The Lord of the Castle Castle Prösels near Fiè allo Sciliar is a cultural centre, and is run by a cooperative association with a new president at the helm: The man who reached fame as Ötzi’s own personal physician.
Ö Ötzi is the name of the glacier mummy who, at the age of over 5,000 years old, was discovered 27 years ago at Tisa/Hauslabjoch in the Venoste/ Ötztal Alps. When he was brought to South Tyrol in 1998 Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl, Chief of Pathology at the Bolzano Hospital at that time, was tasked with preserving the mummy so that it could be studied over time. By means of the freezing technique purpose-developed by the pathologist, the mummy can today be seen at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. As Ötzi’s personal physician, Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl has made a name for himself internationally and has been called upon to provide consultation on other mummies including King Tutankhamen in Egypt and the Inca mummies in South America.
est in culture, got involved in his new surroundings instantly. Close to his house was a shining jewel of culture in the form of a spectacular mediaeval castle, and he played an active role in its preservation and maintenance. Now that he had more time on his hands, he was not averse to the prospect of new challenges and responsibility and, in the following election the board of trustees of the “Kuratorium Schloss Prösels” (Castle Prösels Curatorship) voted Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl as president. And that’s how the famous Ötzi authority came to become the lord of the castle, bringing with him a contribution of unquestionable value. Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl is not just a great expert in preservation and upkeep; he brings a passion and enthusiasm that makes the past spring to life, in a tapestry of tales that spark the interest of all.
Ötzi’s personal physician. In 2016 Dr. Eduard
Text: Rosa Maria Erlacher Photo: Helmuth Rier
36 ALPE | Winter
Egarter Vigl, who had also worked as a forensic pathologist for the public prosecutor’s office in Bolzano, entered his well-deserved retirement. The doctor had already moved home from the provincial capital of Bolzano to an old farm in Aica di Fiè and, with his innate love of being busy and inter-
This passion was precisely why Ötzi is always the focus of public interest. “After I solved the problem of how to preserve him, I turned my attention to researching the mummy,” the pathologist tells us. And he hit upon a detail that other researchers had previously overlooked: An arrowhead in the »