Friedrich Zweigelt (1888–1964)

In 1922 Zweigelt crossed the St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch grapevines, thereby cultivating grapes that were resistant to frost. In 1933 he joined the Nazi Party and remained active even after it was banned in Austria. Following the “Anschluss”, in 1943 he became director of the Higher State Teaching and Research Institute for Viticulture, Pomology and Horticulture in Klosterneuburg.

In 1945 the Allied administration imprisoned Zweigelt in the Klosterneuburg detention camp. He did not face further prosecution and was pensioned off in 1948 on the grounds of old age. Despite this, we have selected him for this exhibit because the results of his work remain hugely influential today. Eleven years after this death, the vine he cultivated was widely marketed as “Zweigelt”. His name has thus been immortalised as what is now one of Austria’s best known grape varieties.