New Year's Eve approaches

This rocket maker disproves the firework lie

Thomas Köchl attaches great importance to safety and always uses suitable devices for launching rockets.(Bild: Dworak/Wiesmeyer, Stock Adobe, Krone KREATIV)

The stores are stocked, the retailers are ready to sell - the season for fireworks is just beginning. Thomas Köchl is the only person in Austria to produce rockets and is aware of the prejudices against fireworks. Krone+ paid him a cracking visit and dispels a persistent myth.

Fog over the Danube, chickens clucking, horses and dogs running around happily - but the idyll in the picturesque Wachau region is a little deceptive. Because there is enough gunpowder in the halls of the Pinto family business to raze the entire site to the ground and shake nearby Aggsbach.