Prof. PhDr. Václav Švambera

(*10 January 1866 - Peruc u Loun † 27 September 1939 - Prague)

The son of a tailor and the most popular pupil of Jan Křtitel Kašpar Palacký, he began studying geography (and history) in 1885. At first he was also a free assistant of Jan Palacký (at that time he was mainly engaged in literary activities). From 1894 he worked as his permanent assistant. He studied in Berlin and Leipzig, among other places, and could thus boast contacts with a number of European geographers. For many years, Václav Švambera was the main compiler of geographical entries for Otto's dictionary (in 1893-98 he was the head of its geographical section). However, his domain was mainly hydrology. He received his doctorate in 1896 on the basis of a thesis entitled The Libyan Desert and his associate professorship in 1902. In 1908 he was appointed an extraordinary professor and director of the Geographical Institute. He became a full professor eight years later (1916). He managed the library free of charge, which later became the basis of today's Library of the Geographical Sciences at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. In 1920, he founded the State Map Collection (today's Map Collection of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University) and a year later (1921), together with Jan Palacky, the Travaux géographiques edition, in which the key works of Czech geographers were published in world languages. Švambera also participated in the establishment of the independent Faculty of Natural Sciences of Charles University. In the academic year 1923-24 he served as dean of the Faculty of Science of Charles University. Švambera's most important work is the work Congo (Prague 1901-05), as well as the results of hydrographic research of the Šumava lakes and the edition of old maps of the Czech territory - Monumenta cartographica Bohemia. Václav Švambera gained the greatest recognition by building the Geographical Institute at Charles Square and especially at Albertov. His activities helped to bring Czech geography to the world level.

Sources:

HÄUFLER, Vlastislav. Geschichte der Geographie an der Karls-Universität. 1st edition: Charles University, 1967, 421 p.

MARTÍNEK, Jiří. Geographers in the Czech Lands 1800-1945: (biographical dictionary). Prague: Historical Institute, 2008, 245 p. ISBN 978-80-7286-133-0.

MARTÍNEK, Jiří and MARTÍNEK, Miloslav. Who was who. 1st ed. Prague: Libri, 1998, 509 p. ISBN 80-85983-50-8