Viktor Silberer

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Viktor Silberer
Viktor Silberer (sculpture by Viktor Tilgner , photo by Josef Löwy )
Memorial plaque for Viktor Silberer and the founding of the Vienna Aero Club and the Austrian Aero Club

Viktor Silberer (also: Victor; born October 25, 1846 in Vienna ; † April 11, 1924 there ) was an Austrian journalist, writer, politician and pioneer of Austrian aviation .

Life

Viktor Silberer, who was born in a middle-class family, claims to have seen the French aviator Eugêne Godard (from the garden of the Sofiensaal ) "take off" in a balloon when he was seven years old in 1853 . From then on, it was his dearest wish to be able to take part in an aviation flight. He received a commercial training and worked first in the Anglo-Austrian bank and then as an editor for a newspaper.

In 1868 Silberer went to the United States of America , where he worked as an editor in New York City , but also wrote for the Viennese tourist paper and the evening newspaper . In 1869 he succeeded in realizing his childhood dream during his stay in America, which, however, continued to drive him to want to own a balloon himself. He returned to Vienna from the USA and founded the Wiener Salonblatt here . As a correspondent for the Neue Freie Presse he was involved in the Franco-German War in 1870/1871 . In 1873 he was editor-in-chief of the military newspaper, which he acquired in 1874 and in 1880 he founded the Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung , the first sports newspaper of the Danube Monarchy .

In the meantime, Silberer had suppressed his wish to own a balloon himself. In 1881, however, he met Eugêne Godard personally - now through his “Wiener Luftfahrten” - and was able to take part in a “driveway” with him. With that his decision was made and he declared to his doubting friends in autumn 1881: "For the year I will fly in my own balloon myself!" It was not until June 1882 that he went to Paris and brought his best quality balloon to the Brissonnet company 1,100 cubic meters of volume ordered, to be delivered within six weeks. On August 10, 1882, Brissonnet junior delivered the balloon, which was christened Vindobona . When a test filling was announced in front of around 200 people, mainly journalists and personal acquaintances, Silberer surprisingly made his first “ascent” with his balloon: “One can imagine the astonishment of the people of Vienna who eagerly awaited Sunday [13. August] when suddenly on Friday evening the much talked about Silberer balloon, which one still did not really believe in, suddenly appeared above Vienna. ”Because of the fire in the Ringtheater in December 1881, the“ high authorities ”made him difficult, because they wanted to have all possible responsibility pushed aside in the event of an accident. At first he only managed to get a permit for three "driveways" with Brissonnet junior. After that, he had to travel alone with the balloon, which was approved for four people, in order to obtain permits to take along two "assistants" at a time. In the course of 1882 there were around 150 trips on the “Vindobona” with various passengers, including his later co-author of some works, Georg Ernst. Silberer became a pioneer in aeronautics. For his balloon he owned a balloon hall with its own gas connection in the Vienna Prater.

In 1885 Viktor Silberer founded the Vienna Aeronautical Institute to manufacture balloons himself. In the same year he took photos from a balloon for the first time in Austria. In 1888 he organized the International Airship Exhibition in Vienna. From 1890 he trained the first balloonists in the Austro-Hungarian Army , including Franz Hinterstoisser , as part of the first military aeronautical courses . With him, Silberer founded the Vienna Aero Club in 1901 , which later became the Austrian Aero Club .

In addition to his journalistic engagement with sporting topics, Viktor Silberer was also an active athlete and in his free time did rowing, gymnastics, fencing, swimming, ice skating and heavy athletics, but also acted as an organizer of sporting events. For example, he reorganized what had been supposedly bland events at the Krieau harness racing club in Vienna's Prater , which the Viktor Silberer Lodge and the Viktor Silberer Memorial Race are reminiscent of. He also organized the first rowing regatta in Vienna and the first Vienna swimming competition in 1887, which enabled him to make a breakthrough in swimming in Vienna.

Together with Franz Hinterstoisser, he encouraged Wiener Neustadt to create the first Austro-Hungarian airfield . In 1902 he founded the Wiener Luftschifferzeitung (as publisher until 1914).

After the catastrophic fire of the Ringtheater in 1881, Emperor Franz Joseph I had the so-called Atonement House built in its place . At first there were no tenants here for a long time, then Viktor Silberer was one of the first tenants alongside Friedrich von Schmidt , Sigmund Freud and Count Schmerling. According to contemporary press reports, Silberer was also successful as a stock market speculator and bookmaker.

Viktor Silberer's grave

In 1882 he founded the "Association for the Elevation of Tourism in Vienna". From 1892 he was also active in the expansion of tourism on the Semmering - in the service of Viennese tourism, but against resistance from the local population - where he had the Silbererschlößl (1895) and the Hotel Erzherzog Johann built (1899, architect Hermann Helmer ) . From 1900 to 1909 he published the Semmeringer Zeitung to strengthen his activities on the Semmering . Viktor Silberer had the so-called St. Annahof built with a restaurant and ballroom on the area of ​​the former monastery in Vienna's Annagasse in the first district, which once housed the kk civil girls' boarding school . Other buildings erected on his behalf in Vienna were the houses Schubertgasse 20 (1905) and Rossauer Lände 39 (Berliner Hof, 1906/1907) in the 9th district of Vienna. He also owned the house at Lange Gasse 11 in Vienna's 8th district. Silberer was also involved in several Viennese theaters and in 1904 revived the May Parade in the Prater .

On February 6, 1906, the General Sports Committee Austria (the General Sports Committee for Austria ) was constituted. Viktor Silberer formed the Presidium together with Vice President Balduin Groller and Secretary Siegfried Hochermann . This sports committee represented the first attempt at the formation of a supreme sports authority, which united important Austrian sports associations and is a forerunner of the Austrian Olympic Committee .

Viktor Silberer was also politically active in various functions and mandates: As its chairman, he worked for the liberally oriented Democratic Vienna Voters' Association from 1891 to 1895 on the Vienna City Council. Out of admiration for Karl Lueger , he then turned to the Christian Social Party and from 1902 was a member of the Lower Austrian Landtag for the CSP, and from 1904–1913 he was again on the Vienna City Council. In addition, he was a member of the Reichsrat from 1907 to 1911 . From 1919 to 1923, Silberer was again active as a journalist with articles for the Arbeiter-Zeitung .

He rests in a grave of honor in the Vienna Central Cemetery .

In memory of Viktor Silberer, a street in Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) was named Silberergasse . His son Herbert Silberer (1882–1923) was a psychoanalyst and, like his father, a balloonist.

Fonts

(An internet source names him as the author of 32 sports books. The books and magazines listed here are found on the internet.)

  • The "Wiener Luftschiffer-Zeitung" (1902 to 1914) is distributed on microfiches by Harald Fischer Verlag in Erlangen ( ISBN 3-89131-167-2 ).
  • Victor Silberer and Georg Ernst: The training of the racehorse: contains a very detailed description of the system customary in England to train the racehorses, based on the experience of the most important trainers of that country. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1883.
  • Victor Silberer and Georg Ernst: The training of the trotter. Verlag der "Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung", Vienna 1883. ( digitized version and full text in the German text archive )
  • Victor Silberer (Ed.): Turfbuch for ... Verlag der "Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung", Vienna 1882–1923 verified.
  • Victor Silberer: Turf Lexicon. 1884. In this book with 296 pages Viktor Silberer summarized the common technical terms with detailed explanations as well as the names of well-known racehorses with their ancestry, their owners and achievements.
  • Victor Silberer and Georg Ernst: Handbuch des Bicycle-Sport Fahrräder anno 1885. A richly illustrated technical manual, indispensable for every bicyclist. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1883 for the first time, reissued in 1885 as an improved (“second”) edition and as a purchase advice and market overview of high bikes . Newly published as a reprint for those interested in the Hochrad: Walter Ulreich (Ed. And with biographical information added), Maxime, Leipzig 2004, ISBN 3-931965-21-X .

Books by Victor Silberer in the Vienna Library in the City Hall :

  • Victor Silberer (editor): Die Wiener Auto-Numbers 1914: Directory of the Viennese automobile owners with their addresses, sorted according to the identification numbers. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1914
  • Victor Silberer, Otto Baron Dewitz: Handbook for obstacle riders. Self-published, Vienna / Leipzig 1886
  • Victor Silberer: The training of the trotter. 2nd completely revised and enriched edition, Verlag der "Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung", V. Silberer, Vienna 1894. (In the 1st edition: The training of the trotter horse: contains a complete description of the very successful American system that trotters to train. Also a lot of very interesting data from the American trotting surf. )
  • Victor Silberer: The Jockei Club for Austria: On the founding history of the club. F. Beck, Vienna 1917.
  • Victor Silberer (Ed.), Georg Ernst, et al .: Im Ballon! A description of the journeys of the Vienna balloon "VINDOBONA" in 1882, as well as the earlier Wiener Luftfahrten (1791 to 1881) [...] Verlag der "Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung", Vienna 1883. ( digitized on archive.org )
  • Victor Silberer: The balloon: history and development of aviation. Verlag der "Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung", 11 pages, Vienna 1883.
  • Victor Silberer: The Vienna Regattas from 1881–1887: The complete results of all Vienna rowing competitions from 1881–1887. Compiled from the original reports in the Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung by Victor Silberer. V. Silberer, Vienna 1887.
  • Victor Silberer: Three flights: In a balloon over the Neusiedlersee. A morning promenade 6000 feet above Vienna. A night in the storm clouds. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1890.
  • Victor Silberer: A dinner in the air: detailed description of the airship trip undertaken with Mr. [...]. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1882.
  • Victor Silberer: Basics of practical aviation: manual for aspiring balloonists; practical instructions for the use and correct treatment of the ball balloon. R. C. Schmidt, Berlin, 1910.
  • Victor Silberer: Handbook of Athletics and Boxing Instructions. 2nd completely revised and often enriched edition, self-published, Vienna 1900.
  • Victor Silberer: Handbuch des Renn-Sport , A. Hartleben, Vienna 1881.
  • Victor Silberer: Manual of the rowing sport. 3rd increased and improved edition, A. Hartleben, Vienna / Leipzig 1897.
  • Victor Silberer: Handbook of Trotting Sport. A. Hartleben, Vienna / Pest 1880.
  • Victor Silberer: From Green Lawn: A Book About Turf Betting. Publishing house of the “Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung”, Vienna 1917.

literature

Web links

Commons : Viktor Silberer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Victor Silberer (Ed.), Georg Ernst, et al .: In the Ballon !: Chapter The "Vindobona". Vienna 1883, p. 1 ff.
  2. ↑ Victor Silberer (Ed.), Georg Ernst, et al .: Im Ballon !: Chapter Godard's journeys 1853. Vienna 1883, p. 181.
  3. ^ The Neue Freie Presse reported in detail on this first trip on August 12; as well as the Neue Freie Presse, the Presse and the Neue Wiener Tagblatt reported on the 14th of the second trip on the planned first trip day, August 13th.
  4. ↑ Hans Veigl : Lachen im Keller , Löcker, 1986, p. 93. ISBN 3-85409-086-2 . ( Google Books )
  5. ^ ÖLV history: 115 years of the athletics association . Retrieved May 13, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Silberer, Viktor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Silberer, Victor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian aviation pioneer and politician, member of the state parliament
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1924
Place of death Vienna