© Photo: Oberösterreich Tourismus GmbH./Robert Maybach: Enjoy the view in Upper Austria
Riesin von Pfaffstätt
Pfaffstätt, Oberösterreich, Österreich
The "Giantess of Pfaffstätt"
Martina Hinterberger was born on 7 January 1906 to the carpenter couple Jakob and Franziska Hinterberger. Even at primary school, she towered over her classmates. At the age of 17, she reached the impressive height of 2.31 metres. By then, she had long been sleeping in a special bed made by her grandfather and wearing custom-made clothes from the local dressmaker. The extraordinary growth allegedly only came to a halt when Martina measured 2.64 metres.
However, the young woman not only caused a stir with her height, but was also unhappy about it: teasing and the resulting complexes made her life difficult. So Martina didn't hesitate for long when she received an offer that took her away from home. The then world-famous escape artist Tom Jack saw her when she attended a performance at the "Circus Krone" in Mattighofen and suggested that she earn money by performing all over the world. She travelled around Europe and even the United States for a year, but the simple farmer's daughter never felt at ease and returned to Pfaffstätt on 13 February 1929. There she spent the last years of her life working on neighbouring farms. On one of them she contracted typhoid fever, which she succumbed to in hospital in Braunau on 20 June 1931.
Her niece, Franziska Ehart, who now lives in Braunau, still has many mementos of the "Giantess of Pfaffstätt", photos and letters, which she is happy to show to anyone who is interested.
Martina Hinterberger was born on 7 January 1906 to the carpenter couple Jakob and Franziska Hinterberger. Even at primary school, she towered over her classmates. At the age of 17, she reached the impressive height of 2.31 metres. By then, she had long been sleeping in a special bed made by her grandfather and wearing custom-made clothes from the local dressmaker. The extraordinary growth allegedly only came to a halt when Martina measured 2.64 metres.
However, the young woman not only caused a stir with her height, but was also unhappy about it: teasing and the resulting complexes made her life difficult. So Martina didn't hesitate for long when she received an offer that took her away from home. The then world-famous escape artist Tom Jack saw her when she attended a performance at the "Circus Krone" in Mattighofen and suggested that she earn money by performing all over the world. She travelled around Europe and even the United States for a year, but the simple farmer's daughter never felt at ease and returned to Pfaffstätt on 13 February 1929. There she spent the last years of her life working on neighbouring farms. On one of them she contracted typhoid fever, which she succumbed to in hospital in Braunau on 20 June 1931.
Her niece, Franziska Ehart, who now lives in Braunau, still has many mementos of the "Giantess of Pfaffstätt", photos and letters, which she is happy to show to anyone who is interested.
Please get in touch for more information.