A clock for Olympic Games
Elbigenalp. When the XXIV Olympic Winter Games begin next Friday in Beijing, Franz Kapeller from the Tyrolean Lechtal will surely bring back many memories. The Austrian not only experienced the Winter Games in his own country, he even banged the drum for it in a special way. It’s about the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. For her, he even left his newly wedded Johanna alone in the Lech Valley two days after the wedding.
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The passionate restaurateur and musician explains how this came about in the cozy restaurant of his traditional inn Hotel “Stern” in Elbigenalp. The senior boss is there with his wife, son Josef and his wife Andrea, who run the four-star hotel in the idyllic village at 1040 meters above sea level with a lot of love and passion. And that’s not all: Father and son also like to play music together for the guests – be it directly when groups arrive on the doorstep or in the evening after the fine multi-course menu with a regional touch, which Josef prepares.
Acquaintance with beautiful consequences
Contact to the region and to the hotel
The Lechtal nature park region is embedded between the Lechtal and Allgäu Alps. It is named after the Lech, which shapes the area on its way towards the Danube. The Tyrolean Lechtal holiday region stands for sustainable and authentic tourism and is a year-round destination for nature lovers and those seeking peace and quiet. Hikers head for the 125 km long Lechweg, which leads through the valley with 14 villages. Winter invites you to go snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and ski touring.
Contact for the region: Lechtal Tourismus, Untergiblen 23, A-6652 Elbigenalp, telephone 0043/ 5634/5315, [email protected], www.lechtal.at
Hotel contact: Hotel Gasthof Stern****, Kapeller family, Dorf 7, A-6652 Elbigenalp, Lechtal, Tirol, telephone: 0043/ 5634/6202, [email protected], www.hotel-stern.at
Music has been Franz Kapeller’s passion since childhood. And that’s exactly what brought him to the 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck. “I founded my first group when I was 15,” says the 74-year-old, who plays the clarinet and accordion, among other things, and likes to sing – records and CDs bear witness to this. At that time the band played 80 percent folk music, but also hip music like the Beatles. The postbus (bus) was used to go to the performances – along with solo, bass and rhythm guitars and drums in tow.
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After the “Sternbuabm” Franz Kapeller played in the “Alpenquintett”, a formation that quickly made a name for itself beyond the borders of the region. “In the summer, Viennese children always came to the Tyrolean Lech Valley for a summer holiday. Among them was a certain Walter Pötsch,” says Franz Kapeller of an encounter and long-standing acquaintance with beautiful consequences. Because this Walter Pötsch designed the mascot for the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck: a snowman with a red Tyrolean hut, affectionately called “Snowman”. And Walter Pötsch established contact with those responsible for the Olympics in Austria, who hired Franz Kapeller and his “Alpenquintett” – more precisely: “Die 5 wilden Mander” (The 5 wild men). “We were advised to change the name of the band,” explains Franz Kapeller. The group then toured Austria for seven weeks in 1975/76 to promote the second Winter Games in Innsbruck after 1964.
Played under the “Golden Roof”.
The 74-year-old talks with shining eyes as if it were yesterday: “We drove in the Olympic convoy with Minis. We were given the cars back then.” The cars had advertising for the Winter Games stuck to them, and “Snowman” figures were blown up on the car roofs at the stops. Students from Innsbruck were there and hostesses “in those paper overalls that were fashionable at the time”. Franz Kapeller carried the herald’s baton and declared the Olympic Games in the Austrian towns and communities, the sutlers distributed schnapps. “In Vienna, even Chancellor Bruno Kreisky was there.”
At that time he had three appearances a day with the group “Die 5 wilden Mander” – a decent workload. As the Olympia band – alongside guitarist Kapeller, it also consisted of Emil Moll (bass), Franz Huber (accordion), Konrad Scheiber (clarinet) and Egon Pichler (trumpet) – they then played at the opening in Innsbruck, under the “Golden Roof”. , the symbol of the city, and in the communication center. “The athletes sat on the floor and on cushions and listened to us.” The musicians even composed and performed their own Olympic march. Franz Kapeller also performed with his group in the “Aktuelle Sportstudio”. He can remember the long-time German moderator and sports journalist Harry Valérien (1923 – 2012): “He was very nice.”
Franz Kapeller no longer takes these memories. Also don’t die from Europe-wide appearances as a result of the Winter Games and the resulting increased level of awareness. “We were even hired professionally in Liechtenstein for a month,” he reports of full houses during this time. He must have performed around 180 times in Belgium, and many in Germany also know Franz Kapeller as a musician.
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He is glad that his wife Johanna was understanding. After all, the husband “disappeared” in October 1975, exactly two days after saying yes, to go on a sports promotional tour. The fact that the marriage was a happy one is not only proven by the three children Anja, Michael and Josef, but also by the continued cooperation of the couple in the inn.
Family business taken over early
Speaking of which: the traditional Gasthof Hotel “Stern” has been family-run since 1726. And it has already experienced a lot. The building burned down in 1973. After his father died at the age of 55, Franz Kapeller took over the house. The trained chef continued to do this over the years, “back then we were among the first to have a shower and toilet in the room,” he says. Today, the hotel shines with 54 large suites and rooms, the associated hunting lodge, a newly designed wellness area with sauna, sanarium, steam bath and pine infrared loungers as well as a swimming pool – all at a great price-performance ratio (from 67 euros per person with half board).
The Tyrolean Lech Valley offers a beautiful activity program all year round: Hikers can discover the Lechweg long-distance hiking route here. Surrounding mountain huts can be easily reached on foot from the hotel, such as the Hermann von Barth hut in summer or the Kasermandl hut (about an hour, also in winter). The cross-country ski trail starts practically on the doorstep and ski touring fans will find a true paradise in the Lechtal and Allgäu Alps.
When the XXIV Olympic Winter Games begin next Friday in Beijing, Franz Kapeller will no doubt bring back many memories. Who knows who he’ll share it with in the dining room. . .