Ursus of Solothurn

Single-sheet print, which reports on the discovery of the relics of St. Ursus when the choir altar was demolished in the old collegiate church St. Ursen in Solothurn on April 6, 1519

Ursus († around 303 in Solothurn ) was a martyr of the legendary Thebaic Legion and is the patron saint of the Swiss city of Solothurn.

The legend after he escaped along with Victor of Solothurn and 66 other Christian soldiers of the massacre Agaunum (today St. Maurice in Valais ) and fled to the fort Solothurn ( Salodurum ), but was there together with his companions beheaded . Not only is the St. Ursus Cathedral in Solothurn consecrated to him, the religious canon monastery founded in the early Middle Ages also bore his name, and the popular Swiss male name Urs goes back to him . The Ursus cult was in the Solothurn region z. B. also used in gastronomy, for example for a restaurant with this name in Biberist , which burned down on August 2, 2008, or a Hotel Urs and Viktor in Bettlach .

A number of places are named after him: St. Ursen and several French-speaking Saint-Ours , as well as churches such as the St. Ursenkathedrale and the St. Ursenstift in Solothurn, Switzerland. The St. Urs steamboat is also named after Ursus von Solothurn.

St. Ursentag, September 30th, is a public holiday in Solothurn, but apart from the church it is only observed by the public administration and schools, most shops are open normally.

literature

Ekkart Sauser : Ursus and Victor, St. Martyr of Solothurn. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 12, Bautz, Herzberg 1997, ISBN 3-88309-068-9 , Sp. 963. ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive )
Eduard Haefliger: Urs and Viktor and the Thebaic Legion . In: Yearbook for Solothurn History . tape 29 , 1956, pp. 212-221 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-323983 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Ursus of Solothurn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ursus, Urso
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	martyr
DATE OF BIRTH	3rd century
DATE OF DEATH	at 303
Place of death	Solothurn