Science and Industry of Austria
Science found a home in Austria in the very earliest times. A country so rich in minerals was bound to attract investigators into their mysteries, and even in Roman times…
From: Unknown To: 1899 C.E.
Location: Austria
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Austria by Sydney Whitman and J. R. McIlraith, 1899.
Science found a home in Austria in the very earliest times. A country so rich in minerals was bound to attract investigators into their mysteries, and even in Roman times the mines and saltworks of Noricum were famous. It was left to the Germans, however, to infuse real life into these industries. At the same time the monks in their cells entered into deeper investigations into the nature and qualities of the minerals of the country. Salzburg was in this respect the great centre, and in that district Archbishop Arno instilled a love of science into his subordinate clerics. That famous man it was who founded the library at Salzburg. The Scottish priest Virgilius, to whom we have referred in an earlier chapter, also laboured there.
When the Hungarians began their incursions, however, scientific progress was in most parts stayed, but in Salzburg it never entirely died out. About the twelfth century the schools again became flourishing, and in the following century we find each great monastery again in possession of its own school. Classical studies were especially cultivated and Aristotle's philosophy became widely prevalent under the teaching of Otto, Bishop of Freising (1111-58). The benefit, nevertheless, was all on the side of the upper classes in these early times. But in the thirteenth century the citizen classes also became partakers and "Burgerschulen" were instituted, the first being the Viennese "Burgerschule bei St. Stefan." Besides classics and philosophy, theology and history were also taught, and natural science, mathematics, and astronomy were not neglected.
A decided step in advance was taken when the university at Vienna was founded in 1365 by Rudolf den Stifter, and foreign professors brought to the Austrian capital the best results of the learning of other countries. The string of names connected with this university is a long and famous one, among them being that of John of Gmunden (died 1442), styled the father of mathematical and astronomical science in Germany, who gave a special impulse to the study of astronomy.
After the Reformation had become an accomplished fact, two parties prevailed as leaders in learning—the Jesuits and the Protestants. The former long retained their ascendency, and it was not till the middle of the eighteenth century that the reformed party came decidedly to the front. The consequence was that the antiquated notions and doctrines held sway for all that period, and the history of science in Austria is marked by a state of quiescence. Of course, the classics were still studied in the gymnasia, as well as dialectics, metaphysics, moral philosophy, mathematics and physics, but there was little in the nature of original research or discovery.
When the eighteenth century was reached, however, we find a fresh impulse given to all departments of science among Jesuits and Benedictines and Protestants alike, and with the formation of the true science of chemistry a real era of bloom commenced. Maria Theresia's reign marks the turning point, and from that time forward, with the University of Vienna as a centre, science has progressed steadily and is constantly making fresh advances. In the departments of astronomy and mathematics may be mentioned such names as Baron Adam von Burg (born at Vienna 1797), who was specially distinguished for higher mathematics; and Tobias Burg (born at Vienna, 1766), who was notable for his astronomical studies. So in physics well known are Christopher Rieger, Gottlieb Biwald (botanist), Franz Guessman, Josef von Herbert, Stelzhammer, Christian Doppler (optician, died 1854), Karl Kreil (1798- 1862), and still later Josef Stefan, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Julius Hann.
A large number of scientific and learned societies also have been instituted in this later period; for example, the "Historischer Verein für Innere Oesterreich," founded in 1842, and the "Vereine fur nieder oesterreichische Landerkunde," founded in 1864. Historical studies have been prosecuted with special zest, and many famous names might be mentioned since Maria Theresia's time.
Geography and statistics, too, have made great progress, and the Austrian philologists, especially the Orientalists and Germanists, have earned great renown. A special Oriental academy was instituted at Vienna as early as the time of Maria Theresia, and Baron Bernhard von Jenisch’s (born 1734) Oriental lexicon is well known. The department of law long had languished, the old Roman and ecclesiastical laws prevailing, but this became invigorated after Franz Schrotter had founded the Austrian State law. More recently Anton Hye and others have further reformed the juristic system, especially in the domain of criminal law. In medicine again well-known anatomists are Josef Leber and Alexander Mayer, and the works of the great Austrian ophthalmologist, George Beer, are found in both English and French. Botany, chemistry, and mineralogy all have had their votaries, and in zoology we have the great name of Ludwig Redtenbacker (born 1814). A portrait of the famous physician of Maria Theresia, Gerard von Swieten, a Dutchman by birth, who settled in Vienna in 1745, is here reproduced.
As to agriculture, the Austrian provinces have always been most fertile, and from the earliest times they have been under cultivation. The immigration of the Germanic people, however, here too led to a great development. So perfect was their system that by the thirteenth century agriculture had practically reached its highest point, and since then until quite recent times it remained in pretty much the same state. Vine culture, on the other hand, has somewhat gone down, and whereas in the Middle Ages in Carinthia, Styria, and the two Austrias, the production of wines was very large, this industry has in more recent times been greatly supplanted by other openings.
With regard to the agricultural classes, their condition has of course varied much at different times. It could not be otherwise in a country overrun so often as Austria has been by hostile bands. In the beginning of the fourteenth century many labourers were carried off prisoners by Bohemians, Magyars, and Turks, and when the "Black Death" ravaged the country it produced great havoc among the country people. Then again the Thirty Years' War was severely felt. Since the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, things have been much more settled, and from that time forward we see signs of betterment. Potatoes were introduced to Vienna as early as 1682, that is, earlier than in Germany, and by the beginning of the eighteenth century were to be found in every garden and farm. Under Maria Theresia, and Joseph II. especially there was very great improvement. These monarchs made the interests of the agricultural labourers their particular care, and the work begun by them was continued by their successors. In 1806 the Archduke Ferdinand even made over a large tract of uncultivated land in Salzburg to a number of colonists.
The mines of Austria were, as we have already mentioned, well known even in the time of the Romans, the iron and gold of Noricum being sought after in every part of the Roman Empire in the early years of the Christian era. The chief localities were Salzburg, Upper Styria, and Carinthia. There again the Germanic inhabitants obtained the best results. Already in the second half of the fourteenth century there were in the hills of Gastein as many as fifty different works. So rich too did some of the families engaged in these industries become that they could vie in splendour with the archbishops. All classes combined to further these trades. In 1500, the Archbishop of Salzburg even held a conclave of all the labourers in his district with a view to the discovery of any defects in the then existing system of mining. To the salt works of Austria we have also already referred. These were known as far back as the time of the Celts and Romans, and were taken over by the Germans on their settling in the country.
Lastly the weaving industry has long been an extensive one. The systems adopted have not been very different from those in other countries. In older times hand looms were used, to be replaced by machines in the present century. As early as 1802 English machines were in use at Pottendorf and Schwadorf.
Whitman, Sydney, and J. R. McIlraith. Austria. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1899.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
