His last thoughts

In the end, Richard Lugner only regretted one thing

"Mörtel" during the last interview with Conny Bischofberger two weeks ago: He wore the nickname like a title of nobility.

(Bild: Holl Reinhard/Reinhard Holl)

The "Krone" and the master builder: an intimate relationship over decades. He gave his last interview to Conny Bischofberger - and also talked to her about his death. The "Krone" columnist remembers the conversation with a thoughtful but also confident Richard Lugner.

I stare in disbelief at our push notification on this Monday morning. Richard Lugner, he can't be dead! He seemed indestructible, a survivor and medical phenomenon. Cancers, corona, falls and most recently a heart operation. Survived it all. At the age of 91.

I call up memories of our last meeting less than three weeks ago. He was unshaven and not yet fully fit, he wrote on WhatsApp in response to my request for an interview. And after 30 seconds: But a meeting at his home would be no problem. We drove up Himmelstrasse and turned left into the vineyards. The garage door opened, the dogs barked and the housekeeper invited us in. Lugner stood in the lounge, leaning forward a little. "Cracked lumbar vertebra," he mumbled, smiling away the pain. His crutches were leaning demonstratively against the glass table, he had placed his wheelchair outside between the garden furniture.

A nickname as a title of nobility
Two days after an operation on his torn heart valve, Lugner had already walked home again. And thus the number one candidate for the big Sunday interview. Lugner and the "Krone" were symbiotically linked. Until a few years ago, his Mercedes turned into Muthgasse 2 every evening. The master builder entered the hall, chatted with the doorman and had the evening edition handed to him. His first glance was at the Adabei pages. Michael Jeannée had once given him the nickname "Mörtel" (mortar) - not meant honorably. Lugner wore it like a title of nobility.

And now he was sitting opposite me again, for how many interviews? I had no idea it would be the last. The king of the Seitenblicke society with a three-day beard and Prada polo. "Fit as a fiddle" was the title I later gave to the photo of Reinhard Holl, in which the convalescent is doing "wheelchair rallies" through the garden. Five times around the pool. Twice a day. Exhausting, but certainly more fun than physiotherapy.

Conny Bischofberger visited him for an interview at his home in Himmelstrasse. On Monday, the police cordoned off the access road.

(Bild: Groh Klemens/Klemens Groh)

We talked about a lot of things. His unique career. In the sixties, he founded a construction company with two workers and two employees. Built a whole series of prestigious buildings. Vienna Mosque, Hundertwasser House, OPEC Foundation, synagogue. In 1990, he opened the "Lugner City", a success story despite many economic setbacks. Success was important to him. Being active until the end kept him fresh and young.

Since 1992, the "king of the sideways glance society" has brought illustrious international guests to the Vienna Opera Ball. He will be missed there in 2025, and not only there.

He ordered the gravestone himself
Of course, we also talked about death. Although he always tried to avoid the subject gallantly, he must have been secretly preoccupied with it. Because he recently had a crypt built in the Grinzing cemetery. At the funeral of a friend, he realized that he wanted to find his final resting place there. The same place where Hans Dichand and Gustav Peichl lie. And, he announced, the gravestone had already been ordered, but could not be delivered until September. Royal Red, a red granite. Lugner City red.

I asked him what he would regret if it was over tomorrow. Looking back, I get goosebumps here. There was nothing essential, said Lugner, who had heart pills served with his melange, he had made his life beautiful. "It's just that I haven't had a good hand with women."

There's nothing essential. Except that I didn't have a good hand with women.

Richard Lugner auf die Frage, ob er etwas bereut.

Lugner and the women. Five marriages broke up. Countless "little animals" in between, a slap in the face for the women's movement. But Lugner didn't care at all. Then on June 1, his sixth wedding. He thought it was nice that someone was now waiting for him at home. That Simone was at his side, because "I always wanted to be in steady hands".

The master builder's sore point
Did he still have any wishes? He couldn't think of anything apart from the upcoming honeymoon, but I could. Wouldn't he deserve an award for his services? So many Austrians are honored every year.

I had struck a chord, Lugner's silent longing for recognition. He told me that the Third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer, had once tried to get him a medal. Without success. He expressed the suspicion that the incumbent Federal President might have turned it down. An inquiry in the presidential chancellery revealed that this was not the case. The Federal President appreciated Mr. Lugner, it was not for nothing that he had been a guest in his box every year.

Richard Lugner seemed calmer than in previous interviews on that Wednesday afternoon, no longer so restless. Later, Putin's doctor came for a house call. Lugner swore by his blood purification, which is said to prolong life.

How old did he want to get? The doctor at the AKH had given him another eight years, he explained proudly when we said goodbye, "then I'd be 99. A nice number."

No one doubted that he would easily make it. He wasn't allowed to. And it still feels incredible.