Stefan Kruckenhauser

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Portrait of Stefan Kruckenhauser, signed by him. Recorded by Kurt Kaindl

Stefan Kruckenhauser (born November 4, 1904 in Munich ; † October 2, 1988 in Vienna ) was a ski pioneer and is considered the "father" of wedeln . He is also considered a protagonist of 35mm photography.

biography

In Kruckenhauser's life, skiing and photography are closely linked. During his training as a sports teacher in Vienna, he also worked as a postcard photographer and was thus able to finance his studies during the economic crisis. In 1934, at the age of 29, Kruckenhauser was appointed head of the national sports center in St. Christoph. From 1946 he organized the reorganization of the Austrian state ski instructor training in the tradition of Hannes Schneider and Toni Seelos . His first dramatic ski photos were taken in St. Anton am Arlberg in the mid-1930s. As early as 1937 he published his first book "You beautiful winter in Tyrol", which showed both romantic and spectacular winter images from the high mountains. As a pioneer of 35mm photography, he achieved his special perspectives and dramatic views mainly through the use of telephoto lenses. He kept his interest in technical innovations until the end of his life.

The world-famous ski instructor went down in sports history as the "father of wedeln". At the 3rd Interski Congress in Davos in 1953, he presented his driving and teaching methods to international experts. Above all, he provoked the French ski instructors by rejecting the rotation during turns and allowing his demonstrators to do short turns with the slightest body movements and legs together. Then this short swing, the "waving", began its triumphal march around the world. His ski curriculum from 1956 had a circulation of 115,000 copies. Translations into English, French, Dutch, Italian and Japanese were the basis for the popularity of the new method. “One picture - a thousand words” was Kruck's motto. The montages of series pictures, artistically designed ski instruction films and picture books illustrated the ideas of the Austrian “ski pope”.

Towards the end of his photographic career, he published a new “Austrian Ski Curriculum” in 1971, using copies of individual frames from the film camera to show detailed motion studies of skiing.

He is buried at the Salzburg municipal cemetery . A memorial plaque was placed on Mönchsberg in Salzburg, where he also lived for several years .

Professional career

  • from 1925 training as a gymnastics teacher in Vienna
  • 1929 to 1934 teaching activity in Salzburg
  • 1934 to 1938 head of the federal sports center St. Christoph
  • 1938/1939 to 1942 teaching activity in Bregenz
  • 1942 to 1945 photo reporter in World War II
  • 1946 to 1972 head of the Austrian ski instructor training and the national sports center St. Christoph
  • 1959 to 1968 President Interski
  • around 1973 Summer photography courses for teachers with Franz Hoppichler in the Bundessportheim (small picture black and white, enlarge)

Works

Kruckenhauser is considered a master of classic black and white photography. His dynamic pictures impress with impressive light-shadow contrasts and a spectacular use of space and perspective. He was drawn to the design of books and before the Second World War he published several photo books, some of them with high circulation:

  • 1937 "You beautiful winter in Tyrol"
  • 1938 "The mountain picture with the Leica"
  • 1938–1964 "Hidden Beauty" (7 editions)
  • 1938 "Old German carvers of the Ostmark"
  • 1941 "The masterpiece from Kefermarkt"

Three main works were created in the post-war period:

  • 1952 "A village becomes"
  • 1956 "Austrian ski curriculum"
  • 1971 "Austrian ski curriculum"

monograph

Literature and Sources

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Publisher's text Cronin - Heimatfotografie in Österreich


personal data
SURNAME Kruckenhauser, Stefan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ski pioneer and photographer
DATE OF BIRTH 4th November 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH October 2nd, 1988
Place of death Vienna