he studied medicine in prague and obtained his medical doctorate in 1782. as a student, he developed a strong interest in geology and mineralogy and subsequently visited the "bergakademie" in freiberg, where he attended lectures given by abraham gottlob werner, a proponent of geological neptunism. later on, he was hired by prince lobkowitz to serve as a spa physician in bilin, a town in northwestern bohemia. here, he conducted investigations of the regions' mineral deposits, that included orographic and paragenetic studies of its highlands. he was the author of a number of works on the composition, geology and utilization of mineral resources at bilin, franzensbad, liebwerda, teplitz, etc. for this, and for his comments made regarding the mining aspects of regional mineral deposits, he was named royal "bergrat" (councilor of mines) in 1808.