 He contributed with an amount that was significantly greater than the funds contributed by the second-largest sponsor of the venture, Hungarian Count Ödon Zichy (1811–1894).Wilczek himself led a preliminary expedition to Barentsøya and the mouth of the Pechora River in order to store up depots, accompanied by the photographer Wilhelm J. Burger.In 1874, the ship's crew of the "Admiral Tegethoff" discovered the Franz Josef Land archipelago and named Wilczek Land and Wilczek Island in his honour.