For Ausseerland, Hannes Androsch was more than just a summer guest: he was a source of inspiration and a fatherly friend who was repeatedly criticized. A visit to the loser’s foot.
The snow blinds the sun. Some skiers trot towards the new valley station of the Loser cable car in Altaussee. Hardly anyone notices the sleek black flag that flies between the valley stations a day after the death of Hannes Androsch.
“I met him on Saturday in Bad Ischl,” says Rudolf Huber, director of the mountain railway. “A bit tired, but mentally brilliant, as always,” he said. No one expected such a quick death, despite the pneumonia from which Androsch had only just recovered. At the age of 86, the former vice chancellor died in the middle of his life. Who can say that?
From holidaymaker to Ring of Honor holder
Androsch has left traces in Altaussee that will last for generations. “At the age of seven,” says mountain railway boss Huber, “he became a loser for the first time.” As a boy on holiday with his parents. Blocked by opponents for years, Androsch was able to open his Loser gondola on October 25, 2024. “This railway was his passion project.” Androsch also owned the luxury health hotel Vivamayr right on the Altaussee, which is now run by his daughter, and was involved in salt mining – hence his nickname “Salt Baron”. A rich man, but always frugal. “A few sausages was enough for him,” says Huber.
He was closely associated with the fire brigade
Christian Fischer and Werner Fischer were closely associated with him. Androsch was an honorary member of the fire brigade – which also operates the beer tent at the Ausseer Kirtag. “The first and only,” they say.
Werner Fischer remembers it. “I was 14 years old when he invited us boys for a day off from school. We were in parliament, in Voestalpine, at Vienna airport.” Androsch even gave the young men a rhetoric course.
In Altaussee, Androsch debated at the regular table (“He always allowed different opinions”), rowed his boat across the lake, bought a stack of newspapers at the tobacconist, played tennis and came to the Easter concert of the brass band. At the fair he sat inconspicuously with the fire brigade members and entertained political celebrities.
Social democrat with feeling for others
On Thursday, the “Krone” called Androsch the “last great social democrat”. “There are many greats, but he was special,” said Michaela Grubesa, a party member from Bad Aussee. “When I came to state parliament in 2015, he got my number and met me for a coffee,” she recalls. Even after his active political days, Androsch was “interested in the exchange,” says Grubesa, who called and kept in touch again and again.
What did the inhabitants of Ausseerland give him in return? “Love,” says Grubesa, “and respect.”
Androsch and his two drivers covered 60,000 kilometers annually, between Vienna, Altaussee, Leoben and many other places, in Austria and internationally. He always spent summers with his family in Altaussee – so often that he was almost no longer seen as a newcomer.
In the foyer of the community center there is a table with a table and a burning candle on it. How the Ring of Honor wearer will be commemorated here has yet to be discussed in the city council. First the family says goodbye to Hannes Androsch in their immediate environment. The traces he left remain.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
