CRISS-CROSSING THE DANUBE WITH MARSIGLI
CRISS-CROSSING THE DANUBE WITH MARSIGLI

Summary/Abstract: For a good part of his life, count Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1658–1730) was connected with the Danube River and the region of Southeastern Europe. As the chief military surveyor and engineer during the War of the Holy League between the Habsburg and the Ottoman Empires (1683–1699), he had to find practical solutions for Habsburg troops in the war zones, which involved the Danube River and its tributaries to a great extent. As a meticulous observer, Marsigli made significant corrections and produced reliable geographical and topographical knowledge of the whole region. At the same time, he began to work enthusiastically on his masterpiece – Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus (printed in 1726). After the Karlowitz Peace Treaty, he was the Imperial Envoy in the Commission for Border Demarcation (1699–1701), in which the Danube played a significant role. The paper aims to renew scientific interest in this intriguing personality, presenting a short insight into the apparent duality of Marsigli’s work as a soldier and as a scientist, in the context of his education, travels and ‘Zeitgeist’.

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