Xaver Muther

Xaver Muther (actually Andreas Franz Xaver Muther ; * October 7, 1890 in Bludenz ; † May 10, 1970 ibid) was an Austrian politician ( ÖVP ) and stonemason. He was a member of the Vorarlberg state parliament from 1934 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1949 .

education and profession

Muther attended the elementary and community school in Bludenz between 1896 and 1904 and then completed an apprenticeship as a stonemason and sculptor in Bludenz from 1904 to 1908. He spent his journeyman years between 1908 and 1911 in Bolzano , Innsbruck , Nuremberg , Munich and Kiefersfelden and returned in 1911, where he had trained for six months at the building trade school in Bregenz and Bolzano from 1909 to 1911. After his return, he completed his military service between 1911 and 1912 and opened his own shop in May 1914. However, in August 1914 he had to enlist for military service in the First World War , which led him to Galicia , Russia and Italy as a sergeant until November 1918 . After his return, he reopened his business in 1919 and in 1923 he was awarded the trade license as a stone sculptor, and in 1926 he was appointed inspector for master craftsmen. In 1927 he obtained the concession to become a master stonemason and from 1930 was a court-sworn valuer. Due to a business boycott by the NSDAP, his business suffered from 1938, in June 1943 his business was shut down following instructions from the NSDAP. As a result, Muther worked for Vorarlberger Illwerke in 1943 and then fought as a sergeant in World War II. In 1945 he continued his company. Muther was guild master of the Vorarlberg stonemasons from 1927 to 1938 and from 1947 to 1963.

Politics and functions

Muther was a member of the Christian Social Party and from 1921 to 1934 chairman of the Christian Social Local Party in Bludenz. From 1920 to 1934 he was a member of the city council of Bludenz and in 1934 he became a member of the Fatherland Front , for which he was involved as local and district management. He was also a member of the Vorarlberg Homeland Service (adjutant of the Bludenz battalion) and helped set up the front militia . He was appointed by the governor in 1934 as a professional representative of the Vorarlberg state parliament, of which he was a member from November 14, 1934 to March 12, 1938. In 1938 he was arrested by the National Socialists and was imprisoned for a week. He was then repeatedly persecuted, especially when he opposed the expulsion of the Capuchins in 1940. In 1943 his business license was withdrawn and he was drafted into the armed forces.

After the Second World War, Muther joined the ÖVP and the Wirtschaftsbund. He was a member of the ÖVP state party leadership and city party chairman of the ÖVP Bludenz and worked in Bludenz from 1947 to 1962 as a city councilor and from 1949 to 1962 as deputy mayor. He also represented the ÖVP from December 11, 1945 to October 24, 1949, a member of the Bludenz constituency in the state parliament.

Awards

• Karl Troop Cross (First World War)
• Silver Cross of Merit with the crown on the ribbon of the medal of bravery
• Iron Cross of Merit with the crown on the ribbon of the medal of bravery
• Bronze medal for bravery
• Honorary member of the Austrian stonemason association (1937)
• Appointment to the Council of Commerce (1953)

Private

Muther was the son of the Bludenz carpenter and factory worker Josef Anton Muther (1850-1933) and his wife Maria Elisabeth Burtscher (1854-1923). He married Rosa Tschabrun on January 24, 1921, who died on December 8, 1921. On May 19, 1930 Muther married Agnes Schott (1897–1980)

Web links

• Biography of Xaver Muther (PDF; 102 kB) in the parliamentary documents of the Vorarlberg state parliament.