Memories of a mountain farmer boy – salzburg.ORF.at
A few centuries ago, life in the Salzburg mountains was characterized by harsh winters, hard work and a lot of hardship.
The dramatically beautiful but rough mountains of the Rauris valley form the backdrop for the life of Hans Wallner. Hans Wallner compiled the memories with author Michael Fazokas. The book “Da Hochberg Hans. Hans Wallner – childhood and youth of a mountain farmer boy from the Raurisertal” was published by pinzgaubooks.
Hochberg-Hans, as he is called in Rauris, was born in 1944 as the second of a total of seven children. His childhood was marked by hard work on the farm at an altitude of 1,264 meters, with no electricity and no access road: “Child jobs were taking care of the horses, carrying water. The whole summer long. Child labor was taken for granted. It was the same on the other farms, so nobody thought anything of it”.
Sickly parents, long ways to school through knee-deep snow, breathtaking ski descents into the valley, strong teachers and pastors, cheeky pranks from rascals as well as the hard and early work in agriculture shaped his upbringing.
21 year age difference between siblings
He likes to think back to working in the barn with his father, his animals and the many siblings: “For us, there are 21 years between the assignment and the youngest child. We siblings had to tease each other. From feeding to changing diapers. And that nobody rolls down the mountain”.
Hans Wallner also remembers his way to school in the valley particularly vividly: “It was fun going down there, it was quick, sometimes on skis. But going up was very difficult. I wouldn’t wish that on any children today.”
“Savior of the Tauernschecken”
The cattle breeder does not want to miss his experience. He sees his book as a legacy for posterity. The later cattle breed warden and farmer was also known as the savior of the “Tauernschecken” goat breed, which was threatened with extinction.
“With the advancing mechanization, with the construction of a gondola with works traffic in 1979 and later with the construction of a goods route, the possibilities and the way of life of the next generations have changed a lot,” says Hans Wallner about the changes in the Rauris Valley.
He now lives on his own farm on the opposite side of the valley. His older brother Herbert inherited the Hochberg farm. However, he remained connected to the place of his childhood and youth until the end of his life.
Memoirs of a mountain farmer boy
Hans Wallner from Rauris summarizes his childhood memories on a mountain farm in Rauris in a book