Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition

The Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition was an expedition that ran from 1872–74 and discovered Franz-Josef Land. According to Julius von Payer, one of the leaders, its purpose was to find the north-east passage. It actually explored the area northwest of Novaya Zemlya. According to the other leader, Karl Weyprecht, the North Pole was a secondary target. The estimated total costs of 175,000 florins were financed by Austro-Hungarian nobles. The two main financial contributors were Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek (1837–1922) and Hungarian Count Ödön Zichy (1811–1894)

The main ship was the Tegetthoff, named for the Austrian Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, under whom Weyprecht served. The ship was built by Teklenborg & Beurmann in Bremerhaven. It was a three-masted schooner of 220 tons, 38.34 m long, with a 100 horsepower (75 kW) steam engine. The crew came from all over Austria-Hungary, especially from Istria and Dalmatia.

The Tegetthoff with her crew of 24 left Tromsø, Norway in July 1872. At the end of August she got locked in pack ice north of Novaya Zemlya and drifted to hitherto unknown polar regions. While drifting, the explorers discovered an archipelago which they named Franz-Josef Land after Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I. Payer led several sledge expeditions to explore the new-discovered lands, on one of them reaching 81° 50′ North.

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