Famous Austrians XI: Heinrich Harrer

I will admit that Seven Years in Tibet was my favorite movie as a little girl, and - here's the admission - mostly because Brad Pitt played the main character.


I will also admit that, since Brad Pitt plays Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in the film, Seven Years in Tibet is also one of the reasons I was ever interested in coming to Austria in the first place. That and mountaineering, of course.


Harrer himself was interesting enough, however. Born in Hüttenberg (in Carinthia) in 1912, and attended Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz. He almost participated in the 1936 Winter Olympics, until the Austrian athletes boycotted (Austrians would boycott skiing?!?). He became famous as a young man for climbing the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland (also known as the White Spider) which had actually been banned for climbing by the Swiss government due to the deaths of several earlier climbers. Something not so nice about Harrer is that, immediately following the Anschluss, he joined the SS. In later interviews, including his biography, he apologized for this, chalking it up to youthful indiscretion. 


While on a trip to India in 1939, Harrer and his mountain crew decided to climb Nanga Parbat but World War II was declared in September and, being in British territory, and the crew (as German citizens) was arrested and thrown into an internment camp near Bombay. In 1944, Harrer and others escaped dressed as British soldiers and headed for Tibet.


During his exile in Tibet, Harrer worked as a translator, eventually meeting the Dalai Lama (then aged about 12) and became his English and Geography tutor. They made films together, the Dalai Lama learned how to ice skate, and they remained friends until Harrer's death in 2006. 


In 1952, Harrer returned to Austria and wrote the book Seven Years in Tibet based on his experiences. He continued his mountaineering adventures, traveling to each of the continents in turn. As well as being an explorer and writer, he was also a photographer and documentary filmmaker. Many of his photographs and films are at the Harrer Museum in Hüttenberg. Hopefully I'll make it there before I leave Austria! I've never been to Carinthia, actually...it might be fun!

Harrer and the Dalai Lama