Fritz Kohles

Fritz Kohles (*Wednesday, 14 July 1954 in Großgmain, in the zodiac sign Cancer -   † Wednesday, 18 January 2006 in the city of Salzburg) was a Salzburg original and artist 

Salzburg original – postman, actor, innkeeper and humanitarian all in one. Musician, writer, postman, lecturer, actor. He was born on a Wednesday and also died on a Wednesday.

Fritz Kohles died on 18 January 2006 in Salzburg State Hospital.                                                                                           „Er hat an Abgang g'macht, er hat die Batschn g'streckt, er hat a Bankl g'rissen, er hat si niedag'legt …“

Immediately in front of the entrance to his last restaurant, the “Klause” on Ursulinenplatz, there is a tetrahedron dedicated to him, who died in 2006 at the age of 51.

Fritz Kohles, who once stormed the Alpine hit parade with his " Grenzland Sextet ", looked like a Viennese horse-drawn carriage and could speak like Qualtinger, is one of 13 people to whom a temporary tetrahedron monument is dedicated as part of the "Schillerndes Salzburg" project. The campaign is part of the “Salzburg 200 years with Austria” anniversary.

- Fritz Kohles's everyday life as a stage:

" From the 1980s until his early death, which he did not exactly work towards but which he disapproved of as a result of his way of life, Fritz Kohles was one of the most popular personalities in Salzburg. Unlike most of his school friends, he did his military service immediately after graduating from high school in 1972, spending most of his time in the office, where he was thoroughly trained in the technique of combat drinking by his superior officer. He then gave a short guest performance at the Pedagogical Institute, which he soon broke off to work at the post office and to find his first small stage at the Taxham post office.
Even in high school he knew how to entertain his classmates brilliantly by having a way of life by Karl Valentin ready for every situation, presented in the original Bavarian tone, or by playing songs by Georg Kreisler, whom he admired, on the guitar.

Nevertheless, back then, in the arts branch of the second federal high school at Lehener Brücke (city of Salzburg), he was a well-liked but rather inconspicuous student who treated his classmates helpfully and the professors at best with mild irony. In addition to his profound knowledge of geography, he only attracted attention with his receptive skills, which he shared with classmates Vincy Müller and Georg Schuchter, so that reading Nestroy's plays - yes, at that time, entire plays with assigned roles were still taught in German lessons read - turned out to be extremely entertaining...."  

Of course he had the talent of an actor, everyone saw and heard it as soon as he began to act out scenes from memory or to invent them from the inspiration of the moment; And later he shone on many stages - even in numerous roles and with all kinds of programs: But he always did it with all kinds of programs: But he always did it with the skills of the stubborn autodidact who copied the acting and speaking from great role models and listened to it, and with the desire of the amateur who - if it didn't suit him - could take a break and resign. - I always wished that he would make more of his talent, no, of his many talents, that he would devote more concentration to one thing, for example the art of recitation, or acting, and not give away his strength so freely on every occasion and on some occasions too wasted on questionable reasons. - Fritz was a great actor, except that his stage was everyday life, the post office, the street, the tavern. On this stage he never stopped playing for our pleasure...;

       Alcohol

Fritz Kohles probably had a friend for three decades in alcohol, who finally broke off his friendship and heartlessly killed him. It would be wrong to claim that Fritz Kohles intentionally drank himself to death. He bravely began every new year with a few weeks of complete abstinence, then sat in his restaurant with a glass of buttermilk.

Fritz Kohles drank from the morning onwards, slowly and deliberately, but incessantly, and so he accumulated an enormous amount every day. He didn't deny it or downplay it, but was a self-confessed alcoholic who knew how dangerous his lifestyle was but still didn't want to give it up.

Karl - Markus Gauß 

               Hommage an "den Fritz"

"With the death of Fritz Kohles on 18 January 2006, the city of Salzburg lost one of its most popular figures of the past decades. The popularity of the multi-talented man, who died at the age of 51, was evident at the funeral service at the municipal cemetery a few days after his death: Over a thousand Salzburgers bid farewell to "their Fritz"; the size of the funeral procession would have done honour to any acting star. 

Fritz Kohles laid the foundation for his popularity as works council chairman of the Salzburg train station post office 5020, which at the time still had over 1,300 employees. Fritz Kohles was also a musician: with his “Borderland Sextet” he stormed the Alpine charts in the 1970s. Fritz Kohles, who looked like a Viennese horse-drawn carriage and could speak like Qualtinger used to, stood on stage as an actor at the State Theater, wrote texts, was a cabaret artist and innkeeper: first in the "Krotach" right next to the state government headquarters, then until his death in the “Klause” at Ursulinenplatz.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, a specially designed homage to Fritz Kohl will take place tomorrow, Thursday, in the Salzburger Arge-Kultur. Under the title "... you shall live!" A poetic-musical evening is planned that revolves around life, death, wine and beer. In addition to texts by Karl-Markus Gauß, Helmut Qualtinger and Friedrich Achleitner, Roland Neuwirth posthumously pays homage to “dem Fritz” with his extreme scraps. By the way, Fritz Kohles himself decided before his death that Neuwirth and his Schrammeln would one day sing his swan song."

Source: Thomas Neuhold, DER STANDARD print edition, January 17, 2007

"In memory of Fritz Kohles - a true Salzburg original

Postman, innkeeper, natural acting talent, Qualtinger look-a-like, people-watcher and philanthropist - Fritz Kohle was all this and much more.
Born on 14 July 1954 in Großgmain. His mother Elfriede was a teacher, his father Karl a civil servant. After primary school, Fritz attended the artistic branch of the Bundesgymnasium an der Lehener Brücke in Salzburg. The A class (graduating in 1973) turned out to be a real talent pool. In addition to Karl - Markus Gauss, his classmates included the future actors Christoph Schobesberger and Georg Schuchter, as well as the writer Peter Stephan Jungk.

Taxham post office as the first stage

After his school-leaving certificate and military service, Fritz attempted to study, worked in the sports editorial department of the SVZ newspaper and tried his hand as a parish secretary in Großgmain and as a night watchman before joining the post office. At that time, he had already discovered his talent and love of music (he was a guitarist in the Salzburger Grenzland Sextet), acting and parody. The Taxham post office became his first stage. In 1980, together with Richard Pertlwieser, he dared to go public for the first time with the satirical collage ‘Aus großer Zeit’. This was followed by his first solo programme ‘Scharfrichter Lang’, as well as appearances at the Salzburg State Theatre in ‘Westside Story’ and at the Elisabethbühne, and later on various cabaret stages across the country. The autodidact soon made a name for himself as a reciter and singer.

Kohles had the laughs on his side when he interpreted songs by Georg Kreisler, the radio play by Wolf Ror ‘Cordoba. Um 13 Uhr 45 ‘ (I wer naaarisch!), or simply let the banter begin at the bar. 

The magazine ‘Basta’ crowned him ‘Salzburg's King of the Night’ - and he started work at 8.00 in the morning. Fritz was now working at station post office 5020 as head of mail delivery and operations manager, and a simple ‘Fritz 5020’ as the address was enough to ensure that the mail addressed in this way found the right recipient without any detours.

From Advent singing to the Beislwirt

In 1988, he gave up his job at the post office and the trade union and switched to the catering trade. He opened a pub in the Kaiviertel, the Krotach 7, and as proof of his professional qualifications he said: ‘I played the landlord at the Salzburg Advent carol singers for three years’. 

In 1998, he took over the Klause in Gstättengasse together with Lele Vogl. While the Krotach was still a kind of journeyman's piece, with the Klause he thought he was presenting something of a masterpiece, writes Karl Markus Gauss in the book ‘Schillerndes Leben in Salzburg’. In a sense, the Klause - as Fritz ran it - was a social work of art that brought people from a disintegrating society together once again in an inn. 

Fritz Kohles died not entirely unexpectedly, but far too soon. Alcohol had become his best friend. Roland Neuwirth was not able to pay his last respects at the funeral, but only a year later. To mark the first anniversary of his death, a tribute to Fritz Kohle was organised at ArgeKultur Nonntal under the title ‘sollst leben’ (‘should live’), at which Neuwirth sang ‘Ein echtes Wienerlied’ (‘A real Viennese song’)."  (by Claudia Karner)

In Memoriam: Fritz Kohles (1954 – 2006)   „Das schillernde Herz von Salzburg“ Lebensdaten

• Geboren: Mittwoch, 14. Juli 1954 in Großgmain (Sternzeichen Krebs)
• Verstorben: Mittwoch, 18. Jänner 2006 in der Stadt Salzburg
• Wirkungsstätten: Postamt Taxham & Bahnhof, Die Krotach, Die Klause, Salzburger Landestheater

Ein Leben als Gesamtkunstwerk Fritz Kohles war weit mehr als ein Wirt oder ein Postbeamter

– er war ein Universalgenie des Alltags.

Geboren und gestorben an einem Mittwoch, spannte sich sein Leben wie ein großer Bogen über die Salzburger Kulturlandschaft. Er besaß das seltene Geschenk des absoluten musikalischen Gehörs und ein unvergleichliches Talent zur Parodie.   Stationen eines Multitalents

• Der Musiker: Mit seinem „Grenzland Sextett“ stürmte er in den 70ern die alpinen Hitparaden. Ob Gitarre oder Gesang – sein musikalisches Gespür war präzise und voller Seele.
• Der Postler & Humanist: Als Betriebsrat am Bahnhofspostamt 5020 setzte er sich für über 1.300 Kollegen ein. Das Postamt Taxham wurde zu seiner ersten improvisierten Bühne, auf der er den grauen Alltag in Weltliteratur verwandelte.
• Der Schauspieler & Rezitator: Ein Autodidakt von höchstem Rang. Er sah aus wie ein Wiener Fiaker, konnte sprechen wie Helmut Qualtinger und interpretierte Georg Kreisler mit einer Brillanz, die selbst Profis erblassen ließ. Ob am Landestheater oder auf der Kabarettbühne – er war ein Meister der Menschenbeobachtung.
• Der Wirt: In der „Krotach“ und zuletzt in der legendären „Klause“ am Ursulinenplatz schuf er Orte der Begegnung. Hier wurde Schach gespielt, philosophiert und gelacht. Er war der „König der Nacht“, der dennoch pünktlich um acht Uhr seinen Dienst antrat.

Ein Abschied mit Würde Karl-Markus Gauß beschrieb ihn treffend: Seine Bühne war das tägliche Leben. Trotz seines jahrelangen Kampfes mit seinem „Freund“, dem Alkohol, verlor Fritz nie seine Menschlichkeit und seinen scharfen Verstand. Sein Begräbnis glich dem eines Staatsaktes – über tausend Salzburger gaben „ihrem Fritz“ das letzte Geleit.   „Er hat an Abgang g'macht, er hat die Batschn g'streckt...“ Heute erinnert ein Tetraeder-Monument vor der Klause an diesen außergewöhnlichen Mann, der Salzburg mehr Farbe gab, als es die offizielle Festspielstadt oft wahrhaben wollte. „... du sollst leben!“ – In unseren Erinnerungen und in den Anekdoten der Gassen von Salzburg wird die Stimme von Fritz Kohles niemals ganz verstummen.

Weitere Memories

"In Großgmain, wo die Gipfel schweigend ragen, kam er ans Licht an einem Julimorgen warm. Ein Funke Leben in den frühen Tagen, ein Herz voll Kraft, das nie den Gram umarmt. Ein Mittwoch trug ihn in die weite Runde, ein Mittwoch schloss den Kreis – still und voll Harm. So wölbte sich sein Leben wie ein Bogen, aus Salzburgs Erde, reich und dennoch zart.

Oh Salzburg, du kanntest den schillernden Fritz! Ein wandelndes Kunstwerk aus Feuer und Witz. Mit absolutem Gehör durchdrang er die Welt, verwandelte Töne in Seelen, die singen und halten.

Er trug die Post durch Gassen, Höfe, Regen, doch seine wahre Bühne war das Leben selbst. Im Amt zu Taxham, zwischen Akten und Segen, ließ er Valentin und Nestroy lebendig werden. Mit dem Grenzland Sextett, den Saiten im Reigen, eroberte er die Alpen in feurigen Wellen. Er hörte den Wind, das verborgene Schweigen, und gab der Stadt ihre Melodie zurück.

Wie ein Wiener Fiaker, breit und voll Saft, sprach er mit Qualtingers Tiefe und Kraft. Georg Kreislers Geist durchströmte sein Lachen, Parodie als Geschenk, scharf wie ein Licht. In der Krotach und später in der Klause am Platz schuf er ein Reich aus Gespräch und aus Glut – ein Wirt, ein Philosoph, ein sanfter Magnet, der verlorene Seelen ins Licht wieder zog.

Oh Salzburg, du kanntest den schillernden Fritz! Ein wandelndes Kunstwerk aus Feuer und Witz. Mit absolutem Gehör durchdrang er die Welt, verwandelte Töne in Seelen, die singen und halten.

Er rang mit dem alten Gefährten, dem Trunk, der ihm Freund war und dennoch zum Feind wurde still. Jedes Jahr neu begann er mit klarem Mut, dann siegte oft die Sehnsucht – menschlich und schwer. Ein Autodidakt auf allen Bühnen des Seins, Schauspieler des Alltags, Meister des Worts. Er trug in seiner Stimme Glanz, Schmerz und Hohn, und über tausend Salzburger gaben ihm das Geleit.

Vor seiner Klause steht der Tetraeder kalt, ein steinernes Lied, das warm im Herzen bleibt. „Er hat an Abgang g’macht“, sagen die Alten, doch lebt er weiter in jedem Gelächter, das treibt. Ein König der Nacht, der morgens um acht seinen Dienst antrat – treu bis zum letzten Strahl. Ein Universalgenie des einfachen Lebens, das Salzburg reicher und menschlicher machte.

 Oh Salzburg, du trägst ihn noch immer, deinen Fritz… Ein geistvolles Herz aus Klang, Witz und Licht. Mit absolutem Gehör hat er uns berührt, und wo er erklang, bleibt etwas unvergessen und rein.

… du bleibst unvergessen! In jedem Akkord, in jedem erhobenem Glas, in jedem Salzburger Abend, der warm und voll ist – Fritz Kohles, du schillerndes Herz unserer Stadt." Ein salzburger Bürger

 Das digitale Angebot im Internet spiegelt in keiner Weise wider, wie präsent und einflussreich er zu Lebzeiten in der Salzburger Kulturszene war.

Dass es so extrem wenig von ihm im Netz gibt, hat vor allem drei Gründe:

• Der Fokus auf das Live-Erlebnis: Kohles war in erster Linie ein darstellender Künstler, Kabarettist, Rezitator und Wirt. Seine Kunst passierte im Moment – auf der Bühne, im Radiostudio oder direkt am Wirtshaustisch in seiner legendären „Klause am Tor“. Er hat kaum Studioalben oder Bücher hinterlassen.
• Die Epoche: Kohles verstarb Anfang 2006. Das war eine Zeit, in der das Internet, soziale Medien und Plattformen wie YouTube gerade erst in den Kinderschuhen steckten oder im Alltag noch keine Rolle spielten. Seine Auftritte wurden damals schlichtweg nicht digitalisiert oder hochgeladen.
• Die Vergänglichkeit seiner „Hauptbühne“: Wie sein Jugendfreund, der Schriftsteller Karl-Markus Gauß, es treffend formulierte: „Seine Bühne war der Alltag, und er hatte uns alle im Repertoire.“ Ein Großteil seines „Werks“ bestand aus seiner Persönlichkeit, seinen spontanen Reden und seiner Wirtshauskultur.