Marco Zanetti wrote a touching farewell on the death of Heinrich Weingartner, the Viennese billiard legend, writer, collector, journalist, author and founder of a billiard museum in Vienna. We asked to publish Marco's article, for which we thank him.
Marco Zanetti:
It is with deep pain and great sadness that I announce the death of one of the sweetest people I have ever known.
HEINRICH WEINGARTNER from Vienna, a well-known person in German and European billiard history, who died on 27 April 2025 at the age of 85 after a difficult illness.
He was an Austrian free game and series champion in the 1970s and 1980s, great friend of my father Erwin. Heinrich invited me to Vienna as a boy to introduce me to his home and the house of his family, while I stayed with him during school holidays. The first time that I was his guest in Vienna, I was only 15 years old.
I discovered a new world, was able to speak German (which I did not yet speak well) and, most of all, got to play billiards with many good players at Cafe Weingartner, which respected Vienna's oldest cultural traditions from the 900s.
Arriving in Vienna for the first time, far from home and my parents, I thought I would stay there for 10 days - but then it turned out to be exactly 6 weeks! I felt so comfortable there and went to Vienna more often, many more summers to meet the Weingartner family. It felt like I had found a second family and a second home.
Heinrich was a special person, a noble, funny mind, endowed with extraordinary generosity. He devoted his life to billiards, but in a different way from practising professionals. Writer and journalist, founder of the biggest billiards club in the Austrian capital, the Wiener Billard Associazion, director of the Austrian Billiards Federation, editor of the German-language magazine ‘Billard’. Heinrich had an extraordinary passion for collecting every billiard item.
Over time, he even succeeded in creating an extraordinary billiard museum - mentioned in the city's tourist guides - displaying unique pieces and accessories that are among the oldest and rarest in the world. I think his museum is one of only two billiard museums recognised as such in the world, the second being in England in Liverpool and dealing with snooker. Heinrich was also one of the biggest collectors of billiard books, all of which are documented and noted together with his German friend, the archivist Dieter Haase. The oldest of his more than 600 books, in the original of course, dates from the year 1654 in French.
His photographic collection is unique in the world of carom billiards with players, locals, competitions and so on. He has no equal in the whole world.
Of all the stories about my Vienna period I could tell, I chose one, when I received a precious lesson from Heinrich himself, without him having to say a word.
It was my first year in Vienna and we had started with a free carom lesson, he had finally set aside three hours for me, as he was very busy with his activities and I was so happy to play with him. As a young 15-year-old, I was very eager to play and to show me his skills. That's how we started the game and at one point he entered the series. I noticed that I had never seen anyone play so well in my entire life and watching him admire me on one side, I waited for my turn on the other side hoping for a mistake he made so I could finally play.
That mix of turbulent and conflicting emotions made me mature in an instant and I could understand so much without him having to say anything. I don't know how much time has passed since the start of his series, but I remember very well that his miss came after 1002 consecutive caroms!
Heinrich you were a great person and like a second father. Infinite thanks for everything you taught me inside and outside billiards.
May you now find that peace and serenity that the illness robbed you of.
To his wife Maria and son Heinzi my heartfelt condolences and a big hug, we will see each other soon.
You know how close I am to you at this sad moment.
Rest in peace maestro!
Marco
Heinrich Weingartner in his younger years as a player