Karl Weyprecht, also spelt Carl Weyprecht, (8 September 1838 – 2 March 1881) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

explorer. He was an officer (''

k.u.k. The phrase Imperial and Royal (German: ''kaiserlich und königlich'', ), typically abbreviated as ''k. u. k.'', ''k. und k.'', ''k. & k.'' in German (the "und" is always spoken unabbreviated), ''cs. és k. (császári és királyi)'' in Hungari ...

Linienschiffsleutnant is a German language variant of the naval officer rank ship-of-the-line lieutenant. The rank is used by the Belgian Navy and formerly the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Austro-Hungary (; hu, Sorhajóhadnagy) was an officer rank in the Austro-Hu ...

'') in the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

. He is most famous as an Arctic explorer, and an advocate of international cooperation for scientific polar exploration. Although he did not live to see it occur, he is associated with the organisation of the first

International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred i ...

. In 1852, he studied at Gymnasium in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, but later switched to Höhere Gewerbeschule Darmstadt, now the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

. In 1856, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy (''Kriegsmarine'') as a provisional sea cadet. He served in the

Austro-Sardinian War The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

. From 1860 to 1862, he served on the frigate ''Radetzky'' under the command of Admiral Tegetthoff. From 1863 to 1865, he was instructional officer on the training ship ''Hussar.'' On 23 July 1865, he became known to the German geographer

August Petermann Augustus Heinrich Petermann (18 April 182225 September 1878) was a German cartographer. Early years Petermann was born in Bleicherode, Germany. When he was 14 years old he started grammar school in the nearby town of Nordhausen. His mother wan ...

at a meeting of the "Geographic Society" in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. He served in the 20 July 1866 sea battle at Lissa, aboard the ironclad . He met

Julius von Payer Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer (2 September 1841, – 29 August 1915), ennobled Ritter von Payer in 1876, was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, mountaineer, arctic explorer, cartographer, painter, and professor at the There ...

in 1870, and made a preliminary expedition with Payer to

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...

in 1871. On 18 February 1872, Weyprecht gained citizenship in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He co-led, with Julius von Payer, the 1872-1874

Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition The Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition was an Arctic expedition to find the North-East Passage that ran from 1872 to 1874 under the leadership of Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht. The expedition discovered and partially explored Franz Josef Lan ...

which discovered the archipelago

Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...

in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition's ship ''Admiral Tegetthoff'' was abandoned in the pack ice. The expedition then moved on sledges to go further north, then to open water, where they used boats to reach the Black Cape of

and would eventually contact a Russian schooner, "Nikolaj", under Captain Feodor Voronin, and get to

Vardø ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administra ...

, Norway, where they took the

mail boat Mail boats or postal boats are a boat or ship used for the delivery of mail and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles in communities where bodies of water commonly separate or separated settlements, towns or cities often where b ...

south and eventually returned to Vienna. He was awarded the 1875

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's Founder's Medal On 18 September 1875, he addressed the 48th Meeting of German Scientists and Physicians in Graz, Austria. He reported the "basic principles of Arctic research" and suggested that fixed Arctic observation stations should be established. According to Weyprecht, it was important to organize a network of Arctic stations taking regular measurements of weather and ice conditions with identical devices and at preestablished intervals.Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration ''Romanenko, O. Shilovtseva (Moscow State University, Geographical Department)''
In 1879, he presented these ideas, along with

George Neumayer Georg Balthazar von Neumayer (21 June 1826 – 24 May 1909), was a German polar explorer and scientist who was a proponent of the idea of international cooperation for meteorology and scientific observation. Biography Early years Born i ...

's to the 2nd International Congress of Meteorologists in Rome. Karl Weyprecht died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1881.

Commemorations

* The Austro-Hungarian polar expedition led by Weyprecht was selected as main motif for the Austrian Admiral Tegetthoff Ship and The Polar Expedition commemorative coin minted on 8 June 2005. The reverse side of the coin shows two explorers in Arctic gear with the frozen ship "Admiral Tegetthoff" behind them. * Swedish musician

Stina Nordenstam Kristina Ulrika Nordenstam (born 4 March 1969), better known by her stage name Stina Nordenstam, is a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer. Life and career Nordenstam was born in Stockholm on 4 March 1969. As a child, she was highly influenc ...

's sound installation ''Isens Fasor'' was spoken directly from Karl Weyprecht's expedition journal. *

Weyprecht Mountains Weyprecht Mountains (german: Weyprechtberge) is a small group of mountains about west of the Payer Mountains, forming the western half of the Hoel Mountains in Queen Maud Land. They were discovered by the Third German Antarctic Expedition (193 ...

Cape Weyprecht Cape WeyprechtConway, William Martin. 1897. ''The First Crossing of Spitsbergen''. London: J.M. Dent & Company, p. 288. ( no, Kapp Weyprecht) is a headland in the northeast part of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, in the area known as Olav V Land. The c ...

Weyprecht Fjord Weyprecht Fjord is a fjord in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the northwest, the fjord opens into the Lincoln Sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. The fjord is named after Austro-Hungarian Arctic explor ...

Weyprecht Glacier Weyprecht Glacier ( no, Weyprechtbreen) is a glacier in Jan Mayen. It is the longest glacier located in the Beerenberg area. The glacier is named after Austro-Hungarian Arctic explorer Karl Weyprecht. See also *List of glaciers in Norway *Svalb ...

, Weyprecht Islands * The base camp near

Erfoud Erfoud ( ber, ⴰⵔⴼⵓⴷ, Latn, ber, Arfud; ar, أرفود) is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, eastern Morocco. It is divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Annah ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

for the PolAres MARS2013 analog mission by the

OeWF The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) is an expert organization in the field of analogue research, which researches how humans can prepare on Earth for astronautical exploration of other planets. Since the AustroMars mission in 2006, OeWF has been involv ...

in February of that year was named ''Camp Weyprecht'' during the landing ceremony in the morning of 11 February 2013. (A smaller satellite location about 80 km further south was named ''Station Payer''.)

Bibliography

* Karl Weyprecht, ''Die Metamorphosen des Polareises. Österr.-Ung. Arktische Expedition 1872-1874'' (The Metamorphosis of Polar Ice. The Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition of 1872–1874) * Julius von Payer ''New Lands within the Arctic Circle'' (1876)
Andreas Pöschek
''Geheimnis Nordpol. Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Nordpolexpedition 1872-1874.'' Wien: 1999
download as PDF
* Ursula Rack ''Sozialhistorische Studie zur Polarforschung anhand von deutschen und österreich-ungarischen Polarexpeditionen zwischen 1868-1939'' (Vienna 2009).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weyprecht, Karl 1838 births 1881 deaths 19th-century Austrian people 19th-century German people Austro-Hungarian Navy officers Austrian explorers Explorers of the Arctic Novaya Zemlya Franz Josef Land Austrian meteorologists Antarctic scientists Austrian people of German descent People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse Military personnel from Darmstadt People from Michelstadt Tuberculosis deaths in Germany 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni