Kurt of Gerolstein: Fritzl. After the war was over ... growing up

'Unsere junge Republik' ... began Rudi in February 1919 ..

Was it? I guess those with 'well-formed' political ideas see things as they wish.

Is that Fritzl playing piano for Grandma's birthday? Ah, I see. The old 'Rosenknopfen' dances of Franz Behr. Range of five notes ...

We always had a piano. But I never remember father playing it! I think the experience might not have been enduring.

Next a visit to the ballet.

A Kinderball on 1 March ('Fritz as a Red Indian') and on 16 March to the Volksoper for Karl Schreder's Das Wiener Aschenbrödel with child star Rudi Merstallinger featured.

Oy! The Kinderball was quite a family outing. Rudi, Minna and Berta (Richard's wife) in Japanses, dirndl and Spanish dress, Rduard and Marie, and 'Hermin'! ...

Then they were on their way, as in ptr-war years. 'Two weeks' stay in Mönichkirchen (13-27 April)

Snow at Easter with Papa!

At eight years of age he is introduced to Dickens's 'Kindergeschichten'. And in May, back to school. And the theatre ... the Burgtheater, no less ... for Raimund's well-loved 1834 Der Verschwender. I'm sure he enjoyed the 'magical' bits. The 'social commentary"? Franz Höbling and Else Wohlgemuth were very well-known players of the era ...

Burgtheater

Then it was summer, and time to head to the mountains for the season. This year the Alpenort of Puchenstuben (00m), on the railway line to Maria Zell, and apparently near skifields ...

There was clearly a tourist bit of Puchenstuben .. the Hotel Gösing looks delicious. It's still there but not in this form

I don't think the extended Stojetz family would have stayed there. This looks more like it! (Rudi's photo). Ahha! The Trefflinghof. Another bolthole of the National Socialists. They seem rather like the Freemasons ... free holidays for the faithful ..?

This is what they were here for ...

Pepi, Fritzl and who? Fritz's first time on a mountain rope ... the Trefflingtal .. alas, a little faded ..

His first tramping tour ... 10 August 1919 ... Trefflingfall-Tormäuer-Bärenlacke-Rauher Kamm-Ötscher Gipfel ... Twice to Kletterer am Siel with ... ahha Onkel Hermann! Ötscherhölen, Ötschergraben, Spielbüchler, Östcherhaus ..

What's this? The Weinberger Gasthaus. Not on the tramp, I think. Weinberg was in the region of Puchenstuben. Hang on, there's little blondie again. And she's labelled 'Helga'. I think Helga stayed around for a long time ... my mother seemed to know her ... or of her ...

And back to school! And Vienna. And the theatre ..

followed by "die verkaufte Braut". Alweays the opera now, it seems, never the Operette.

Puchenstuben was evidently a sucess, for the family returned there for the Christmas holidays. By which time it was drenched in snow ..

But apparently not for long. Rudi records a Lohengrin at the Hofoper, conducted by Richard Strauss ... no Zettel, alas ..

And the Sterns gave Fritzl a suit of armour! He must have fancied himself as the Knight of the Schwann! Anyway he was hot stuff at the next year's fancy dress balls!

Schiller's Wilhelm Tell ... tickets to Hoffman's Erzählungen, French classes .. and a part in a school play. October is represented by this postcard ..

Papa and Fritz went on the 'autobus' ...

Fritz is now at the Evangelische Hochschule am Karlsplatz .. 8.15 to 1.40 daily ...

Christmas holidays at Zell am See .. swimming .. skiing ... an unlabelled photo ..

April 1921. Fritzl is ten years old. 136cm, 33 kg ..

Rudi is getting lazy at labelling her photos!

And a first visit to a matinee at the Urania Lichtbild ... all on his own! A Schülervortrag ... 'the company of Walter Esener and Anita Blüme ..' .. Kinderball as 'Mephistopheles' ...

And his birthday treat ...

He's enrolled at the Realschule in the Albertgasse .. and, summer and Christmas 1821, they're back at Puchenstuben! ... with a bit of school in between ..

20 January 1922. 'Gesund trat einer Büb ins neue Jahr ...' but 'leider wenig Schnee' .. back to town, Wilhelm Tell and Die Räuber and more Wagner.

His piano-playing must have come on, because after the show he was bought a Tannhäuser Pot-Pourri .. and then June 1 more Puchenstuben! Two days at Hochschwab -- ten days in the Otztaler and the Stubaien-Aplen .. Fritzl at 3000 metres ... the Olgrubenjoch (3013m) ..

I see, now, why he expected my younger brother and I to climb everything in sight in our youth ...

Kurt (9) John (6) and mother at Mt Cook.

Pitztalerjochl, Bildstöckljoch, Schaufelspitze (3333m) .. yes, 10 year-old Fritz has, as his mother says. truly caught 'Die Liebe zu den Bergen', and he never lost it ...

1922 may have been the little boy's most demanding in the mountains, but the mountains feature in the photo album alongside school and family. The family had grown by one: Richard and Minna's first (and only) child. A son named [Johannes] Thomas. Tom features largely in the family photos of the next decade ... because his mother had become a professional photographer, sharing a studio and business with Berta Schönickle. ('die bekannte Hietzinger Atelier Schönickle-Stern').

There is a swatch of family photos dated 'Summer 1922'

Rudi, Richard, Mizzi (Bingo the dog), Fritzl, Minna and Tom at Winterbach

Winterbach is a stop, one on from Puchenstuben, on the family's (and everyone else's) favourite Mariazell electric-railway line.

Rudi, Marie, Eduard, Fritz

And one from school. The schoolmates of II Real are labelled ...

Herzog, Ganzl, Schönewolf, Rosenthal, Wantoch, Schneider, Becker, ?Karnenitser. Wunderlich, Wedermann, Hirsch; Horodetzky, ?Transon, Rauch, Professor Ungar, Hradetzky, Hittler, Rotter, Schachauer, Ackermann, Rand, Lazar, Grünhut, Heitler ... (*transcription not guaranteed!)

Yes, they'd not long started taking girls.... three here? Plenty of Jews ...

A fortnight for Christmas at Puchenstuben ... why does that name ring a bell in my brain? Oh goodness! This has been on my shelves for 60 years. I never investigated! I thought Puchenstuben meant something like 'Poubelle de table'! So this is 100 years old?