At the blacksmith: Alfons Neuner and his ancient craft

The material is in most cases iron or steel, which is heated to a high temperature in the so-called forge so that it can be worked with tools. More specifically, the experienced blacksmith takes the glowing piece of iron with tongs out of the furnace and places it on the anvil, where it is hammered until it has the desired shape. Either manual hammers are used or the so-called air hammer, a stationary hammer machine, whose strikes can be controlled with a pedal. Sometimes this process requires several steps, and the experienced blacksmith may have several pieces of iron in the fire that he alternately works on and returns to the forge. Once the master is satisfied with his work, the pieces are allowed to cool and harden.

Although at 75 years old he can look back on an exciting life, Alfons is far from thinking about retirement. "That's how you stay in shape," says the passionate blacksmith and artist, who still has his business registered. His works have found their way into a variety of homes. "It's all about the design; you always have to adapt your designs to the existing environment," Alfons is convinced. But no matter who knocks on his door as a customer, "I always treat everyone the same."

He is particularly proud of the street lamps in the village that he forged 30 years ago, which still adorn the neighborhood of Mösern today. "Each one is a bit different in design," he shares, "galvanized iron has a long lifespan." The structure where Alfons has set up his forge also has a long lifespan. "The house was built in 1307 by the Stamser family and was remodeled in 1668," the blacksmith knows about the historic building. "In the past, the primary school was also located in this house, which is why different windows were installed here, and in the room where my forge now stands, there used to be a kitchen."

You can almost feel the history in the venerable walls, as if they wanted to tell thousands of stories. Although the walls themselves cannot speak, Alfons has a number of anecdotes from his life in store. It all begins in his childhood, which he spent on the neighboring Spacklerhof, where he grew up with his six siblings. When languages in the grammar school in Stams made life difficult for him, the teenager decided to become an apprentice blacksmith under his master Toni Hiltpolt in Seefeld. "At first, he didn’t want to take me, and then he wanted me to take over his shop," Alfons recalls today with a laugh. He started his own forge when he was still young, shortly after passing his master exam.

His sensitivity to the material and his artistic creativity have always been reflected in his works. In addition to traditional blacksmithing tasks such as lamps, grave crosses, or gates, Alfons' true passion lies in creating sculptures. "Art is actually my thing," he reveals, showing us a small selection of self-made sculptures that he keeps in the former classroom. "In the past, I used to do an exhibition with 15 to 20 sculptures once a year," he says, while we admire the larger and smaller works of art. Among his works is also the twelve-meter tall sculpture at the Landecker Tunnel or the restoration of the rose gate at the Meinhardinum in Stams. He also transfers this artistic skill to his designs for lamps or gates. And so it is his very own style and his sense of proportions that make his works so sought after.

Privately, Alfons is also an art enthusiast and enjoys visiting museums or galleries in his rare free time: "For a good exhibition, I gladly travel to Vienna or even Spain," admits the sprightly blacksmith. And off he goes again to his forge, as some iron rods still need to be forged into original Alfons Neuner lamps. It certainly seems that Alfons' joy for work is far from running out, and hopefully, the fire of passion for his bronze art pieces won’t extinguish either.