Mourning in Braunau for collectors: Obituary for Gregor Fuchs

2023-12-05 12:05:14

It’s enough. Life was beautiful. This is what it says on Gregor Fuchs’ funeral notice. Hardly anyone knows life in Braunau as well as he does. It was not without reason that it was considered a living archive. The former Braunau deputy mayor with a love of art collected books, pictures and interesting reports en masse in folders over time. On Sunday, December 3rd, Gregor Fuchs died at the age of 86 surrounded by his family.

Fuchs was VP-Vice Mayor from 1982 to 1991. The former decorator was not only politically active, but also worked as chairman for the “Messe Braunau” exhibition association and for the Innviertel Artists’ Guild, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. His passion was collecting. The native of St. Martin kept around 1,000 folders full of documents, notes and newspaper editions in his life’s work, the local history private archive. All the knowledge was not only on the shelves, but also in his head. “I don’t know much compared to what you can know. “But I know more about Braunau than the average person,” the art connoisseur once said in an OÖN interview, grossly understating things. Because hardly anyone knows as many backgrounds and connections as he does. The city of Braunau’s Ring of Honor bearer was able to tell at least one story about each picture – and Braunau will often talk about him in the future.