Hans Steininger: the man who was killed by his own beard (4 photos)

Hans Steininger had two favorite things: running a picturesque town on the German-Austrian border and growing an incredibly long and bushy beard. This is what it led to.





A short excursion into history



Hans Steininger was the mayor of Braunau am Inn back in 1567.

Hans Steininger, a 16th-century Austrian politician, was devoted to two things in life: his city and his facial hair. He was elected burgomaster (mayor) of the small town of Braunau am Inn six times in a row.

Steininger's beard would be the envy of any modern hipster: in 1567, it measured an impressive three and a half cubits long (an archaic form of measurement that equates to about 1.5 meters). The abundant vegetation was so long that it had to be gathered into a ball and placed in a special bag over the shoulder.

After all, since his beard was so long that it trailed on the ground, sooner or later tragedy was bound to happen.





There are two conflicting stories about Steininger's death, but they are based on the beard incident. According to most sources, on the night of September 28, 1567, a fire broke out in Braunau am Inn. The burgomaster jumped out of bed and hurried to notify and calm the townspeople, but forgot to put his beard in his bag. While going down the steep stairs, he stepped on abundant vegetation, rolled down the steps and broke his neck.

In another version of the story, told by the 19th-century travel writer Joseph Kiselak, Steininger ran across town to pay respect to the prince and similarly tripped over his facial hair.

In any case, Steininger's death is one of the few documented cases of "death by beard" in history. It is not surprising that the city erected a large stone statue in honor of the former head of the city, which any tourist can now see.



Hans's beard in the local museum in Braunau am Inn