Hans Haid

Hans Haid (26 February 1938 – 5 February 2019) was an Austrian folklorist, mountain farmer and dialect poet.

Life Born in Längenfeld, Ötztal, Haid was a clerk, took the external Matura in 1963 and then studied folklore and history of art at the University of Vienna, which he completed in 1974 with a doctorate. He wrote his dissertation on the custom in the Ötztal and its tourism-related changes. His urn grave is located in Längenfeld.

Work Through Haid, had the Ötztal dialect recognition and use as a medium of literary composition. At his request, it was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria in 2010.

He published dialect poems, radio plays and novels over many decades. A central theme of his literary works was the influence of the Alps area by the excesses of mass tourism. Peter Turrini called Haid "Alpine-Abraham a Sancta Clara" because of his criticism of the sell-out and destruction of his homeland. Haid was also the author and editor of numerous illustrated books and folkloristic books ranging from old customs to highlighting new forms of economy and life in the Alps.

Besides his literary activities, he was the founder and initiator of several associations and organisations, such as the Ötztaler Heimatverein und Freilichtmuseum (1964), Internationales Dialektinstitut (1976), Arge Region Kultur (1985), (an association of alpine initiatives from Slovenia to Savoy, 1989) and since 1995 developer of EU projects (LEADER, Interreg I and II), association sall wöll (das wohl).

Publications Vom alten Leben. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1986. Aufbruch in die Einsamkeit. 5000 Jahre Überleben in den Alpen. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1992, Franz Senn im Spiegel seiner Zeit. Skizzen zum Leben in den Ötztaler Alpen. In Oberwalder, Louis; Mailänder, Nico; Haid, Hans; Haßlacher, Peter; Fliri, Franz: Franz Senn. Alpinismuspionier und Gründer des Alpenvereins. Tyrolia, Innsbruck / Vienna 2004, Mythos avalanche: Eine Kulturgeschichte. Studienverlag, Innsbruck / Vienna 2007, Wege der Schafe: Die jahrtausendalte Hirtenkultur between Südtirol and the Ötztal. Tyrolia, Innsbruck / Vienna, and Verlagsanstalt Athesia, Bozen 2008, / . Das Schaf. Eine Kulturgeschichte. Böhlau, Vienna 2010, with Barbara Haid: Naturkatastrophen in den Alpen. Haymon, Innsbruck / Vienna 2010. i schmeck in langes. Ausgewählte Gedichte. Werkausgabe Band 1. ed. und mit einem Nachwort von Christine Riccabona und Anton Unterkircher. Haymon, Innsbruck / Vienna 2018.

Awards 1991 Hans Kudlich Prize.