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 Theresian Military Academy. He is chiefly known for the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition in 1872–74 and the discovery of Franz Josef Land.
Also recorded as Julius Payer · Julius Ritter Von Payer · Julius Ritter von Payer · Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer
Julius von Payer

Fritz Luckhardt · Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Bildarchiv Austria, Inventarnr. Pf 235:B (5) · Public domain
- Born
- 1841.
- Died
- sources differ (1915 and 1915).
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- explorer, painter, cartographer, military officer, mountaineer and polar explorer.
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Documentary summary
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 Theresian Military Academy. He is chiefly known for the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition in 1872–74 and the discovery of Franz Josef Land.
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Note VALÉORINE
Julius von Payer (1841–1915) was a German cartographer, explorer and military officer, among other activities. Born Julius Johannes Ludovicus von Payer in Teplice, the cartographer died in Bled.
Julius von Payer studied at Theresian Military Academy. The cartographer was active in climbing, painting and polar expedition.
Languages used include German. Julius von Payer received honorary citizen of Mukachevo, honorary citizen of Teplice and honorary doctor of the University of Halle-Wittenberg, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q223249 · wikipedia · Julius von Payer
In this article
Early life and military career
Early life and military career
Born in Schönau, Bohemia, his father Franz Anton Rudolf Payer was a retired officer of the Austrian Uhlans who died when Julius was only fourteen. His mother was Blandine, née John. Payer attended the k.k. cadet school in Łobzów near Kraków, Galicia (present-day Poland). Between 1857 and 1859 he studied at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. From 1859, Payer served as a sub-lieutenant with the Austrian 36th infantry regiment in Verona, Venetia. He participated in the disastrous Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859 and was honoured for his service. After promotion to the rank of lieutenant first class, he was posted to the garrison of Chioggia, Venetia in 1864. On 24 June 1866 he served the Battle of Custoza, seizing two guns, for which he was decorated and elevated to the rank of senior lieutenant. Since 1863 Payer was assigned as a history and geography teacher to the cadet school in Eisenstadt, Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867) (present-day Austria) and to the Theresian Military Academy. In 1868 the Austro-Hungarian Minister of War Franz Kuhn von Kuhnenfeld appointed him a general staff officer at the k.k. Military Geographic Institute in Vienna, where he worked with August von Fligely.
Alpine exploration
Alpine exploration
In 1862 Payer had started exploratory tours of the Tyrolean Alps and the High Tauern range in his free time. After 1864 he explored the Adamello-Presanella Group and the Ortler Alps, making more than 60 first ascents. In 1864 he was, with his guide Giovanni Caturani, the first to climb Adamello (3,554 m) and missed making the first ascent of the Presanella (3,558 m) by just three weeks. All his explorations in the Ortler massif (from 1865 to 1868) were guided by de:Johann Pinggera from Sulden. Together, often accompanied by a porter, they ascended almost all significant unclimbed summits, including the Hoher Angelus (3,521 m), Vertainspitze (3,545 m), Palon de la Mare (3,703 m), Monte Zebru (3,735), and Monte Cevedale (3,769 m). Their new approach to the Ortler (3,905 m) became the normal route of ascent ever since. His tours resulted in creating a detailed topographical map at a scale 1:56,000. Due to his achievements, Payer was transferred to the Austrian Military Geographic Institute. When in 1875, the first Alpine club hut above 3000 m was built on the normal route to the Ortler, it was named de:Payerhütte in his honor.
Polar expedition
Polar expedition
In 1868 he was invited by the German geographer August Petermann to participate in the 2nd German North Polar Expedition as a topographer. Travelling to the coast of East Greenland on the Germania under Captain Carl Koldewey in 1869–1870, they reached as far north as Shannon Island. In 1871 he participated in the preliminary Austro-Hungarian expedition to Novaya Zemlya, with Karl Weyprecht. From 1872 to 1874, Payer led the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition with Karl Weyprecht, who was Commander at sea, while Payer was Commander on shore. During this voyage they made the discovery of Franz Joseph Land, however upon their return to Vienna many critics voiced doubts about its existence and about the experiences of other participants in the expedition. Payer could have proven his statements using testimonies, diaries and sketches, however his efforts were thwarted, including his promotion to captain. In 1874 he resigned from the army because of political maneuvers against him and his brother officers' doubts about his discovery and his sledge journeys. He was awarded 44 florins on 1 October 1874 for the discovery of Franz Joseph Land (about equal to the monthly salary of a Sub-lieutenant at the time). He was also awarded the 1975 Royal Geographical Societys Patron's Medal. However, on 24 October 1876 he was elevated to the Austrian nobility which entitled him and his descendants to the style of Ritter von in the case of male and von in the case of female offspring.
Later life
Later life
In 1877 Ritter von Payer married the ex-wife of a banker from Frankfurt am Main. They later had two children, Jules and Alice. From 1877 to 1879 he studied painting with Heinrich Hasselhorst at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. From 1880 to 1882 he continued his study of art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. From 1884 to 1890 he worked as a painter in Paris. In 1890 he divorced his wife, returned to Vienna and founded a painting school for ladies. In 1895 he planned a trip for painting to Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord in northeastern (Greenland). In 1912 he planned (at the age of seventy) an expedition in a submarine to the North Pole. He died in Veldes, in historic Upper Carniola, today part of Slovenia, in 1915.
Named after Julius von Payer
Named after Julius von Payer
Besides the Payerhütte mentioned above and several streets in Vienna, an island of Franz Josef Land (Payer Island), the Payer Mountains in Antarctica and Payer Land in eastern Greenland have been named after Julius von Payer. The southern satellite camp for the PolAres MARS2013 analog mission by the OeWF, approximately 80 km south of the base camp near Erfoud, Morocco, was named Station Payer during February 2013, after the main base camp had been called Camp Weyprecht during the landing ceremony in the morning of 11 February 2013.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1841
Julius von Payer was born in 1841.
1915
Julius von Payer died at Bled.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Julius von Payer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q223249: Julius von Payer
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Julius von Payer, Die Österreich-Ungarische Nordpol Expedition in den Jahren 1869–1874 (Wien 1876) (The Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition of 1869 to 1874", Vienna, 1876)
- Andreas Pöschek : Geheimnis Nordpol. Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Nordpolexpedition 1872–1874. - Wien: 1999 (download as PDF )
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