"Stupid scribbler"

Lugner cartoonist beaten up in front of bar

The Lower Austrian artist Reini Buchacher was attacked by a man in a bar in Mödling and injured in the head.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christof Birbaumer, Claudia Reisinger)

The Lower Austrian artist Reini Buchacher was beaten up in front of a bar in Mödling on Friday night. The 69-year-old is known for his Lugner caricatures, among other things.

"One of the guests who leaned over me was dressed as Death. I thought to myself, now it's over" - Reini Buchacher can already look back with humor on the events that caused a great scare in Mödling (Lower Austria) on Thursday evening. A stranger attacked the reigning world champion in fast caricature after he had previously loudly insulted the visitors to the caricature bar on the main street.

Buchacher was initially insulted as a "stupid scribbler" before he was knocked to the ground with a punch by the 1.90-metre giant, who was around 50 years old. "I hit the back of my head on the asphalt with full force," recalls the star cartoonist, who will soon be celebrating his 70th birthday.

Revenge on the great master of his trade?
The attacker was held at bay by guests and the police, who arrived quickly, were able to prevent worse. "Perhaps it was an act of revenge for a successful caricature," Buchacher can only speculate about the perpetrator's motive. The hooligan fled after his crime.

Here you can see a caricature of the artist:

Buchacher became famous for his caricatures of Richard Lugner and for Lugner City, among other things. "One day, Richard Lugner, who I often caricatured in the newspaper, called me personally," he recalled. The businessman asked him if he would like to do something for Lugner City.

Fists flying and containers blown up
The incident in Mödling was one of the sad highlights of an otherwise quiet Halloween night in Lower Austria from a police perspective. Victims of violent fights in Neunkirchen, Purkersdorf, Baden and Gumpoldskirchen ended up in hospital. Pyrotechnic objects also led to blue light deployments between Enns and Leitha.

In Mistelbach, a glass container was completely destroyed by detonation and a cigarette vending machine was blown up in Amstetten. In Gumpoldskirchen, several category F 2 firecrackers were seized, which had previously been used by a twelve-year-old.