HEINRICH KLIER, 1926 - 2022

Heinrich Klier was a writer, an alpinist, a lift manager and a political activist. With his death, the province of the Tyrol loses one of its most multi-faceted personalities.

Like few other people, Heinrich Klier knew how to make the most of the time he was given. Probably also because he successfully escaped death several times at a young age. As a three-year old, his sister saved him from drowning, and during the war he survived the first bombing raid on Innsbruck and an avalanche accident. He was reluctant to standstill, both in the physical and spiritual sense. His legacy to posterity therefore encompasses far more than his literary oeuvre, his mountaineering achievements or his extraordinary entrepreneurial skills. He was an archetype of that special breed of man who resolutely treads new paths, recognises opportunities and seizes them. He even had to flee the Tyrol to stand up for his convictions. Throughout his life, he considered values such as courage, openness and fairness being the highest human virtues.

South Tyrol activist and family father

His involvement with the political situation in the South Tyrol led him to become a monument striker. Klier participated in the demolition of a Mussolini statue in 1961. With this action, he and his comrades-in-arms made contemporary history, but had to deal with the harsh reaction of the Italian state. The harsh consequence for the family father was that he was forced into exile in Munich. There he found an income as an editor at Rother, the well-known mountain publisher. Only after his acquittal at the South Tyrol trials he was allowed to return to Austria. An international Italian arrest warrant nevertheless led to a stay in police custody during a trip to Hungary. Thanks to the intervention of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, he was released. Klier had to wait until 1998 for the final pardon from Rome.

Founder of the Wintersport Tirol AG

This dynamic personality achieved an entrepreneurial feat with the founding of the Wintersport Tirol AG. In the mid-1960s, his “Tour de Tirol” began with the development of ski resort in the Unterinntal valley, followed by investment in Axams, Tulfes and Mieders. The proclamation of his "Kingdom of Snow", the infrastructural and technical skiing development of the Stubai Glacier, turned out to be the highlight. To realise a project of this magnitude, Klier acted in the manner of a modern-day start-up founder. Friendly investors believed in the vision of developing the formerly barren upland valley into a sought-after winter sports destination. Thanks to this business masterstroke, the region experienced a veritable tourism boom. Initiator Heinrich Klier thus finally joined the ranks of the great Tyrolean tourism pioneers. In addition to building mountain railways and ski slopes, he always had the customer's needs in mind, which he fulfilled with 4-star hotels, gastronomy offers and sports shops in the Stubai Valley and Innsbruck. The valley community of Neustift honoured his achievements with honorary citizenship. Forward-looking, Heinrich Klier handed over responsibility for his life's work to his youngest son Reinhard. Even at an advanced age, he still regularly marvelled at the fruits of his labour in his beloved Hochstubai. 

Passed away in Innsbruck

On Thursday, 6 October 2022 Heinrich Klier died in Innsbruck at the age of 95 years. His death leaves a deep void on a personal and family level, especially for his wife and four children. What will remain also in the future is the memory of an inspiring life. Heinz, as he was called by those closest to him, lived it to the full.

"Gute Nacht, ihr Freunde,
ach wie lebt' ich gern,
dass die Welt so schön ist,
dank ich Gott dem Herrn!"

Peter Rosegger