diff --git a/uppsrc/CtrlCore/GtkApp.cpp b/uppsrc/CtrlCore/GtkApp.cpp
index 2b97ef577..7439a30c7 100644
--- a/uppsrc/CtrlCore/GtkApp.cpp
+++ b/uppsrc/CtrlCore/GtkApp.cpp
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ void Ctrl::UseWayland()
 bool InitGtkApp(int argc, char **argv, const char **envptr)
 {
 	LLOG(rmsecs() << " InitGtkApp");
+
+	XInitThreads(); // otherwise there are errors despite GuiLock
+	// this has to be called before gtk_init_check, otherwise it crashes with xfce (at least
+	// some versions)
 	
 #if GTK_CHECK_VERSION(3, 10, 0)
 	String backends = "x11,wayland";
@@ -115,8 +119,6 @@ bool InitGtkApp(int argc, char **argv, const char **envptr)
 		Cerr() << t_("Failed to initialized GTK app!") << "\n";
 		return false;
 	}
-	if(Ctrl::IsX11())
-		XInitThreads(); // otherwise there are errors despite GuiLock
 
 	EnterGuiMutex();