 Poster: A snowHead
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The fourth anniversary of the funicular fire which killed 155 skiers and boarders above Kaprun will be marked on 11 November with a memorial at the base of the mountain. A stone building containing 155 glass columns to commemorate the dead has been designed by Anton Michael, a German architect. The memorial will be dedicated by Austrian President Heinz Fischer at a private ceremony...
The dead included passengers from Austria, Germany, America, Japan, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Britain.
A long trial of 16 defendants concluded with their acquittal. In September, Austrian prosecutors lodged appeals against eight of these acquittals. Separate civil lawsuits from the US and Germany are pending.
This report from Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
This earlier snowHeads thread provides more details on the outcome of the trial.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Here is a photo of the memorial, and report (in German), from Tirol Online.
The photo shows streams of coloured light pouring from the 155 glass columns. Each colour was chosen from a Chinese horoscope according to the year of birth of the deceased. The small window at the end of the building points at the tunnel entrance, beyond which the tragedy took place.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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That actually looks like a very nice memorial
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, it looks outstanding and very beautiful (though, ultimately, it's for the families of the dead to say whether it provides a peaceful place to mourn). According to the Tirol article the responsibility for designing the memorial was the subject of an international competition.
One of the glass light columns is dedicated to Kevin Challis, the British ski instructor who'd settled in Kaprun and married a local instructor Christl. His daughter Siobhan was eight at the time of the fire and lost her father because he gave up his place on the train to an elderly man. Kevin met his fate on the following train.
It's just one story out of 155, but very moving. Because the trial provided no closure to the affair for many relatives, the arguments are now set to continue for years. This article from The Times, on the day of the original verdicts, makes plain how deep the feelings remain.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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It's nice to see that some obvious thought has gone into remembering each victim as an individual and not "just another number".
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, I'd make a comparison with the Aberfan disaster in South Wales. Despite a primary school being obliterated, with a similar number of victims - in that case, almost an entire generation of children - the memorial is a quiet garden, but it fails to communicate the scale of human tragedy in a symbolic way. It is a rather anonymous place, full of right angles and rectangular surfaces.
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I saw the documentary of this disaster a couple of weeks ago on the discovery channel. It was truly shocking. Many more would have survived if they had gone down the tunnel rather than upwards.
A sad thing for a sport we all love. A great memorial, I'm sure the families will like it.
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biggles76, I always go in the bottom carriage whenever taking a funicular these days, ever since the disaster in question...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Good tip. Most big forms of transport are safer in the back, when you think about it.
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Absolutely, agree. I've travelled on the funicular in Zermatt lots and always walked up to the front in the past - primarily to save a walk when it gets to the top.
Now I know where I'll be!!!
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FAQ
