LIVING MOMENTS N° 7

29 KITZBUEHEL I ON THE TRAIL OF A LEGEND Living Moments Dear Ms. Reisch, what is so special about the Kitzbuehel region that so many holiday guests love coming here and often decide to have their own home? Signe Reisch (SR): “It is the intact na- ture, the traditions and the people that make Kitzbuehel a very special place. A place that offers more quali- ty of life than any other. To the rest of the world, Kitzbuehel is best known for events such as the legendary Hahnen­ kamm race, the Golf Festival , or the Generali Open. But we are not just a sports city. Kitzbuehel also has a lot to offer from a cultural point of view. My family and I are closely connected to our home. For us it is clear: There is no better place on earth than our Kitzbuehel because this beautiful re- gion simply touches everyone, young and old. 365 days a year.” Your great-grandfather Franz Reisch was the pioneer and visionary, to whom the current splendour of Kitzbuehel can be attributed. In his function as mayor, he decisive- ly shaped the city, as well as your father and yourself over the past decades. What do you think mo- tivated your great-grandfather at that time to go down in history as a skiing pioneer? SR: “It just takes your breath away when the picturesque “Horn” summit catches your eye and then the “Wilder Kaiser” spreads out powerfully in front of you. My great-grandfather, the ski pioneer Franz Reisch , prob- ably felt similarly at the time when he bought a pair of “snowshoes” (skis with a length of 2.40 m) in Nor- way in 1892 and, being the bold ski pioneer he was, he climbed the “Kitz- bueheler Horn” the following year to be the first man on skis to descend into the valley.” Fotos: Portrait Signe Reisch, Winter-Impressionen Kitzbühel / Michael Werlberger Photography; City Moods / Markus Mitterer