Franz Winkelmeier

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Franz Winkelmeier (left); the person on the right is about 1.60 meters tall.
Poster advertising the tallest man in the world Wellcome L0063555.jpg

Franz Winkelmeier (known as Riese von Lengau or Riese von Friedburg-Lengau ; * April 27, 1860 in Lengau ; † August 24, 1887 there ) was allegedly the tallest person of his time and one of the tallest with a height of 2.58 meters history.

Life

Franz Winkelmeier was born as the son of a mercenary family in Lengau No. 23 (today a tailor-maker). Two years later Winkelmeier's parents bought the Schöscharngut in Unter-Ereneck No. 1 between Friedburg and Lengau. Franz Winkelmeier attended elementary school in Friedburg. He had grown normally until he was 14.

Winkelmeier appeared in public on October 6, 1881 in Braunau am Inn . As a result, pushed by an enterprising Friedburg tailor, the " giant " - as it was soon called - appeared in Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Gorizia , Trieste , Fiume , Hungary and Transylvania . In the summer months of 1885 he performed in Tyrol and from September 1st to November 30th he could be seen in the Concordia Theater in Berlin (later the Apollo Theater ). The tall grenadiers of Kaiser Wilhelm were only dwarfs next to him. After Winkelmeier had shown himself in many German cities, he was marveled at the Folies Bergère Theater in Paris .

The physician Rudolf Virchow measured Winkelmeier in Berlin in 1885 and stated his height as 2,278 meters. It is unclear whether Winkelmeier was still growing at this point in time.

The giant is said to have been very friendly to children, humorous and devout. He had no problem talking about his death despite his young age.

During his lifetime, scientists wanted to buy his body, or rather the right to his body after his death. Winkelmeier made his brothers promise that he would "not be sold" and that he would receive a Christian burial (in his homeland).

On November 9, 1886 he was committed to London by R. Rosinsky . On June 22, 1887, he was introduced to Queen Victoria . Immediately after his return, Franz Winkelmeier died of pulmonary tuberculosis .

He was buried with great public sympathy. His grave is in the Lengau cemetery. In the giant museum in Lengau memorabilia, such as B. Clothing that was believed to have been made for the giant on display.

Opera

The life of Franz Winkelmeier inspired Friedrich Cerha for his opera Der Riese vom Steinfeld (Libretto: Peter Turrini ), which premiered in 2002 at the Vienna State Opera under Michael Boder . The title role was played by Thomas Hampson .

See also

literature

  • Winkelmeier, Franz. Austrian giant . (Press reviews). Tagblattarchiv (two sheets), Vienna 1962/67, OBW .
  • Hans Mairhofer-Irrsee, Oskar Anrather (photo): The giant from Lengau. Life story of the 2.58 meter tall Franz Winkelmeier, the tallest person in the world . (First edition). Winter, Salzburg 1976, OBW . (3rd edition: Irrseer Heimathaus, Zell am Moos 2002).
  • Manfred & Tamara Rachbauer: Franz Winkelmeier The giant from Lengau, 2017, ISBN 9783744814607

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Extraordinary meeting of October 25, 1885 [of the Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory ]. Mr. Virchow introduces the giant Winkelmeier from Upper Austria. In: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie , Volume 17, 1885, pp. 463–501, here pp. 469–472 ( online, PDF, 488 kB ; given age obviously incorrect).
  2. ↑ Lengau giant museum opened . regionews.at. April 28, 2014, accessed May 13, 2014.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Applied at 20 years of age, 2.36 meters tall and weighing 142 kilograms. - See: Only to be seen for a short time (...). In:  Innsbrucker Nachrichten , No. 159/1885 (XXXII. Year), July 16, 1885, p. 11 center. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / ibn.
personal data
SURNAME Winkelmeier, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Giant from Lengau
BRIEF DESCRIPTION tallest person in the world
DATE OF BIRTH April 27, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Lengau
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1887
Place of death Lengau