Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 7.3. Ljubljana earthquake damage. In
Für Laibach.
did not yet receive telegraphic time signals. As Hoernes found to his shock
in 1880, even clocks at neighboring rail stations sometimes differed by sev-
eral minutes.
45
The event that raised the call for action in vienna occurred at the end of
easter sunday 1895 (see figures 7.3 and 7.4). In Ljubljana, the capital of the
crown land of Carniola, most residents were snug in bed when an unusual
“buzzing” disturbed their rest. This was fast followed by “powerful droning,
rattling, thundering, and rumbling.” Chimneys crashed to the ground, and
church towers wavered. Over the course of the night, between thirty and
forty further shocks ensued. The population fled the city and did not return
until morning, when they found the city in ruins. Barely an exterior wall had
survived without cracks, and interiors were littered with debris. Only two
deaths were attributed directly to the earthquake, but 10 percent of the city's
buildings were condemned to demolition.
46
Because of the holiday, most of the monarchy only learned of Ljublja-
na's misfortune from Tuesday's newspapers. The
Neue Freie Presse
reported
“panic” as far from the epicenter as Trieste, Fiume, and Abbazia. eduard
suess's son, Franz eduard, was commissioned by the education ministry to
