Music keeps him young

This Ferlach native has been playing the organ for 78 years

For more than 70 years, Roland Popatnig has been playing the organ during Masses at the Ferlach parish church(Bild: Arbeiter Dieter)

At nearly 90 years old, Roland Popatnig from Ferlach still provides the musical accompaniment for church services. The Rosental native has no plans to stop anytime soon.

When Ferlach residents walk past the parish church and hear organ music, they know: “Ah, Roland is practicing again!” And he’s been doing so for 78 years now. Back in the day, parish priest DDr. Edgar Geramb approached the then-12-year-old Roland Popatnig and asked him if he’d like to learn the organ. “I worked my way up bit by bit,” recounts the now 89-year-old, once playing on the old organ of the parish church. “It was particularly cumbersome, and my piano teacher could tell that from my playing style. She even wanted me to give up playing the organ. But I stuck with it,” recalls the master baker.

“Playing the organ keeps you fit!”
With the renovation of the church, a new organ was also installed in the house of worship. “It has its own quirks, and you have to know them,” says the Rosental resident, who taught himself to play the trumpet at age 50. “That was quite a challenge. Because I was also part of the Kolping Band.” However, the organ in the Ferlach parish church has always remained Popatnig’s home. On this venerable instrument, the bachelor plays not only church music, but also pop songs and other melodies that ring out through the church from time to time.

Despite being nearly 90 years old, Popatnig has no intention of stopping anytime soon: “Playing the organ keeps you fit!”