Strictly timed

Richard Lugner “still has a lot to do” before his wedding

Richard Lugner and his fiancée Simone Reiländer are in full wedding mode.

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

A few weeks before his sixth and, by his own admission, last wedding on June 1, Richard Lugner (91) is under a lot of stress. "There's still a lot to do," said the master builder. 

At least the location has already been decided: Lugner will marry his partner Simone Reiländer in the early afternoon in Steinerner Saal 2 at Vienna City Hall.

Strictly timed
The festivities are strictly timed. The couple are due to arrive at City Hall at 1.50 pm, where the wedding ceremony is scheduled for 2.00 pm. Simone Reiländer's sister, Sonja, acts as the bride's maid of honor, while Richard Lugner is accompanied by his son Alexander.

Everything has already been planned, from the arrival of the bride to the wedding kiss and the bridal dance.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Andreas Tischler)

Criticism not allowed
After the ceremony, the guests are taken by vintage bus - and a police escort - to Palais Auersperg, where a reception is held from 3.00 pm.

The program then includes the "cutting of the wedding cake" (16.35) and the bridal dance (17.00). The party ends at 7.00 pm

The father of four did not want his new wedding to be criticized in advance. "Every relationship I enter into brings financial benefits for my partner. To prevent that, I would have to continue living alone, which I don't want, so we got together," says the master builder.

Stars on Mörtel's side
The stars are also on his side. While wife number five, Cathy, was qualified as "not suitable" by star astrologer Gerda Rogers, Simone was judged to be "ideally suited".

"That's also true. We go out together. She looks after my overgrown garden and grows organic vegetables," said the master builder.

Richard Lugner with his bride Simone (l.) and his ex-wife Christina Lugner (r.)

(Bild: Andreas Tischler / picturedesk.com)

Wedding experience
Lugner is very experienced with weddings: He married Christine Gmeiner for the first time in 1961. "She was my childhood sweetheart," says the master builder. After 17 years, the couple separated. He married again in 1979. However, this marriage only lasted four years. "Cornelia (Hahn, note) was stolen from me by the then OPEC Secretary General," said Lugner.

Marriage number three with Susanne Dietrich followed. The marriage ended tragically: in 1984, shortly after the divorce, Dietrich fell into a coma following cosmetic surgery and died. Christina "Mausi" Lugner, probably Baumeister's most famous partner, followed. The couple married in 1991 and made the social scene unsafe together for years. However, this marriage also ended in 2007.

On September 13, 2014, Lugner married German playmate Cathy Schmitz at a fifth wedding staged as a media spectacle at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. It was over after just two years. "That was a flop. Apart from Simone, I only loved Christine and Christina," said the master builder.