Memorial Plaque for Balthasar Linsinger

A memorial plaque for Balthasar Linsinger is attached to the southeast side of the parish church of St. Michael in the Lungau. He was the parish priest there from 1954 to 1977 and was buried in the local cemetery after his death, which is why his grave is located in St. Michael. During the Second World War, Linsinger – then parish priest of Großarl – helped the five-member Jewish Bäumer family to pose as a fleeing Viennese family in order to escape the bombing attacks. Although he himself was already under observation by the Gestapo, he provided them with shelter at the parish courtyard from 1943 onwards. For this, Balthasar Linsinger was honored by the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem as a "Righteous Among the Nations" in 2010. During a ceremony of the Austrian parliament, it was decided to establish memorials in the places of birth and activity, Großarl and St. Veit. In the community of St. Michael in the Lungau, the parish and the parish priest Markus Kreuzberger initiated the same action. On 25 September 2011, during the local harvest festival, with great participation from the population and associations, the unveiling of the memorial plaque and a public tribute to Linsinger took place.