Does anyone in this village or the wider region still remember why there is a Belgian cross (Belgierkreuz) on top of this mountain? The story goes as follows:
In the early sixties a group of around 30 Belgian students went on a cultural trip to Tirol, accompanied by their German language teacher called Gerd Cuppens. In the idyllic village of Waidring they stayed at the farm of the Grünbacher family. It was love at first sight! For them, Waidring became a second homeland, and the farmer’s wife became their Tirolian mom.
These Flemish boys were so enthusiastic they even started to learn Tirolian folk songs and with the consent of Toni Praxmair started to learn the Schuhplattler. They decided to start a Belgian Tirolian folk dance group. When searching for a name for this group they found inspiration in the name of this mountain, the Steinplatte, and thus called their group the “Steinplattler”.
This Flemish Tirolian folk dance group became quite popular. Besides numerous performances in Belgium they also performed in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy. The pinnacle of their success was a performance at the 1967 Montreal world exhibition
in Canada.
But they did not forget Waidring. They regularly performed with music and dance at Waidring’s summer open air concerts. Strong bonds were forged with the locals and with members of the village’s concert band (Musikkappelle), then lead by Hermann Schreder. Upon invitation of the Flemish Steinplattler, Waidring’s concert band also performed at the Festival of Folk music at the Belgian coast.
At several occasions, the Steinplattler sang a multivocal “Farmer’s mass” (Bauernmesse) in Waidring’s church. After having sung and partied with tourists and locals until the bars closed, they went on singing on their way back to the Schredergasse. So it did not come as a big surprise that after the summer holidays their German language teacher had to tell them to stop speaking the Tirolian dialect and to switch back to German! Many inhabitants of Waidring also hold fond memories of the years with the Steinplattler. In 1964 these bonds of friendship were sealed with the raising of a cross on the highest point of the Steinplatte. With the help of Waidringer Stefan Grünbacher ( a local hunter’s son) and Hans Fischer (a carpenter) a new cross was raised on top of the Steinplatte, after it had been carried up the mountain by foot by the Belgian boys.
When the cross was destroyed by lightning in 1980 the inhabitants of Waidring made sure a new cross was raised again. Since then, the current Belgian cross (Belgierkreuz) is standing strong at the highest point of the Steinplatte.
We invite you to share your own thoughts, memories or experiences in our guestbook. Every comment contributes to keeping this unique history alive. Also, don’t forget to take a look at our photo book, where you can browse through pictures from the past and enjoy the music that has characterised this friendship. We look forward to reading your words and thoughts!
