The world may be divided over the use of beards, but beyond the differences, none has a past like that of Hans Steininger's beard. This man is not only remembered for his role as mayor of a small Austrian town in the mid-sixteenth century, but for his extraordinary beard, so long that it ultimately claimed his life. The beard was preserved, and today it lies in a museum, visible to all.
Braunau am Inn is a town with just over 16,000 inhabitants, located on the border between Austria and Germany. Every time this town is mentioned in the media, an obscure reference inevitably arises: it was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler.
However, Braunau am Inn has other, much richer and more striking stories to share with the world, and one of them is that of Hans Steininger. This man was the 'burgomaster' (a kind of magistrate-mayor-intendant) of Braunau am Inn for a good part of the sixteenth century, but he is remembered not so much for his ability to administer and govern, but for a very particular physical trait: a beard almost a meter and a half long.
Imagining Hans Steininger with his incredible beard walking through the streets of Braunau am Inn makes him seem like a wizard plucked from a fantasy novel, but history teaches us that the beard was the culprit of his death. On September 28, 1567, the city was struck by a great fire that caused panic among the population.
Steininger used to roll up his beard and keep it in a pocket to move around more easily, but in the midst of the fire crisis he began to run with his beard loose, stepped on it, fell down the stairs, and broke his neck. Accident, tragedy, and chilling bad luck.
The 'killer beard' of Hans Steininger did not become just another legend; it actually exists. In fact, anyone interested in visiting Braunau am Inn can go to the Herzogsburg Museum and see it in person, authenticated and preserved with chemicals.
Some say Steininger's beard is the longest in the world, but in reality that title belongs to another Hans, by surname Langseth, with a beard that came to measure more than five meters... and he died of natural causes. One way or another, it deserves to be in a museum.
