Wilhelm Kress (1836–1913) himself was an Austrian aviation pioneer and designer born in St. Petersburg. The trained piano maker constructed the Kress hang glider in 1901 - a seaplane that unfortunately never took off from the ground. 2 years before the Wright brothers. The reason for this was the engine built in Stuttgart. Kress expected a take-off weight of 600 kg with an engine output of at least 35 hp. The engine delivered weighed an impressive 380 kg instead of 200 kg and produced only 30 hp instead of 35 hp. Due to the excessive weight of 850 kg, the aircraft was further reinforced. The Wienerwaldsee was subsequently too small. The aircraft recovered after the crash can now be admired in the Vienna Arsenal.
After his death, Wilhelm Kress was given an honorary grave at the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 0, Row 1, Number 65) designed by sculptor Andreas Kögler (1878–1956).
The monument, created by sculptor Rudolf von Weigl, was unveiled on October 5, 1913 – about half a year after Wilhelm Kress’ death. Unfortunately, the monument was destroyed at the end of the Second World War, but was restored in 1954. As part of the 100th anniversary of the municipality of Tullnerbach and its elevation to market town status, the monument was re-erected at its current location in 1973.