, in the framework of which he managed the expansion and development work until 1923. He contributed significantly to the draft of the "Natural Caves Act" (1928) and the ordinances based on it on the " Speleological Institute ", the " Federal Cave Commission " and the " Cave Guide Examination".

When Austria was annexed in 1938, his work was suddenly interrupted. Saar was retired in 1940.

In 1945 he was reappointed to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and entrusted with the management of the karst and cave system. In 1951 he was able to open the newly established Speleological Institute as a board member. In 1952 Saar was put into permanent retirement as head of the legal and legislative section of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. As a result, he devoted himself to the further expansion of the Spälological Institute and initiated extensive research work in the Dachsteinstock .

literature

• F. Bauer: In memoriam Rudolf Saar . In: Die Höhle 14, 1963, pp. 109–113 with a list of publications ( digitized version ).
• Rudolf Saar, Rudolf Pirker: History of the cave research in Austria , after Rudolf Saar by Rudolf Pirker. (= Scientific supplements to Die Höhle No. 13). Regional Association for Speleology in Vienna and Lower Austria, Vienna 1979.