The legend of the doughnut baker Simale
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At the beginning of the 19th century, Krapfenbäck Simale was a widely known and feared robber in Carinthia.
His real name was Simon Kramer. As his parents owned a farmhouse near Maria Saal with the vulgar name “Krapfenbäck”, Simon was called “Krapfenbäck Simale”.
He liked to meet up with his cronies in inns to play cards.
His girlfriend Juliane Regenfelder kept his legendary wallet for him, which supposedly never ran out.
Legend has it that Simale hid a treasure near the lime trees in Zojach on the Wegscheide, from which he always fetched supplies for his wallet.
And Simale is said to have possessed a legendary magic knife. He would place this knife on the table while playing cards, and if he was in danger, the tip of the knife would turn towards his heart …
His parents, Sebastian and Maria Kramer, sold the Krapfenbäck farmhouse to buy a tavern in Bräuhausgasse in St. Veit an der Glan.
Here Simale met the shady characters with whom he undertook many robberies in Central Carinthia at an early age.
His cronies included:
– the farmer’s son Lorenz Strauß
– Mathias Rauter, called Felfernigg Hois from St. Urban
– Count Blasius from Albeck, wanted on a warrant
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– Hans Kerschbaumer, a very young lad
– the married couple Klement and Susanne Obernosterer, known as the Sandl
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The real name of the blonde Miedl, who was sometimes on the road with Simon Kramer’s gang, is no longer known.
There were also accomplices of the robbers:
The master butcher Franz Herzele, known as Alleefranzl, liked to take stolen sheep etc. from the thieves.
The Grießerwirt in Moosburg was a legendary meeting place for the doughnut baker Simale and his companions.
The landlady Katharina Schurian and her son Urban helped the robbers to sell their loot.
In May 1809, French troops occupied Carinthia. Taxes and duties were increased.
Due to the constant inflation, food thefts from farms increased.
Smaller animals such as sheep were also stolen. Clothing and shoes were also among the stolen goods.
From time to time, the robbers also managed to steal money.
The French authorities imposed severe penalties and instructed the local gendarmes to search for the notorious band of robbers.
Initially, they concentrated on the Wolschartwald forest near St. Georgen am Längsee, as there were frequent robberies of carriages here.
The gendarmes then also searched the Wimitz mountains.
On the lonely Wegscheide, high above the Glan valley, there is still an inn in the small village of Zojach today.
At the time of Simale, Anton and Helena Huber were the owners.
On September 17, 1809, the robbers once again met here to play cards.
On this day, a gendarmerie patrol led by district court clerk Anton Lackner arrived at the Wegscheiderwirt.
As the doughnut baker Simale tried to flee, one of the gendarmes fired a shot that fatally shot the robber, who was only 24 years old.
Today, the inn in Zojach is called “Zum Simalan”, and there is a mural of the legendary robber on the old elementary school, which is now the drinking establishment next to the inn.
The life of Simon Kramer and his companions has given rise to many legends that are still told in the region today.
