Kořistka studied geography and mathematics in Vienna,[2] and at an early age became a student at the school of mining and forestry at Banská Štiavnica.

In 1851, he became professor of mathematics and geodesy in the German polytechnical school at Prague.

He exerted a wide influence in the development of the technical and professional schools of Austria.

He was also much occupied in orographical and hypsometrical studies and explored several of the mountainous regions of Europe, where he obtained a large number of levels and heights.

Besides numerous memoirs, mostly written in German and in French, he wrote for many reviews and journals.