Jan Perner - Pardubice, Czech Republic
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vraatja
N 50° 01.958 E 015° 45.443
33U E 554242 N 5542533
Bronze statue of Jan Perner (1815-1845), a Czech railway engineer in front of the railway station in Pardubice.
Waymark Code: WMWA5B
Location: Pardubický kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 08/01/2017
Views: 21
The life-size bronze statue of Jan Perner (1815-1845), a renowned Czech railway engineer, was installed in front of the building of railway station in Pardubice, in 2017 during reconstruction of the place around the station. He is depicted here standing with crossed arms, looking at a distance. He wears an uniform of then Austrian railway company, long coat and trousers, with a belt around his waist and a saber on it.
Jan Perner (1815 – 1845) was a Czech railway engineer. During 1842–1845 Perner was responsible for construction of several railways in the Austrian Empire.
He was born to a water-mill owner and his wife. During 1830–33 he studied at an engineering school in Prague led by František Josef Gerstner. When Gerstner looked for engineers for construction of railways in Sankt Petersburg area of Imperial Russia, Perner joined the project (1836). Due to problems in communication with Gerstner he left in the same year. In 1837 Perner began work at the state railway company and was gradually promoted to take responsibility for construction works. In 1842 he started to design and oversee construction of important railways Prague – Pardubice – Olomouc and Prague – Dresden.
The railway from Prague to Pardubice (over 100 km) was finished in 1845. On 9 September 1845, while Perner was returning from an inspection trip he looked out of the window of a moving train (near Chocen). His head hit a pole, and he was severely injured and died the next day. He has the dubious fame of being the first person to die in a railway accident in Bohemia.
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