Tyrolean shooters
As a Tyrolean shooters to special traditional call shooting associations in Tyrol ( North and East Tyrol , South Tyrol and Trento ), so-called companies . They are comparable to the mountain riflemen in Bavaria.
history
Early history
Their history goes back to the Middle Ages . As early as the 13th century , there was a council in Tyrol in which not only the nobility and clergy , but also citizens and farmers were represented. They were part of the government of the country. There was also one more thing: there was freedom of arms. But where there is law, there is also a duty: with the right to political participation, the population took on the duty to protect and defend their homeland and the country.
In 1323, the state parliament laid down national defense in the oldest German-speaking estates constitution so that in an emergency all defensive (fit) men could be called up. Duke Friedrich IV created a new defense order for Tyrol in 1416, through which the nobility lost their predominance. The main weight was borne by the citizens and farmers. Most important, however, was that the Tyroleans could only be called up to defend their own country. In one of the most important centers of the late medieval country, Bozen , an urban rifle guild with a strongly corporate social character has been attested since the late 15th century; it was united in a brotherhood that organized regular target practice and rifle festivals with prizes and also had its own archive , which began in 1488 with annual accounts for the gunsmiths .
From the land dragonfly to the end of the First World War
Decisive in the constitutional sense were those provisions called Landlibell , which Emperor Maximilian I issued together with the Tyrolean Parliament in 1511.
Very early on there were events for able-bodied men for the purpose of shooting training. Since 1400 at the latest, people armed with crossbows have been called "shooters". There were already many shooting ranges under Emperor Maximilian, who greatly encouraged riflemen, and these facilities increased with the improvement of fire rifles.
In the immigration order of Emperor Leopold I of 1704 was summed up the disc and snipers, who in 1703 at the Bavarian Rummel had been so successful for the first time a 16 companies strong regiment together. In 1738 a separate set of rules for “entire shooting ranges in Tyrol” was issued.
The rulers were aware of how much the well-aiming individual shooters were superior to the soldiers who were drilled in volley fire in mountain warfare. Time and again, the Tyrolean riflemen were able to demonstrate their fighting strength, due to their courage, their love of home, the good solidarity in the village community and their accuracy, not least in the war of freedom of 1809 , when they defeated the French , who were used to victory, under their marshal Lefebvre . The Peace of Schönbrunn led to a renewed uprising, which ended on November 1st, 1809 with the defeat of the Tyroleans under Andreas Hofer on the Bergisel. Hofer was later arrested, tried before a court martial, and shot on February 20, 1810 in Mantua .
In 1813 the Tyrolean Jäger Corps was set up, from which the Kaiserjäger Regiment emerged in 1815 . In addition, according to the Landlibell, the state of Tyrol had to bring up 20,000 old militia men who were called state riflemen or riflemen. The Standschützen formed the core .
In the wars of Austria against Italy in 1848 and 1866, the Tyrolean rifle and sniper companies were mobilized. During the First World War , the three state rifle regiments - contrary to the self-defense maxim - were transferred together with the Kaiserjäger to the Russian front , where they suffered heavy losses; The Standschützen who remained in the country were only used on the southern front after Italy entered the war on May 18, 1915 . They played a not insignificant part in stopping the Italian attack in the first few weeks of the war.
The Tiroler Schützen as a shooting association from 1919
With the end of the First World War and the fall of the monarchy, the task of riflemen for national defense in Tyrol came to an end. The Tyrolean shooters remained in existence as a non-governmental shooting association. In South Tyrol , annexed by Italy, rifle companies were banned in 1922. During the National Socialist occupation of South Tyrol in 1943–1945, the South Tyrolean rifle system was reactivated and it was fully functionalized for Nazi politics.
After the Second World War , some rifle companies were formed again around 1946/47 in Innsbruck and the surrounding area, then especially in the Oberinntal, in the Wipp and Stubaital . However, many rifles were confiscated and flags and national costumes destroyed, especially by the American occupying forces. After the French took control of Tyrol under General Béthouart , the "Association of Tyrolean Rifle Companies" was founded on April 20, 1950, while the sport and target shooters at that time formed the "Tyrolean State Rifle Association". In 1965 the association of Tyrolean rifle companies had grown to 204 companies.
South Tyrolean Schützenbund
After 1946 the South Tyrolean rifle companies - or the South Tyrolean Schützenbund (SSB) since 1958, came back to life. After the flaming battle for the autonomy of South Tyrol in 1961, a state ban brought the SSB to an almost complete standstill. In 1968 the SSB was able to resume its activities with 72 rifle companies. Since 2000, the South Tyrolean riflemen have again been allowed to move out with historical weapons. A total of 140 rifle companies and 3 rifle bands with 5,128 members in 7 shooting districts belong to the South Tyrolean shooting association.
Welschtiroler Schützenbund
The Welschtiroler Schützenbund was re-established in 1982/83. Since 2000, the Welschtiroler riflemen have been allowed to move out again with historical weapons. Today the Welschtiroler Schützenbund (WSB) comprises 26 (4 companies are not yet operational) rifle companies (with approx. 900 members).
Tyrolean shooters today
The traditional shooting business is divided into the quarters Oberland, Tirol-Mitte, Unterland and Osttirol. Each of these quarters comprises several battalions (a total of 26), each of which has several companies subordinate to it. The Federation of Tyrolean Rifle Companies has 235 rifle companies.
On September 17, 1995, the rifle associations of the historic parts of Tyrol, i.e. North and East Tyrol, South and Western Tyrol, were reunified in the form of an umbrella organization, the All Tyrolean Rifle Association. On November 26th, 2011 the GTSB was transferred to the new association “Tiroler Schützen” in order to further strengthen the cooperation with the renewed structure and to be able to better meet future challenges.
The Tyrolean rifle companies see themselves today mainly as an association for the maintenance of tradition, the conveyance of values and the (intellectual) defense of the Tyrolean national interests, whereby a more conservative position is taken.
On November 8th, 2008, the South Tyrolean Schützenbund organized the largest protest rally against fascist relics (including the victory monument in particular ) in South Tyrol. The demonstration was "against fascism and for Tyrol". The razing of all fascist relics and the reunification of Tyrol were called for. Around 3,500 riflemen and civilians took part in the protest rally and the subsequent protest march. During the protest march, the demonstrators were supported with applause by South Tyroleans from the German and Italian language groups. Near the Victory Memorial, the (German and Italian speaking) demonstrators were greeted by around 500 Italian neo-fascists with fascist salutes and insults. The large police presence prevented more serious clashes.
On May 18, 2013, under the motto iatz! A major event of the South Tyrolean Rifle Federation took place for more freedom and independence . The influx significantly exceeded expectations. The guest speech on the first Independence Day in Merano was given by Klaus Tschütscher , former head of government in the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein .
In the Tyrolean commemorative year, 74 crosses were erected on the former front between Ortler and Winklertal as part of the project “At the Front 1915–2015” (Tyrolean Standschützen had to go to the southern front as the last line- up) after they were consecrated by the Catholic clergy in Bolzano .
Web links
- Association of Tyrolean Rifle Companies
- South Tyrolean Schützenbund
- Welschtiroler Schützenbund
- Welschtiroler Schützenwelt / Il mondo degli Schützen (Trentino)
- Il Tirolo e gli Sagittarius: Dio, patria e famiglia. Italian Ministry of Defense, article by Giovanni Vultaggio (PDF; 430 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hannes Obermair : Written form and documented tradition of the city of Bozen up to 1500 - patterns, forms, typologies (= »cristallîn wort«. Hartmann studies . Volume 1 ). LIT Verlag, Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-8258-1097-9 , pp. 33-58, reference p. 48 , doi : 10.13140 / RG.2.1.1126.1204 .
- ↑ Lisa Maria Gasser: The veil of the shooters . Online article on salto.bz from August 29, 2017, accessed on September 22, 2018.
- ↑ Statistics from the SSB, archived copy ( Memento from May 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.wtsb.org/
- ↑ Dolomites No. 260 of November 10, 2008, page 4
- ↑ Z am Sonntag of November 9, 2008, pp. 2-3
- ^ Pustertaler Zeitung of November 28, 2008, archived copy ( Memento of January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Page on ARGE iatz! and on Independence Day on May 18, 2013 in Merano. iatz.org, accessed May 18, 2013 .
- ^ Report on Independence Day in Merano. schuetzen.com, archived from the original on June 8, 2013 ; Retrieved May 18, 2013 .
- ^ Independence Day - Sagittarius: "There was a spirit of optimism in the air". stol.it, archived from the original on June 7, 2013 ; Retrieved May 18, 2013 .
- ↑ Independence Day in Merano. suedtirolnews.it, archived from the original on June 8, 2013 ; Retrieved May 19, 2013 .