Maximilian Daublebsky Freiherr von Sterneck zu Ehrenstein (14 February 1829 – 5 December 1897) was an Austrian admiral who served as the chief administrator of 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 ...

from 1883 until his death.

Biography

He was born at

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, into a family from Bohemia where they long held the office of mayor of Budweis. In 1620 they were ennobled in Austria with the addition of the German name ''von Sterneck''. Jacob Daublebsky von Sterneck was further created ''Freiherr'' ( Baron) ''von Sterneck zu Ehrenstein'' in 1792. His son Joseph settled in Carinthia and purchased the castle of Krastowitz in

, where his son Maximilian was born in 1829. Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck was educated to be an officer in the then Austrian Navy, attaining the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

(''Korvettenkapitän'') in 1859. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

(''Fregattenkapitän'') in 1864 and later was appointed to command the flagship ''Erzherzog Ferdinand Max'' by

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often regar ...

(''Konteradmiral'')

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (23 December 18277 April 1871) was an Austrian admiral. He commanded the fleet of the North Sea during the Second Schleswig War of 1864, and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. He is often considered by some Austrian historian ...

. In the Battle of Lissa (20 July 1866), Daublebsky von Sterneck succeeded in by ramming the Italian flagship ''Re d'Italia'', which capsized and sank. For his services during the battle, he was awarded the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

. In an 1880 painting by

Anton Romako Anton Romako (20 October 1832 – 8 March 1889) was an Austrian painter. Life Anton Romako was born in Atzgersdorf (now a district of Liesing, Vienna), as an illegitimate son of factory owner Josef Lepper and his Czech housemaid Elisabe ...

, Daublebsky is pictured at Tegetthoff's side on the bridge during the ramming attack (''Rammstosstaktik''). The creation of the

Dual Monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically us ...

in 1867 was accompanied by the reorganization of the naval service as the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Daublebsky von Sterneck was appointed port commander at Pola in 1869 with the rank of full captain (''Linienschiffskapitän.'' He was promoted to ''Kontradmiral'' in 1872 and took part in the 1872-74 North Polar expedition of

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 The ...

and Karl Weyprecht as commander of the ''Isbjörn.'' It was this expedition that discovered

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

, named for the Austrian emperor, in 1873. Daublebsky von Sterneck was named to succeed Friedrich von Pöck as ''Marinekommandant'' (Navy Commander) and ''Chef der Marinesektion'' (Chief of the Naval Section of the War Ministry) in November 1883 with the rank of ''Vizeadmiral''. His efforts to modernize the Navy were hamstrung by interminable political friction between the Austrian and Hungarian halves of the empire. When Sir Edward J. Reed published the second half of his profile of the Continental navies in '' Harper's'' in February 1887, he dismissed the Austro-Hungarian Navy as antiquated and omitted any tabulation of information about the fleet's ships—in sharp contrast to his description of the fleet of Austria-Hungary's principal ally, Germany. Promoted to full admiral in 1888, Daublebsky von Sterneck persevered in his efforts to modernize the Austro-Hungarian fleet until his death in Vienna in 1897. He initiated the construction - 1891–1898 - of the navy garrison Catholic ''Church of Our Lady of the Sea'' ( it, Madonna del Mare/german: k.u.k. Marinekirche Unserer Lieben Frau vom Meer/ hr, Gospe od Mora) in Pola's suburb San Policarpo. His body was interred in that church, to which Daublebsky von Sterneck had devoted much effort. His heart however was placed in the family crypt in the castle of Krastowitz. Daublebsky von Sterneck was succeeded as head of the navy by Hermann von Spaun.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Literature

* German Wikipedia entry "Maximilian Daublebsky von Sternec

* Sir Edward James Reed, "The Navies of the Continent. II - The Italian, Russian, German, Austrian, and Turkish Navies. ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine,'' European Edition, February 1887.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daublebsky Von Sterneck, Maximilian 1829 births 1897 deaths People from Klagenfurt 19th-century Austrian people Austro-Hungarian admirals Austrian monarchists Bohemian nobility Barons of Austria Austrian people of Czech descent Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword

Biography

Honours

Literature

See also

References