Early Photography in Albania
- Baron Franz Nopcsa -

Robert Elsie

Baron Franz Nopcsa
Albanologist, Palaeontologist, Geologist

This website is devoted to the life and work of the Austro-Hungarian scholar, Baron Franz Nopcsa (1877-1933).

Baron Franz Nopcsa in northern Albanian costume,
ca. 1916

Baron Franz Nopcsa travelled to Albania and the southern Balkans (Bosnia, Kosova, Macedonia, Serbia) on numerous occasions from 1903 to the First World War. He lived in Shkodra which he used as a base for his travels in the wild northern Albanian mountains. On these journeys, he took with him not only his rifle but also his "Kodak" and made what are now exceptionally rare and fascinating photos of the region. The originals of these glass photographs, published here for the first time, are in the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum) in Budapest.

Thanks go in this connection to Krisztián Csaplár (csaplarkrisztian@hotmail.com) for the Hungarian version of this website and, in particular, to Josef Gross for his excellent work in scanning and preparing the photo collection for internet publication.

Robert Elsie