Andreas Hörtnagl (born 28 November 1942) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n politician. Born in

Matrei am Brenner Matrei am Brenner is a small municipality in the southern part of the District Innsbruck-Land and is located approximately 17 km south of Innsbruck. Matrei has always been an important station for commerce. On 1 January 2022 the municipalitie ...

, Hörtnagl was mayor of

Gries am Brenner Gries am Brenner, often referred to as simply Gries (), is a municipality in the Wipptal in the southern district of Innsbruck-Land. The village consists of several hamlets. Geography Gries am Brenner is located at the entrance of the Obernbergtal ...

from 1980 to 1992. He became well-known because of the conflict with his predecessor

Jakob Strickner Jakob may refer to: People * Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name Other * Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP * Max Jakob Memorial Aw ...

, who had praised himself in the German magazine ''

Bunte ''Bunte'' (company's preferred spelling in capital letters) is a German-language weekly celebrity gossip magazine published by Hubert Burda Media. The first edition was published in 1948 under the name ''Das Ufer''. Under the leadership of Huber ...

'' because he had helped

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = ''Schutzstaffel, SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , command ...

to escape to Italy over the so-called ''Rat-Line''. Hörtnagl was ashamed for the behaviour of his predecessor, and he regretted Strickland's attitude to holocaust survivors. Strickner sued him because of the offence of his honour; however he had no success before the court. In 1991, at Bishop

Reinhold Stecher Reinhold Stecher (22 December 1921 – 29 January 2013) was an Austrian Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion bap ...

’s suggestion, mayor Hörtnagl arranged the first L’Arche community for disabled and able-bodied people, at Stecher's commune in Gries am Brenner. Also at Hörtnagl's instigation, Gries am Brenner became the first community in Austria which accepted 20 Romanian

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

. Hörtnagl he wasn’t re-elected as a mayor in 1992. However the University

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

and the

Bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Innsbruck presented him high honours for his dedication. In 1992 he and

Andreas Maislinger Andreas Maislinger (born 26 February 1955 in St. Georgen near Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian historian and political scientist and founder and chairman of the Austrian Service Abroad, including the Gedenkdienst, the Austrian Social Service an ...

arranged the

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so. Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Ma ...

and gave young Austrian's the possibility to work in foreign holocaust memorial places. Since 2000 he has been assistant chairman of the

Austrian Service Abroad The Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit organization founded by Andreas Hörtnagl, Andreas Maislinger and Michael Prochazka in 1998, which sends young Austrians to work in partner institutions worldwide serving Holocaust commemoration in f ...

External links

Commune Gries at the BrennerAustrian Holocaust Memorial Service
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hortnagl, Andreas 1942 births Living people Austrian politicians