Carl Ritter von Ghega

Carl Ritter von Ghega or Carl von Ghega. (January 10, 1802 - March 14, 1860), was the designer of the Semmering Railway from Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag.

Born in Venice, in an Albanian family, he studied in Padua, where he took the examination for doctor of mathematics at the age of 18. He began his engineering career with road and hydraulic engineering in Venice. Among other things he contributed to the building of the road over Cortina d'Ampezzo to Toblach-Dobbiaco. From 1836 to 1840 he was a construction supervisor for the railway track from Brno to Breclav, the so called Emperor Ferdinand North Railway. During this time, in 1836 and 37 he studied also the railways in England and other European countries. In 1842, entrusted with the entire planning of the future state railway, he made a study trip to North America.

After his return to the state railway he began with the planning of the railway line to the south, from Mürzzuschlag to Graz and Trieste. The crossing of the Semmering was not believed possible, but as early as 1844 he submitted a plan for the crossing of the Semmering, with locomotives without an extra rail for gear wheels. Before the building was fully decided, he began to enforce the construction of locomotives which could overcome such upward gradients. Construction of the Semmeringbahn was begun in 1848, and in 1851, before its completion in 1854, he became a knight (Ritter).

Carl Ritter von Ghega was next assigned to the building of a railway in Transylvania, but he could not see this project to its end because of his death in Vienna from tuberculosis.