abs.jur. Franz Frhr. Riccabona von Reichenfels

Franz Riccabona, the eldest son of Rudolf von Riccabona zu Reichenfels [† 1970] and Maria Burlo von Ehrwall and brother of Anton Riccabona, had to interrupt his schooling at Bolzano grammar school at the age of just under seventeen and was drafted into the 1st Regiment of the Tyrolean Kaiserjäger to defend his threatened homeland.

On his return from the war, he was able to catch up on his school-leaving certificate in Bolzano in June 1919 and begin studying law in Innsbruck. He joined the student fraternity Austria Innsbruck in 1920. Due to the difficult economic situation, the law graduate was initially employed in the guardianship department of the Caritas Association and was only able to obtain a position as a judge in 1928. He became a district judge in Dornbirn and Imst. In 1934, he was appointed public prosecutor in Salzburg and then transferred to Innsbruck in 1936.

Immediately after the Anschluss, he was dismissed from his post, immediately arrested and imprisoned until May 5, 1938, first in the Gestapo prison and later in Innsbruck Regional Court prison. After his release, he was dismissed from the judiciary without notice and had to work as an accountant in an Innsbruck construction company to earn a living for his family, as he was also prohibited from working in any other academic profession. He was arrested again in 1945.