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Charles von Hügel (born Carl Alexander Anselm Baron von Hügel; 25 April 1795 – 2 June 1870), sometimes spelt in English Huegel, was an
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n
nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
,
army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...
,
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
,
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, and
explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
, now primarily remembered for his travels in
northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
during the 1830s. During his lifetime he was celebrated by the European ruling classes for his
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
and his introduction of plants and flowers from
New Holland (Australia) ''New Holland'' () is a historical European name for mainland Australia, Janszoon voyage of 1605–1606, first encountered by Europeans in 1606, by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon aboard . The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the ...
to Europe's public gardens.


Early life

Hügel was born in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, on 25 April 1795, as the son of Johann Aloys Josef von Hügel (1753–1825), a diplomat and a statesman, and his wife, Susanne Holthoff (1768–1837). In 1813, after studying law at
Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...
, he became an officer in the Austrian
Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
and fought in the armies of the sixth and seventh coalitions against Napoleon. After Napoleon's abdication, Hügel visited
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, before being stationed with other Austrian troops in
southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
and then
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. In 1824, Hügel took up residence in
Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna (). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains large areas of the Vi ...
, a district of
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where he established his botanical garden and set up a company to sell its flowers. He also became betrothed to a Hungarian Countess, Melanie Zichy-Ferraris, but in 1831 she broke off their engagement to marry the Austrian chancellor, Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich.


Grand Tour of Asia


Kashmir and Punjab

In the wake of his misfortunes in love, Hügel undertook the grand tour of
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
that would establish his renown. From 1831 to 1836, he travelled to the
Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
, the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
, the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
, and
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
, before returning to Europe by way of the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
and
Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
. He seems to have been most intrigued by the
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
and
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
regions of northern India, as he chose his experiences there to form the basis of the four-volume work published in the years following his return to Europe: ''Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek'' (literally "Cashmere and the Realm of the Sikhs"). The first and third volumes are an account of Hügel's journey across northern India, including his meetings with
Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...
, the
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
ruler of the Punjab, in
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
and a number of other European adventurers; the second volume provides descriptions of Kashmir's history, geography, and resources; and the fourth volume is a
gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or wikt:directory, directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a co ...
. After the final volume's publication, Major Thomas B. Jervis translated, abridged, and annotated an English edition of Hügel's work, published in London in 1845 by John Petheram. Four years later, primarily on the basis of this publication, the
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 ...
awarded Hügel its Patron's Medal, "for his enterprising exploration of Cashmere." Hügel entered the vale of Kashmir through Jammu region and exited the vale through Uri sector. He Reached Lahore via GT Road after reaching Lahore he set off for Mumbai to go to Austria via ship . He stayed for some days in Srinagar from Srinagar a famous pir of Naqashbandi order travelled with him to Lahore. He penned down his traveling very meticulously. His Account is interesting and gives fabulous information about the people, geography, rulers and their attitude towards their subjects. He gave the general characteristic of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs etc. Raja Zaberdast khan was the ruler of Muzaffarabad at the time of his visit to Muzaffarabad . He wrote about the deteriorating health of Zaberdast Khan and he was asked by the Muzaffarabad's Raja to do him a favor by asking Ranjeet to release his son which was Kept in srinagar by the ruler of Srinagar as a surety. After his stay in muzaffarabad he set out for Haripur. The way he took to reach Haripur was an old way. He mentioned various villages which came on his way. Abbottabad was not there at the time of his travel though he has mentioned various villages which are still in existence in the vicinity of Abbottabad and Haripur like doab and mirpur. Noting the Characteristics of the people he wrote that the people have a title of great esteem like Raja, Mir and barrons in their names but still they are subjects and subdues. In Lahore he was a guest of the Sikh Ruler Ranjeet singh. He came very close to Ranjeet Singh. Ranjeet singh Liked Hügel's vision and Ranjeet requested him to train his army and he will paid for his services but Hügel rejected Ranjeet's offer. In his book he also noted down chronologically the history of establishment of Sikh power in Punjab.


Australia, November 1833 – October 1834

From November 1833 to October 1834, Hügel toured Australia, visiting the
Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...
and
King George Sound King George Sound (Mineng ) is a sound (geography), sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came in ...
(Western Australia),
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
(Tasmania),
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...
and
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
to observe the
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and collect seeds for his garden. His large collection was later described by Endlicher et al. and his name is attached to a number of species, such as '' Alyogyne huegelii''. During this time, Hügel wrote a journal, later translated by Dymphna Clark, which, in addition to his botanical observations, is a rare record of an aristocratic European's attitudes towards colonial Australia. Among those well-to-do settlers whom Hügel befriended in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
was the family of Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes, who shared his interest in scientific and cultural matters. In general, however, Hügel's opinions of the administration, transportation, social life and missionary efforts that he encountered in Australia, and wrote about in his journal, were not favourable. Hügel took exception to the ill-treatment and exploitation of the
indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
(Aborigines) whom he observed on his travels.


Return to Europe

After his return to Vienna, Hügel founded the Royal and Imperial Horticultural Society (''K.K. Gartenbau-Gesellschaft''), of which he was president between 1837 and 1848, and prepared his notes about northern India for publication. In 1847, he again became betrothed, this time to Elizabeth Farquharson, the daughter of a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
military officer, whom he had met in India during 1833. In 1849 he was awarded the
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
Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...
for his exploration of Kashmir. On the outbreak of the
1848 revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
, Hügel chaperoned his earlier rival in love Chancellor Metternich during his escape from Vienna to England. He then sold his garden, rejoined the Austrian army, and took part in the first Italian Independence war. From 1850 to 1859, he served as Austrian Envoy Extraordinary (ambassador) to the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...
in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, finally marrying Elizabeth Farquharson there in 1851. In 1860 he became the Austrian ambassador in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and published a second work based on notes from his Asian tour, this time about the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
: ''Der Stille Ocean und die spanischen Besitzungen im ostindischen Archipel'' (''The Pacific Ocean and the Spanish possessions in the East Indian archipelago''). He retired from the Imperial service in 1867 and took his family to live in the seaside town of
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...
, Devon, England. Three years later, on 2 June 1870, he died in Brussels while on his way to visit Vienna. Hügel’s published books were on Kashmir, Australia, and the Philippines, but there is evidence that his intention was to compile and publish material about the other areas he had visited. To date, however, there seems to be no trace of the many thousands of notes he made during his travels, from which further publications might yet be compiled.


Children

Hügel and his wife Elizabeth Farquharson had three children, each of whom became notable in their own right. Friedrich von Hügel, born 1852, became a well-known Roman Catholic theologian; Anatole von Hügel, born 1854, became an anthropologist; and their daughter Pauline von Hügel, born 1858, is regarded as the founder of Corpus Christi Church in Boscombe, now part of Bournemouth, in Dorset, England. According to Klemens von Metternich, Charles von Hügel had a natural son by Countess Jozefa Forgách de Ghymes. He was brought up in Russia and was given the name of Felix Sumarokov-Elston.


Honours

* Knight First Class in Imperial Order of the Iron crown * Knight in the imperial order of Leopold * Officer in the Order of Leopold. * Grand cross in the Order of Saint-Joseph of Tuscany * Grand Cross in het
Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...
* Knight in the Papal Order of christ. * Knight in the
Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...
. * Commander in the
Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...
.Moniteur Belge, Partie Officielle; 1864.-34e jg. n° 329.


Footnotes / Bibliography


External links


''An appeal for information on unpublished travel journals of Baron Charles von Hügel (1795–1870)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugel, Charles von 1795 births 1870 deaths Ambassadors of the Austrian Empire Austrian Roman Catholics Explorers of Asia Explorers of Australia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Botany in Western Australia Austrian barons Austrian people of German descent People from Regensburg
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
Military personnel from Regensburg Diplomats of the Austrian Empire Botanists from the Austrian Empire Explorers from the Austrian Empire