Franz Moroder Lenèrt was an Austrian politician and poet. He was the first mayor of Ortisei in Val Gardena, a merchant, a scholar of Ladin history as well as a strong promoter of the Ladinian language.
Biography
He was the son of Jan Matie Moroder, a merchant from Ancona operating in Ortisei, and Marianna Perathoner Lenert. Franz Moroder was educated in Ortisei, Bressanone and Trento, he later worked as a shopkeeper in Trento and Bolzano until he completed his commercial education. He worked with several merchants operating in Val Gardena, Saint Petersburg, London and Paris. Due to his work, he was able to fluently speak both English and French. He translated some poems from English to Ladinian and he also wrote a french translated version of his book titled La Val Gardena. The book was never published and hence only the original manuscript remains today. In 1875 he married his cousin: Marianna Moroder, who was the daughter of the painter Josef Moroder-Lusenberg. He had 14 children, one of whom was Rudolf Moroder-Lenert. He also had a daughter Adele Moroder, who married a distant relative and famous painter Ludwig Moroder. Franz Moroder wrote several poems in Ladinian and composed some violin ballads that were published in Lipsia.
Commercial activities
In 1869 Franz Moroder Alongside his brother Alois founder the Ditta Fratelli Moroder to commerce wooden toys and sacred ornaments. The firm also sold sacred ornaments outside of Italy, specifically in Offenburg and Baden-Württemberg, over 40 wood carvers were employed. The firm received several prizes in London at the universal exposition as well as in Paris, Eger, Bolzano, Vienna, Saint Petersburg and Florence.
Political activities
At the age of 25, in 1872 Moroder was elected in the communal committee of Ortisei. In 1886 he became a member of the house of commerce in Bolzano and was honoured with a gold medal for his services to the city in 1898. In 1895 he co-founded the Val Gardena section of the Austro-German Alpine club. As co-founder of the club he promoted the turistic development of Val-Gardena. In 1895/1896 he helped in the construction of a Rifugio alpino in the Passo Gardena. In 1902 he became the major of Ortisei and promoted the construction of the first high pressured water system in the town, in the same year he also built some infrastructure near the torrent Cuecenes. In 1909 he was given the cross of merit with a crown by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In several pamphlets and leaflets, Franz Moroder, alongside Archangelus Lardschneider, Josef Runggaldier and his nephew Wilhelm Moroder, advocated for the use of the Ladinian language, which he frequently used in his poems.
