A Manuscript Centuries Ahead of Its Time
In 1961, archivists in Sibiu, Romania uncovered a centuries-old manuscript buried deep in the town’s public records. Among the records labeled “Varia II 374” was a German-language treatise describing multistage rockets, liquid fuel mixtures, delta-shaped stabilizers, and bell-shaped nozzles.
These concepts were not sketched by a 20th-century engineer, but by Conrad Haas, a military arsenal master who lived and worked in the 16th century. His designs predated modern rocket theory by hundreds of years.
The Engineer from Dornbach
Conrad Haas was born in 1509, possibly in Dornbach, now part of Vienna. He served as the Zeugwart, or arsenal master, of the Imperial Habsburg army under Emperor Ferdinand I. In 1551, Stephen Báthory, Grand Prince of Transylvania, invited Haas to the city of Nagyszeben—known to the German-speaking community as Hermannstadt—located in the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
There, Haas took on the role of weapons engineer and began teaching at Klausenburg, now Cluj-Napoca.
Designing the Impossible
In his manuscript, Haas explored technical concepts that would not be practically realized for centuries. He described multi-stage rockets—where one stage ignites after another—as a means to achieve greater altitude and range. He considered the use of liquid propellants, an idea that wouldn’t be tested seriously until the early 20th century.
He also included stabilizing fins shaped like triangles and bell-shaped nozzles to better direct thrust—designs now standard in modern rocketry. Some of Haas’s rockets were even intended to carry human passengers.
A Call for Peace, Not War
Although Haas’s work was written within the context of military engineering, it ended on an unexpected note. In the final paragraph of his chapter on rocket weaponry, Haas advised against war.
He suggested that rifles be left in storage, gunpowder remain unused, and that peace should be the preferred path. He added that such a choice would spare the prince’s funds and preserve the arsenal master’s life.
Reevaluating Rocketry’s Origins
Before the Sibiu manuscript was found, the first known mention of a three-stage rocket was credited to Casimir Siemienowicz in his 1650 book Artis Magnae Artilleriae Pars Prima. Johann Schmidlap, a German fireworks maker, was also believed to have experimented with staging around 1590.
But the discovery of Haas’s manuscript shifted the timeline. His technical illustrations and written explanations predated both Schmidlap and Siemienowicz, placing him at the forefront of early rocketry—over 400 years before spaceflight became reality.
In 1961, a centuries-old manuscript was discovered in Sibiu, Romania, containing designs for multi-stage rockets and liquid fuel engines.
But these futuristic ideas were not new— they were written by Conrad Haas, a 16th-century military engineer. And that’s just the start…🧵 pic.twitter.com/18PZEQ58lH
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) August 7, 2025