Hermann von Barth (5 June 1845 – 7 December 1876) was a famous German

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

Life and career

Hermann von Barth was born on 5 June 1845 at

Eurasburg Eurasburg is a municipality in Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria). It is situated about south of the Bavarian state capital, Munich, in the county of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen. Since the redistricting reforms of 1978, the municipality of Eurasburg has h ...

Castle. He initially studied

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Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, where he was affiliated to the Corps Franconia. As a junior lawyer he began in 1868 in Berchtesgaden to explore the still largely unconquered Berchtesgaden Alps. From 1873 he studied natural sciences and, in 1876, deranged by fever, he committed suicide whilst on a research expedition in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. He died on 7 December 1876 in São Paulo de Loanda, Portuguese

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. Von Barth is most well known for his exploration of the

Karwendel The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, Germany. Four chains stretch from west to east; i ...

mountains. In summer 1870 he climbed, alone, 88 peaks (12 for the first time, including the

Birkkarspitze The Birkkarspitze (2749 m) is the highest mountain in the Karwendel range, Austria as well as an ultra prominent peak. It is located within the Innsbruck-Land District of Tyrol, Austria. See also *List of Alpine peaks by prominence This is a lis ...

, Kaltwasserkarspitze, Lalidererspitze, Große Seekarspitze, Grubenkarspitze, Dreizinkenspitze, Eastern Karwendelspitze,

Vogelkarspitze Vogelkarspitze is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member sta ...

, Wörner, Kuhkopf). In 1871 he switched to the

Wetterstein mountains The Wetterstein mountains (german: Wettersteingebirge), colloquially called Wetterstein, is a mountain group in the Northern Limestone Alps within the Eastern Alps. It is a comparatively compact range located between Garmisch-Partenki ...

and was the first to climb many peaks there as well. By 1869 he had explored the Allgäu Alps, climbing 44 summits, 3 of which were previously unconquered. He typically climbed alone. In 1874 he published the book ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen'' ("From the Northern Limestone Alps"), in which he documented his experiences and tours. The work is viewed today as a classic amongst Alpine literature.

Legacy

The names of numerous mountain huts, trails, etc., are witness to the services of Hermann von Barth in opening up the Northern Limestone Alps: * the Barthgrat (the crossing from the Katzenkopf to the Middle Jägerkarspitze ( III), Karwendel, first conquered by Barth, unaided and alone, in 1870); * Barthspitze (Karwendel, named in his honour) and Barthkamin (Risser Falk, Karwendel, first climbed in 1870 by von Barth); * the protected climb from the ''Meilerhütte'' hut on the Partenkirchen Dreitorspitze is also called the Hermann von Barth Way. File:Hermann von Barth.jpg, Hermann von Barth File:Hermann von Barth Bergsteiger.jpg, Portrait in the mountains, from ''Gesammelte Schriften (between 1870 and 1876) File:Hermann von Barth Denkmal.jpg, Hermann von Barth Monument in Kleiner Ahornboden,

File:Barthgrat.jpg, The Barthgrat

References

Sources

*Rudolf Gombart, Paul Martin: ''Dem Bergsteiger und Afrikaforscher Dr. Hermann Frh. v. Barth zu Hamarting Franconiae München (xx,FM) zum Gedächtnis''. Einst und Jetzt 10 (1965), p. 143-145 * Hermann von Barth: ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen. Ersteigungen und Erlebnisse.'' Süddeutscher Verlag, München 1984, (out of print) * Hermann von Barth: ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen; Ersteigungen und Erlebnisse in den Gebirgen Berchtesgadens, des Allgäu, des Innthales, des Isar-Quellengebietes und des Wettersteins; Mit erläuternden Beiträgen zur Orographie und Hypsometrie der Nördlichen Kalkalpen, Mit lythographierten Gebirgsprofilen und Horizontalprojectionen nach Original-Skizzen des Verfassers.'' Eduard Amthor, Gera 1874. XXIV, 637, 22 tables and 5 folding tables with several illustrations, (facsimile) Fines Mundi Verlag, Saarbrücken 2008
PDF, 86 MB
* Carl Bünsch, Max Rohrer (Hrsg.): ''Gesammelte Schriften des Freiherrn Hermann von Barth.'' Alpine Verlagsanstalt, München 1926. * Ewald Weiß: ''"Einsam auf einem Fels zu thronen". Das kometenhafte Leben des Hermann von Barth, Freiherr von und zu Harmating.'' In: ''Panorama.'' 6/2000. Deutscher Alpenverein e.V., p. 42–44,
Link
* ''"Hermann von Barth (eine Auswahl)"'': Herausgegeben vom Hauptausschuss des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins als erster Band der Reihe "Erschließer der Berge", München 1926

External links

Porträt Hermann von Barth in DAV Panorama Nr. 6/2000
*
Liste der Erstbesteigungen (auszugsweise)
Excerpts from publications
Bergruf.de
Das vollständige Kapitel ''Berchtesgadener Alpen'' aus dem Buch ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen'' (1874) und mehr
Wanderpfa.de
Tourenberichte der ''Allgäuer Alpen'' aus dem Buch ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen'' und mehr

- Grubenkarspitze, Dreizinkenspitze, Laliderer Wand und Spitze, Bockkarspitze (aus dem Alpenfreund 1875)

- Birkkar-, Ödkar-, Marxenkar- und Seekarspitze (aus der Zeitschrift des Deutschen Alpenvereins 1870/71)

Der Grosse Karwendelspitz. Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen (1874), Gera 1874 S. 420 ff. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Hermann Von 1845 births 1876 deaths 1870s suicides People from Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German mountain climbers Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Suicides in Angola