Alfred Thenius
Alfred "Fred" Thenius (born May 11, 1921 in Abbazia ; † March 8, 2010 in Lienz ) was an Austrian mining engineer , senior civil engineer , technician , inventor , mountaineer , philosopher and author .
Life
Alfred Thenius was born in Abbazia, today's Opatija (Istria), in 1921, the elder of two sons of Alfred and Anna Thenius; his brother was the later Viennese paleontologist Erich Thenius . He was an Italian citizen until he was eight, before moving with his family to Baden (Lower Austria) near Vienna in 1930 , where he finished school. After graduating from high school in 1939, he enrolled in engineering. In the war years he was considered an ethnic German and was banned from studying under the National Socialists. As an Austrian citizen, he was only able to complete his studies in 1946 with a degree in civil engineering .
In 1947 he moved to Lienz in the Lienz district and started working for the water management office. In 1960 he became the head of the building district office. During his term of office, the construction of the Felbertauernstrasse fell , but also the two flood years of 1965 and 1966. Thenius faced this challenge with expertise and calm. In the years that followed, he was mainly responsible for the large-scale regulation of the Isel and Drava rivers , which made him well known. As an enthusiastic road planner, he was also able to successfully implement many ostrich building projects during his tenure, such as the Drauradweg , the Faschingalmstraße, the Dolomitenhütten-Straße and the Kalser Glocknerstraße .
After his retirement in 1985 Thenius remained loyal to his adopted home of Lienz. His expertise was still very much in demand and so he held numerous honorary offices and functions in organizations, advisory boards and municipal associations and associations, such as B. the Lienzer Bergbahnen, the Alpenraute Lienz and others.
He died in 2010 after an accident at the foot of the Ederplan, a mountain in the Kreuzeck group, and was buried in Cemetery II in Lienz with great sympathy from the population. In his honor, a bronze bust by the artist Georg Planer from St. Veit i. D. unveiled in the popular Hochstein ski area .
job
In his decades of work as a graduate engineer and head of the building district office, Thenius was a recognized specialist and pioneer of construction and road construction in East Tyrol and was instrumental in many infrastructural projects around the topics of mining, road and hydraulic engineering, skiing, hiking, cycling, as well also responsible for the municipal sports facility construction. Many traffic and waterways in the valleys of East Tyrol, as well as ski slopes in the two ski areas Hochstein and Zettersfeld , bore his signature.
During his time the restoration of the federal highways destroyed in the flood years 1965 to 1966 and the construction of the Felbertauernstraße as well as the expansion of all important traffic connections in the district fall. The drainage and Isel regulation carried out after the flood disaster in the Lienz valley floor fell into his area of responsibility and established his reputation as a pioneer and expert.
Thenius has also made a name for itself in the tourism industry. Some projects, such as the expansion of the Hochstein ski mountain in Lienz, can be traced back to his initiative and commitment. He was also responsible for the construction of the football and athletics stadium Dolomitenstadion in 1964/65 (here he is listed as an architect in the annals), the home stadium of Rapid Lienz .
In 1952 he was a co-founder of the non-profit housing and settlement cooperative (OSG), which he initially chaired as a founding chairman and later as a deputy chairman.
At the end of 1985 Thenius retired in the former Lienz "Glöcklturm" as senior building officer and head of the building district office.
voluntary work
"Inventive spirit, enthusiasm and willingness to help shaped the life of the native Upper Austrian and East Tyrolean by choice, Alfred Thenius." Known and highly valued as a pioneer and visionary who repeatedly surprised people with unusual approaches, he was one of the personalities who left the district after the war have significantly influenced professionally, voluntarily and privately up to the present. Whether Lienz mountain railways or ski areas, he was considered one of the last all-round technicians and, as “one of the greatest icons of East Tyrol”, left his expert signature in many places.
Thenius was also active in many voluntary functions throughout his life. He worked for many years as chairman and later as president and honorary president of the Lienz ski club. National mountain sports associations such as the German Alpine Club (DAV) , the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV) and the Austrian Tourist Club ( ÖTK) benefited from his great knowledge, which he passed on in various offices and functions. As a member of the alpine society Alpenraute and the Lienz mountain rescue service, he was also involved in many fields for the development of the Lienz Dolomites. As a pioneer of the Lienz mountain railways, he was responsible for numerous innovations and developments in the area of skiing and climbing. At the same time, he always tried to make the necessary construction work as environmentally friendly as possible in order to “leave a reasonable legacy” for future generations.
Alpinistic work
Mountaineering was Thenius' passion from early youth and well into old age he was not only regularly involved in sports, but also took active part in competitions such as the Laserzlauf in Lienz. He was an active climber, skier, ski tourer and mountain biker well into old age and knew the Lienz Dolomites like no other. Numerous first ascents were on his account, such as the Adlerwand north face (1954), the Mittlere Gubachspitze in the Venediger group (1955) and the Althausschneidturm (1981).
As a route and path builder, he contributed a lot to the development of the Lienz Dolomites, which is why he was referred to as a Dolomite legend during his lifetime. As a setter and renovator of climbing routes and via ferratas , such as Egerländerkante (1999), Gebirgsjägersteig (2000), Iron Edge, Rudi-Eller-Weg and the well-known Panorama Via Ferrata (2007), he was primarily concerned with installing routes and "pleasure tours" that too could be committed by less experienced. Throughout his life, it was his concern to inspire people for the Lienz Dolomites, which he also referred to as “the western Alps of the little man”, and to give them easy and at the same time natural access to the mountains.
Some climbing routes in the Lienz Dolomites were equipped with the Thenius hook, which he invented, including the routes Egerländerkante, Iron Edge, Blauspitze Ostgrat and Kendlspitze SW-Grat. This particular climber hook enables climbers and mountaineers , a climbing rope without express slings mount, and climbing routes only with rope and harness but without additional equipment such own hook to commit and other security instruments.
As a book author, he put his concern on paper, to get people excited about the mountains and especially the Dolomites, and wrote a number of hiking guides. His books formed the basis for hiking tourism in East Tyrol.
Awards
Thenius was an honorary member of the DAV, holder of the Cross of Merit of the State of Tyrol , the Ring of Honor of the City of Lienz, as well as numerous other regional and national awards.
After his death he received other honors, such as naming via ferrata or competitions after his name.
Publications
- Alfred Thenius: East Tyrolean hiking guide . 1983 ISBN 3-8134-0215-0
- Alfred Thenius: East Tyrolean winter guide . 1979 ISBN 3-7022-1348-1
- East Tyrol - selected, committed and described by Alfred Thenius . 1983. ISBN 3-8134-0137-5
- Alfred Thenius: At the right time on the right mountain. In: Osttiroler Bergwelt Heft 41 of the magazine Berge . Nuremberg 1990
- Alfred Thenius: The traffic routes and East Tyrol's economic development . In: District Studies East Tyrol . Löwenzahn-Verlag 2001. ISBN 3-7066-2267-X
- Alfred Thenius: Natural solutions for protective hydraulic engineering in East Tyrol after the experiences of the floods in 1965 and 1966 . Unpublished manuscript
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Monticola Volume 7
- ↑ Article KleineZeitung: Monument to Alfred Thenius
- ↑ Website with biographical information ( Memento from February 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Thoughts on the Silian bypass ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Radio East Tyrol. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ cyclopaedia.de entry ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Elizabeth Greiderer -ÖVP Tirol, Lienz, East Tyrol. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Article in the Upper Palatinate Network ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Yumpu.com: dav-honorary-member-alfred-thenius-now-as-dav-karlsbad. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Starter Weisskopf Fastest in "TYROLIA Tour" run. In: ski mountaineering. December 14, 2013, accessed July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ First 6000 for Dolomitenstadt. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Information from the Alpine Association Alpenraute ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Home - Kals am Großglockner tourism websites. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ PDF newsletter of the DAV, section Karlsbad
- ↑ Festschrift 100 years of the Karlsbad section in the DAV
- ↑ Sepp Oberlechner Ged. Path. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ^ DAV information ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Kl. Laserzwand, Roter Turm (2700m) - Lienz Dolomites. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ^ Alfred Thenius. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Starter Weisskopf Fastest in "TYROLIA Tour" run. In: ski mountaineering. December 14, 2013, accessed July 4, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thenius, Alfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thenius, Fred (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian mining engineer, senior building officer, technician, inventor, mountaineer, philosopher and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Abbazia |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 8, 2010 |
| Place of death | Lienz |