Growing offer

For star-child families

Tiffen creates offers for families of star children.(Bild: Forum Tiffen)

Parents should not have to deal with the bitter fate of the death of their child at or immediately after birth alone. Memorials and help are offered, for example in Tiffen and Guttaring.

"Once upon a time, stillborn children were disposed of with the hospital waste, used as granulate in road construction or buried anonymously," say the members of the Tiffen Forum. "It was not common for the father and mother to be able to say goodbye to their dead child. A stillbirth was a taboo subject," says Forum Tiffen leader Werner Rauchenwald, who was also able to win over the parish, the traditional costume women, the village community and companies such as Grabgestaltung Leithoff and Natursteinwerk Kogler for the idea of the Sternenkinder-Marterl at the cemetery in Tiffen. Artist Hardy Brandner will design the interdenominational memorial and meeting place.

The Tiffen Forum, which aims to promote quality of life and regional development, has developed the concept for the Sternenkinder project.(Bild: Forum Tiffen)

Families from near and far are to receive advice and support in Tiffen in organizing a farewell and comfort during this difficult time. Presentations and information material are intended to sensitize those not affected.

Memorial and information via the QR code in Guttaring
A memorial for star children has already been blessed at the cemetery in Guttaring. Austria's smallest and now 15th "John's Star Bench" can also be found there: it displays a poem by John Patrick Platzer from "Soldaten mit Herz", who initiated the star benches. A good 500 offers of help in Austria, Luxembourg and South Tyrol can be found using a QR code. "My wish is that all star-child relatives find the help they need - but that there are as few as possible who have to!" says Platzer.