His father, the son of the carriage master from Riga, was one of the founders of the veterinary business in Russia, for which he received a noble title.

After the Russian Revolutions, most members of the family, including Paul, moved back to the German homeland of their ancestors.

In the years 1870–1871, Paul Simon Unterberger, in the rank of captain, was seconded to Turkestan to take part in a military campaign.

He conducted a large research work, studying the military geography of the territories included in the East Siberian governorship.

Then, overcoming difficulties, he proceeded for research purposes (as a specialist in military geography) through Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, visited Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Japan.

On October 1, 1888, Unterberger was appointed military governor of the Primorskaya Oblast and commander of the Ussuri Cossack Host.

During this time, with his participation or with his knowledge, the Ussuriysk railway, port, floating and coastal docks, many residential and office buildings were built, medical and educational institutions were put into operation, trade developed, shipping on the coastal coast was established, nautical classes were initiated, large deposits of coal were discovered in Suchan and mining began, many settlements in the Primorye territory were founded.

In foreign policy issues, he adhered to conservative positions, was extremely wary of Japan, despite the Russian-Japanese rapprochement after the Russo-Japanese War and the signing of a number of bilateral agreements of a general political and economic nature.

He passed the case to the Grand Master of the Stables Nikolai Gondatti and departed for Petersburg, where he was appointed a member of the State Council on December 6, 1910.

After the revolution, Unterberger went to Germany to live with his wife, his daughter Maria and her husband, and he became manager at Remplin Castle, where he died at the age of 78.

[3] In 1902, the annual meeting of the Russian Geographical Society awarded Pavel Unterberger a small gold medal for his work "Primorskaya Oblast.