Paul Fejos and Axel Wenner Gren at Wiñay Wayna.
The story behind
The inca ruin Wiñay Wayna on the Inca Trail was discovered in 1941 on the Wenner Gren Scientific Expedition to Hispanic America, which had strong Scandinavian roots. The leaders of the expedition were the Hungarian, Danish married film, film director Paul Fejos and the Swedish industry magnate Axel ``the Last Viking`` Wenner Gren. Wenner Grens The Viking Fund financed the Expedition. Viking Expedition gives you the oportunity to go on an expedition yourself.
1941
history
The discovery of Wiñay Wayna
In Peru, Fejos and Wenner Gren’s expedition focused on the ruins along the Inca Trail, and on August 24, 1941, they discovered Wiñay Wayna. Member of the expedition was the Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello, who is today referred to as the “father” of Peruvian archeology. Tello named the ruin Wiñay Wayna, which means Forever Young, and is the name of an orchid, growing in the area, and which blooms year-round. In 1942, Tello returned and continued the excavations at Wiñay Wayna. This expedition was also funded by The Viking Fund. The Peruvian President Manuel Prado donated the Order of the Sun to Axel Wenner Gren and Paul Fejos for their archaeological work on the ruins along the Inkastien.
Paul Fejos and Axel Wenner Gren
Austrian film director Paul Fejos and Swedish industry leader Axel Wenner Gren organized and led a legendary expedition, that brought the Incaruin Wiñay Wayna from the depths of the forest.
Paul Fejos made movies in the 1920s and '30s in both Hollywood and Europe. In the early 1930s the leading Danish film company Nordisk Film brought him to Copenhagen in an attempt to raise the company's standard. In his first Danish feature film, the young actor and journalist played Inga Arvad, whom Fejos married. None of Fejos' three Danish feature films were successful, and in 1935 Nordisk Film sent him to Madagascar to film possible locations.
On the journey he became so interested in nature and other cultures that after returning home he began to study anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. A few years later he met the Swedish industrialist Axel Wenner Gren. Wenner Gren did business around the world, was one of the richest men in the world at that time. He had a keen interest in anthropological research. Wenner Gren called himself The Last Viking, and created The Viking Fund, based in New York, to fund and still fund anthropological studies.
In 1939 Fejos and Wenner Gren decided to do an expedition to Peru. The expedition started from New York, where Wenner Gren had his main office. While in Peru, Fejos wife had an intense love affair with future president John F. Kennedy.