First Anniversary of Richard Lugner's Death: Family Remembers Quietly

As loud as the life of the master builder was, the family spends the first anniversary of his death without media attention. "The family mourns in silence," it was said to the APA. In Döbling, there could soon be a - public - Richard Lugner Square or Path. In the Lugner City, on the anniversary of his death, the wax figure of Lugner from Madame Tussauds Vienna and a film portrait will be on display.

The Döbling district chairman Daniel Resch (ÖVP) is in talks with other factions and the family about naming a square or path. "We are trying to organize this near his residence in the Grinzing area," Resch said in a conversation with the APA. He hoped to be able to submit a corresponding application to the city's cultural department responsible for street names (Magistratsabteilung 7) at the next district council meeting in mid-September.

Commemoration in Vienna's Lugner City and Marchfelderhof

On Monday, the wax figure of Lugner from Madame Tussauds will be displayed from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM at the main square of Lugner City to remember him. The Lugner Cinema will show the portrait "Richard Lugner - The Unknown Side" at 8:00 PM, which ORF produced with Richard Lugner shortly before his death - admission is free. In collaboration with Lugner City, the celebrity restaurant Marchfelderhof in Deutsch-Wagram in Lower Austria is opening the so-called Lugner Lodge, an area where personal memorabilia and photos from Lugner's life will be permanently exhibited. However, the family wants to commemorate quietly and "not use the anniversary for personal staging," it was emphasized.

Companions also mourn the loss of the enterprising master builder on the anniversary. "Richard Lugner was not just a piece of Austria, he represented what we are: a loving country, sometimes a bit grumpy, full of life - and occasionally not averse to a faux pas. I miss Richard," said the former Third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ), who was connected to Lugner in friendship over many years and gave a eulogy at the public farewell of the deceased a year ago.

"I liked being in the newspaper"

Richard Lugner was born on October 11, 1932, in Vienna and quickly entered the construction industry after his graduation. In 1975, he achieved an internationally acclaimed coup with the construction of the magnificent Vienna Mosque. This prestigious contract was also the beginning of his public activities - and his relationship with the press: "I liked being in the newspaper," Lugner once said in retrospect. With the construction of the "Lugner City" on the Vienna Gürtel, he also created one of Austria's most successful shopping centers - pragmatically assembled. "I went to shopping centers in other cities and looked at which stores were full."

However, "Mörtel" became especially known for his flamboyant Opera Ball appearances with star guests like Sophia Loren, Paris Hilton, or Pamela Anderson - spectacular stagings that gave him enormous media presence. Privately, he also liked to be accompanied: cameras documented vacations, Botox injections, and his favorite dish, oysters with ketchup.

Politically, however, the big breakthrough eluded him - his candidacies in the 1998 and 2016 presidential elections were unsuccessful. Privately, he was married six times and left behind four children.

(APA/Red)

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