GEIERWALLY
The Myth
Daring back then, significant today.
MYTH
A LEGEND BORN IN THE ALPS. A WOMEN WHO BECAME A SYMBOL.
In the rugged Tyrolean Alps, between legend and lived experience, a powerful story took shape — the story of Geierwally. A young woman who defied convention, climbed into an eagle’s nest, and stood fearlessly against the expectations of her time.
She became more than a local heroine. She became a mythic figure of female strength, independence, and rebellion — one whose legacy still inspires today.
WHERE MYTH MEETS REALITY. THE EAGLE, THE CLIFF, AND THE YOUNG WOMEN WHO DARED.
The story of Geierwally is based on the real life of Anna Stainer-Knittel (1841–1915), a Tyrolean painter who once performed an act so bold it became the stuff of legend.
Anna’s father was a local hunter, and part of his role in the community was to protect the local livestock. As a result, he had to shoot an adult eagle that had taken up residency. This, unfortunately, then left a young baby eagle parentless.
To rescue the baby eagle was almost impossible as the nest was located down an almost vertical cliff face. The only way was to abseil down the cliff and then be pulled back up. One man volunteered, however his attempt went badly and he nearly died. Every other male was then too scared to volunteer and refused to attempt the dangerous retrieval.
With no other options available, despite Anna being a female and a young teenager, she courageously volunteered to everyone’s surprise. Despite the danger and pressure, she abseiled down and successfully retrieved the young eagle to everyone’s amazement.
News of this remarkable act of bravery then spread throughout the valley. 5 years later the same issue arose. No man volunteered, so Anna’s once again stepped up to the challenge and successfully rescued the baby eagle. She did something remarkable that the other men were not brave enough to do.
Whether every detail is historically precise is uncertain — like all good myths, the story has grown and shifted over time. But its roots lie in truth.
Anna later mentioned the events only briefly in her memoirs. Yet it caught the attention of Bavarian travel writer Ludwig Steub, who published a dramatized version of the tale in 1863 titled Das Annele im Adlerhorst ("Annele in the Eagle's Nest"). This set the stage for something even bigger.
THE NAME "GEIERWALLY". NOT A VULTURE. NOT JUST A NAME. A SYMBOL.
The nickname Geierwally is a blend of Geier, a regional term once used in Tyrol for large birds of prey, and Wally, short for Walburga, the heroine’s name in later adaptations.
Although Geier literally translates to “vulture” in modern German, the bird involved in Anna’s story was most certainly an eagle, feared for its power but respected for its wild beauty.
In local dialect, Geier was often used loosely to describe any large raptor circling above the valleys, especially when seen as a threat to livestock. Over time, the name “Die Geierwally” came to symbolize not the bird itself, but the woman brave enough to face it — a symbol of defiance, wildness, and female self-determination.
FROM BOOK TO BESTSELLER
FROM BOOK TO BESTSELLER
How a single act of courage became a cultural phenomenon
Inspired by Steub’s account, German author Wilhelmine von Hillern published the novel Die Geier-Wally in 1875. It fictionalized the story of the brave young woman who climbed to an eagle’s nest and fought against the constraints of her world.
The novel was a major success, blending emotional drama with social commentary and cementing Geierwally as a cultural icon.
GEIERWALLY ON THE OPERA STAGE: "LA WALLY" BY ALFREDO CATALANI
The fact that the story of Geierwally spread far beyond the borders of Tyrol is evident not only in literature and film, but also in the world of opera. In 1892, "La Wally," an opera in four acts by Alfredo Catalani based on Hillern's novel, premiered at La Scala in Milan.
In his musical adaptation, Catalani focuses on the heroine's inner drama, tragic love, and existential conflict. Wally becomes a romantic figure torn between her heart, pride, and desire for freedom. She is a woman who struggles not only against external circumstances but also against the depth of her feelings. The aria "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" from the first act, a moving song about farewell, longing, and self-realization, became particularly famous. This aria also found its way into pop culture, for example, in the film Diva (1981) soundtrack and as a cover version in the music of Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban.
The opera is still performed worldwide, proving that Wally's story touches on universal themes.
WHAT MAKES THIS MYTH SO SPECIAL?
The character of Geierwally is much more than an alpine heroine; she is a projection screen for timeless questions such as:
How far can self-determination go?
What does it mean to defy society?
How deep can a connection to nature be?
Wally stands for everything women have often been denied across generations: independence, freedom of choice, and inner strength. In a world where female agency usually had to remain silent or subtle, Wally becomes a loud, uncompromising voice. She resists an arranged marriage, fights against patriarchal structures, and retreats into the solitude of nature—not as an escape, but as a consequence of her convictions. Her bond with the eagle, the rock face, and the wilderness is not a romantic image, but an expression of a deep inner attitude: wildness as identity and freedom as a necessity.
WHAT DOES GEIERWALLY MEAN IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY?
The story of Geierwally is more relevant than ever. At a time when questions surrounding female emancipation, role models, closeness to nature, and cultural identity are being reexamined in social discourse, Wally strikes a chord. She is not a nostalgic relic but a 21st-century pioneer born in the 19th century. In debates about gender equality, Wally becomes a figure of empowerment. She stands for the courage to choose for oneself whom one loves, how one lives, and where one goes. In a time of ecological crises, she reminds us of a lost closeness to nature. Wally does not live against the wilderness, but with it. In a globalized world where home often becomes a cliché, she is a symbol of deep roots and radical freedom at the same time.
The tale of Geierwally tells of a woman who did not know then that her courage would one day become a myth.
PODCAST IN GERMAN
THE NOVEL AS A TEMPLATE
In 1873, Wilhermine von Hillern turned the story into a dramatic regional novel that has been filmed several times and has also been adapted for the stage numerous times.
MOVIES
„Die Geierwally“ has been filmed at least seven times. The movie adaptations range from the silent film era to the 2000s and reflect how strongly the material from Wilhelmine von Hillern’s novel of the same name (1873) has influenced German-language cinema.
1921
The first film adaptation, starring Henny Porten, was a silent film considered a classic of early German cinema. Porten established „Die Geierwally“ as an essential literary drama in cinema.
1940
The first sound film, directed by Hans Steinhoff, was released around 1930. In 1940, Steinhoff’s version followed, with Heidemarie Hatheyer in the lead role, as an elaborate Nazi-era production. The historical film adaptation with Hatheyer had a production budget of around 1.7 million Reichsmarks and was a clear commercial success.
In 1956, Barbara Rütting was given the lead role and gave a convincing performance in the Heimatfilm style of the 1950s. It is considered a solid addition to the Heimatfilm genre. It was the first color version to be released in Germany and Austria and was later distributed on video.
1988
Walter Bockmayer’s Geierwally is a parody of the 1980s. Deliberately satirical and garish, it remains a cult object to this day, but was not taken seriously as a film version.
2005
It was not until the TV remake with Christine Neubauer in 2005 that a modern „Heimatfilm“ adaptation was made. The fifth serious adaptation of the novel was conceived as a TV Heimatfilm, but received poor reviews.
The French-Italian version is less well-known but a free adaptation with the international title La Louve blanche.
