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Geschichte der Österreichischen Polarforschung [electronic resource] = History of the Austrian Polar exploration / by Hermann F. Koerbel. Koerbel, Hermann F.
[Vienna, Austria] : Arctic Research Consortium, c2003.
1 computer optical disc : col. ; 4 3/4 in.
"The History of the Austrian Polar Exploration before the 2nd World War essentially comprises a period of one hundred years. Proceeding from the fact, that it starts in 1837 with the birth of Count Wilczek, the main sponsor of the first Austrian activities in polar regions, and Karl Koldewey, the first German, who took along Austrians aboard his ships, and that it ends with the foundation of the Austrian Archive for Polar Research. The names of Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht may be commonly known as well as the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition from 1872-1874, lead by them, during which, by chance the archipelago of Franz Joseph Land was discovered. But in this flowering period of European polar exploration much more was going on. Already before the above-mentioned expedition, but especially for a long time after it, (at this time) Austrians were continuously quite active in the arctic regions. Primarily initiated by Karl Weyprecht, who laid the foundations for the 1st International Polar Year from 1882-83, the exploration continued beyond the 2nd International Polar Year from 1932-33. But the facts about this period of time may widely be unknown. E.g. the station on the North Atlantic island of Jan Mayen was twice manned by Austrian crews, who wintered there and carried out an exceptional scientific work, which was internationally appreciated. Further more Austrian researchers and officers participated in about one dozen of foreign expeditions during these years. According to their high qualification, there has always been a great request for them. And it can easily be seen how widely spread the scientific connections already were in those days. There was also an Austrian participating in one of the most efficient search-expeditions for the relics of the missing crews of Sir John Franklin in Canada. Exactly this man was the first Austrian, who sailed in Antarctic waters. Unfortunately the great Austrian Antarctic Expedition of 1914 could not be executed, because of the approaching First World War. All this is documented herein precisely by a timeline and on the basis of travelogues, biographies, ships data, maps and a lot of illustrations. A list of references and online links may help you in further private studies"--Introd.