Václav Švambera : professor of Charles University : catalogue of the exhibition December 9, 2015 - February 29, 2016
Abstract
The critical catalogue presents V.Švambera's life and work. In the introduction, Professor B.Janský appreciates and speaks about Švambera's scientific, in particular the limnological researches.
The first chapters introduce Švambera's birthplace in Peruc, his studies at the academic high school in Klementinum in Prague and his entry on the Imperial-Royal Czech Charles-Ferdinand University in 1885 where he studied geography, history and geology. He became an assistant of Professor J.Palacký, an archivist and also a librarian.
He made his living mainly as an editor of Otto's encyclopedia. He graduated with a dissertation on the Libyan Desert.
He was also a student of F.von Richthofen in Berlin and Fridrich Ratzel in Leipzig. In 1902 he habilitated with the first part of the three volume monograph on Congo River. Švambera received the title Professor Extraordinarius and became the director of the Geographical Institute in 1908. Švambera published two volumes of the geographical bibliography of the early 20th century (1911, 1912).
He became the founder of the systematic geographical research of glacial lakes in Šumava and he created original maps in the scale 1:1, 000. He was appointed a Full Professor in 1916. Švambera participated in a significant way in the construction of the building for the natural science departments in Albertov 6 in the years 1911-1913 and 1924-1926.
At the suggestion of Professor Švambera the State Map Collection of the Czechoslovak Republic was established. Švambera also led the publishing of old maps in the Monumenta geographica Bohemiae edition. Švambera was a member of many Boards of international congresses, a member of national and international geographical societies and he was awarded many State Decorations. The catalogue also contains a bibliography, English summary, bibliography of Professor Švambera's works and a list of approximately 150 theses, which Švambera supervised or where he acted as an opponent at the University.