Kastelruther Spatzen

Shortly afterwards, Oswald Sattler and Ferdinand Rier joined the group, and finally Norbert Rier, the popular singer and frontman of the Spatzen, also joined. In this line-up, their first record "Das Mädchen mit den erloschenen Augen" was released in 1983. This title immediately became a hit and also brought the musicians their first Gold Record.

Subsequently, the Kastelruther Spatzen recorded a new CD almost every year, all of which practically became bestsellers. The definitive international breakthrough came in 1990, when the group won the "Grand Prix der Volksmusik" with the song "Tränen passen nicht zu dir". Numerous hits and appearances in shows and TV programs throughout the German-speaking area followed immediately after this great success. The Kastelruther Spatzen definitely became megastars of traditional German folk music. Today, the Kastelruther Spatzen have already received over a hundred Gold Records. In February 2009, they also received the coveted Echo Record Award for the twelfth time. The Spatzen are the most successful Echo artists of all time!

Three members of the original line-up, including frontman Norbert Rier, Walter Mauroner, and Valentin Silbernagl, are still part of the group! In the 1980s, Karl Schieder and Ferdinand Rier left the Spatzen for professional reasons, and their places were taken by Albin Gross and Karl Heufler. Oswald Sattler also left in 1993 to start a solo career. He was replaced by Andreas Fulterer, who also started a solo career after five years and was replaced by Kurt Dasser and Rüdiger Hemmelmann. The Spatzen have been singing and playing in this line-up for over ten years now.

In 1998, the Kastelruther Spatzen suffered a catastrophic blow when Karl-Heinrich Gross, the brother of Albin Gross and the group's manager, was murdered after a concert in Magdeburg. The circumstances of his death remain unresolved to this day, and even the reconstruction of the crime in several TV programs did not yield any tangible results.

But the Kastelruther Spatzen have long since overcome this crisis. They are still deeply connected to their South Tyrolean homeland despite all their international successes. Since 1984, the big Spatzenfest has been held annually in the fall in Kastelruth, a mega event with several concerts, which counted around 50,000 visitors in 2008. In addition, the Spatzen-OpenAir is held in Kastelruth every June, and the big Advent concert takes place in December. The fact that the Kastelruther Spatzen truly belong to the very greatest of folk music is evidenced by the existence of their own Spatzenmuseum. This museum was opened in 2005 in the basement of the Spatzenladen in Kastelruth, and fans can admire all the countless awards, accolades, and memorabilia that the Spatzen have collected on their long, successful journey. The greatest highlight of all is in the last room: here, the Diamond Trophy is displayed, with which the Kastelruther Spatzen were honored for selling 15 million records in 2008!