He was born in 1923 in Unser Frau in Schnals. His uncle Luis taught him to carve and he discovered his passion for this art form at an early age. After military service, he worked for three years as a farmhand in the Schnalstal. He then attended the art school in Ortisei in Val Gardena.

From 1953 to 1958, Friedrich Gurschler studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg. In Nuremberg, he learned the essential principles of sculpture. He studied animal anatomy intensively. The Nuremberg Zoo was next to the art academy. He used this opportunity to get to know exotic animals. After his studies, he returned to South Tyrol. Since then, he has lived and worked as a freelance artist in Töll/Partschins. Friedrich Gurschler spent almost half his life carving two large nativity scenes. They tell of his Christian values ​​and show the animal and human world of his surroundings. His origins in the Schnalstal and his connection to the culture of the Vinschgau are particularly evident here.

On Friedrich Gurschler’s 90th birthday, the Kastelbell Castle Board of Trustees organized an exhibition in his honor. Friedrich Gurschler shaped art in South Tyrol, especially with his works in public spaces, churches, cemeteries and squares. He was an honorary citizen of Partschins and received several awards, including the “Walther von der Vogelweide Prize.”

Friedrich Gurschler was a very nature-loving and at the same time religious person. “In the loneliest places in the mountains and at night when observing the starry sky, I experience the most mysterious things and feel very connected to the magnificence of creation.” This has shaped his life and his works.

Source: Vinschgerwind / Peter Tscholl
https://www.vinschgerwind.it/menue-lokalwirtschaft/item/31105-friedrich-gurschler-gedenken-toell-partschins-schnals-vinschgau