Balthasar Gierlinger

Balthasar Gierlinger (around 1922)

Balthasar Gierlinger (born December 31, 1886 in Getzing, municipality of Arnreit , Upper Austria ; † August 3, 1954 there ) was a farmer and politician .

Life

The farmer's son Gierlinger (his ancestors on the farm are documented since 1563) was intended to be the successor on the farm. In 1907 he became a soldier, then took part in several exercises and took part in the First World War, where he was wounded twice and was awarded. In 1924 Gierlinger married and took over the farm. The marriage gave birth to ten children, and one of his sons later became mayor of Arnreit.

Public activity

In 1919 Gierlinger became the second chairman of the state farmers 'and agricultural workers' council and municipal council of Arnreit. From 1936 to 1938 and from 1947 until his death he was the mayor of this community. In 1919 he became a member of the state parliament as a "farmer's son" and remained so until his resignation in 1927. In 1923 Gierlinger was elected to the national council for the group of farm workers , but resigned a year later because he had meanwhile taken over his parents' farm. In 1927 he again moved into the National Council, now as a farmers' representative. He stayed there until 1934 and from 1945 to 1949.

Gierlinger was also active in the Heimwehr and had been its leader since 1925. In 1929 there was a sensational fall in the state leadership, whereupon Gierlinger resigned from the Heimwehr. As early as 1919 he became the second chairman of the state culture council and was also head of the Rohrbach district chamber of farmers. He was a member of the Bauernbund since it was founded and was a member of the Bauernbund committee between 1919 and 1938 and between 1949 and his death. He was the undisputed leader of the peasantry in the upper Mühlviertel. In 1945 he was temporarily assigned the position of District Captain of Rohrbach.

Gierlinger was also very active in the cooperative sector. He was the founder or co-founder of the Mühlviertel Electricity Cooperative and the Fleckviehzuchtgenossenschaft, the warehouse cooperative and the Rohrbach dairy cooperative, a distillery cooperative and a seed farming cooperative. He also held influential positions in the Raiffeisenkasse Arnreit, the Genossenschaftszentralkasse and the Landeshypothekenanstalt.

Awards

Silver medal for bravery, bronze medal for bravery (awarded three times), economy council, golden Raiffeisen plaque.

literature

• Harry Slapnicka : Upper Austria - The political leadership. 1918 to 1938 (= contributions to the contemporary history of Upper Austria. 3). Oberösterreichischer Landesverlag, Linz 1976, ISBN 3-85214-163-X , p. 93 f.

Web links

Commons : Balthasar Gierlinger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Balthasar Gierlinger on the website of the Austrian Parliament
• Biography of Balthasar Gierlinger on the server of the federal state of Upper Austria .