Sylvester Krnka (in Czech Sylvestr Krnka; 29 December 1825, Velký Bor – 4 January 1903,

Michle Michle is a district of Prague city, part of Prague 4 Prague 4, formally the Prague 4 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 4''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name ...

) was a Czech

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, best known for his

M1867 Russian Krnka The M1867 Russian Krnka (Винтовка Крнка́) was a breech loading conversion of the muzzle-loading Model 1857 Six Line rifle musket designed by Austro-Hungarian arms maker, Sylvester Krnka. History On January 11, 1869, Sylvester Kr ...

Life

At the age of thirteen he entered into the apprenticeship with the well-known gunsmith master Novotny in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

later known as company Springer. Some years later he became a burgess of

Volyně Volyně () is a town in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urb ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

where he shortly had his own workshop since 1848. In 1871 he moved to

, then a village near

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where he opened his gunsmith workshop (which later became a factory). He died in 1903 in Michle. Krnka was the designer of a

breechloader A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzz ...

rifle, a conversion of the muzzle-loading Model 1857

rifle musket A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrel ...

. Although he had been continuously declined by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

military authorities, he was more successful in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

– in the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

his M1867 Russian Krnka triumphed – in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He had been awarded with many decorations and orders in Russia, Montenegro, Sweden and Norway. His son

Karel Krnka Karel Krnka (1858–1926) was a Czech gunsmith and inventor. He is known for his involvement in the design of early semi-automatic pistols. Biography Karel Krnka was the son of Sylvestr Krnka. In 1906, the Roth–Steyr M1907 pistol designe ...

(1858–1926) carried on with his father's work. {{DEFAULTSORT:Krnka, Sylvester Czech inventors 1825 births 1903 deaths People from Klatovy District Firearm designers Inventors from Austria-Hungary