Karl Maximilian von Bauernfeind (28 November 1818 – 3 August 1894) was a German geodesist and civil engineer.

Two years later, he studied mathematics and physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and passed the state examination in 1841.

In 1846, Bauernfeind presented a new revision of the theory of bridge vaults, which remained authoritative for a long time.

Five years later, he invented the prismatic cross (including the Bauernfeind prism), a device that soon became a valuable tool for geodesists because of its accuracy.

In 1857, he undertook barometric height measurements in the Alps; this was the first time that the influence of the thermal radiation of the earth's surface was clearly recognized.