Abstract
Austro–Hungarian Pole Expedition (1871, 1872–1874) led by K. Weyprecht and J. Payer resulted with discovery of the Franz Joseph Land. On that occasion, first maps of Franz Joseph Land were created. The purpose of this work is to analyze Payer’s and Weyprecht’s original maps, the methods by which they were made and their influence on the subsequent development of polar cartography.
“Pole impracticable. No land to northward” is a legendary phrase wired in 1870 by captain Nares, the leader of the British Arctic Expedition which failed to achieve its fervently desired objective—to reach the North Pole.
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Notes
- 1.
Weyprecht could not lead the expedition due to illness. Karl Koldewey led the expedition.
- 2.
Payer resigned from the army because of political maneuvers against him and his ‘brother officers' doubts about his discovery and his sledge journeys. Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950, Wien, 1978, 7: 374–375.
- 3.
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Leipzig, 1897, 42: 763–774.
- 4.
Originalkarte von C. Weyprecht's Peilungen der Nordküste von Nowaja Semlja: Sept. and Okt. 1872. Scale 1:720 000. Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1875.
- 5.
Provisorische Skizze von Franz Joseph Land/Oberlieutenant Julius Payer.—Scale 1:1.600000.—Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1874 (Tafel 20).
- 6.
Zweite provisorische Karte von Franz Joseph Land/von Oberlieutenant Julius Payer.—Scale 1:1.600000.—Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1874 (Tafel 23).
- 7.
Endgültige Karte von Franz Josef Land/aufgenommen von Julius Payer.—Scale 1:1.000 000.—Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1875 (Tafel 11).
- 8.
The map contains the location of Otto Krisch's grave. Krisch was the only crew member who lost his life on the expedition. He was buried on the southern coast of Wilczek Island.
- 9.
Originalkarte der Eistrift der Österr.-Ungar. Expedition unter Weyprecht and Payer, 24. Aug. 1872 to 1. Nov. 1873./Von A. Petermann.—Scale 1:8 000 000.—Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1875 (Tafel 12).
- 10.
Originalkarte der Rückreise der Österr.-Ungar. Expedition, Mai–August 1874. nach Weyprecht Beobachtungen/von A. Petermann.—Scale 1:1 900 000. Gotha: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, 1877 (Tafel 5).
- 11.
The data collected during the Austro–Hungarian expedition significantly helped Nordenskiöld's expedition. He successfully negotiated the North East Passage in 1878//79. Also, the expedition of Fridtjof Nansen, which continued the exploration (and mapping) of Franz Joseph Land relied heavily and directly on Payer's and Weyprecht's results.
References
Catalogue (1973) 100 Jahre Franz Josefs-Land: Zur Erinnerung an die Entdeckungsreise der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Nordpol-Expedition 1872–1874 unter Julius von Payer und Carl Weyprecht. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Wien
Krisch O (1875) Tagebuch des Nordpolfahrers Otto Krisch. Wallishauser’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Wien
Payer J (1876a) New Lands within the arctic circle: narrative of the discoveries of the Austrian ship “Tegetthoff” in the years 1872–1874. MacMillan & Co, London
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Petermann A (1874) Die zweite Österreichisch-Ungarischen Nordpolar-Expedition unter Weyprecht und Payer, 1872/4. Petermanns Geogr Mitt 20:381–386
Petermann A (1875) Carl Weyprecht’s Aufnahme der Nordküste von Nowaja Semlja, September und October 1871. Petermanns Geogr Mitt 21:393–394
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Altić, M. (2014). The Pole is Impracticable but There is a Land Northward: Austro–Hungarian Pole Expedition and Mapping of the Franz Joseph Land. In: Buchroithner, M., Prechtel, N., Burghardt, D. (eds) Cartography from Pole to Pole. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32618-9_4
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