Carver from Zell/See

His devilish work fascinates Krampus fans

Selection of masks: From pointed horns to scary teeth

(Bild: Roland Hölzl)

He has made a name for himself far and wide in the Krampus scene: Arthur Moinat from Zell am See-Thumersbach is a full-time mask carver. Fits queue up for him.

The chips - called Schoatn in Pinzgau - just fly when Arthur Moinat lends a hand. The block of Swiss stone pine is first roughly worked. "The tip of the nose goes where the bark is," explains Moinat. Everything on his Krampuses is real, nothing artificial: even the mouth with the distinctive teeth is cut out directly.

The Swiss stone pine wood is first roughly processed with a chainsaw.

(Bild: Roland Hölzl)

 The Pinzgauer is actually an interior decorator. "I knew how to hold a carpet knife, but not how to use a chainsaw," he says of his earlier days. That was long before every grip with a carving iron and the like was right. In 2014, he turned his fascination for the mysticism behind the masks into his profession.

Krampus fan since childhood
"I grew up up here," he says in the workshop overlooking Lake Zell. When he was a child, devilish characters would dress up in the fire station and the boys would watch in fascination from the safety of their hiding places. At the beginning of November, groups of children used to start "ringing in" and walk through the village ringing the bells - a custom that is increasingly dying out.

Arthur Moinat lends a hand with a carving iron.

(Bild: Roland Hölzl)

It's Krampus time for him all year round: after the runs, the first ones order again. Krampus passports often exchange their larvae every few years. Fans ask from all over the world: A journalist from Ireland just wanted to look over his shoulder.

His style: "It's increasingly going back to basics," says Moinat about trends. His approach is not too screaming, shrill or even bloody. Plastic horns are taboo. "My loafers are classic. The more modern ones represent a human version of the devil." He doesn't want to expand his workshop, but rather stay original.

Motto: "Away from the mega-event, everything simpler and more genuine." The Krampuses are followed in a devilish rhythm by the Perchten tradition at the turn of the year. The differences are also important to him: "The Perchten don't warn or punish, they bring luck."