Citizens Corps Freistadt
The Citizen Corps Freistadt served since the founding of the city in its defense and the protection of merchants. The citizen corps was founded in 1132 and exists with a few interruptions until today, so the citizen corps is one of the oldest city defense in Upper Austria . Currently, the Corps a cultural association with 53 assets and 40 musicians and will continue the Freistädter cultural history. The privileged uniformed citizen corps is housed next to the Linzertor in the Schmidingerturm, also known as the Bürgerkorpsturm.
history
The founding year 1132 is assumed because any documents have been lost. However, it is believed that shortly after the city was founded, a vigilante group was set up for protection and the free city was founded in the early 12th century. The first records show that around 1350 an invasion from Bohemia could be repulsed - this is likely to be the first written record of the appearance of a Freetown vigilante.
It was not until the 15th century that definitive, verifiable records of the citizen corps exist - in 1452 the city was guarded day and night by 28 men. Again and again the people of Freiberg supported the emperor with troops, like in 1482 the emperor Friedrich III. against the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus . In peacetime, the civil corps became the civil riflemen who practiced firearms in their free time. In addition, the corps also served representative functions; On June 30, 1578, members of the corps from the seven princely towns in Enns paraded the then Emperor Rudolf II.
In the second Upper Austrian Peasants' War (1596) between 15,000 and 20,000 rebellious peasants stood at the gates of the city (if you can believe the information about the size of the troops), the vigilante group only comprised around 100 men. The custom stems from this emergency situation that the elected mayor of Freistadt is still chief of the corps. Due to the relentless attitude and protected by the good defenses of the city, a confrontation could be avoided and the farmers withdrew. In May 1609 around 110 corps members from Freistadt paid homage to the future Emperor Matthias in Enns and Linz .
In 1610 there was only the next confrontation when the Passau war people of Emperor Rudolf II fought against his brother Matthias. Matthias' 1500 mercenaries could not take the city either. During the third Peasants' War around 1626, Freistadt was occupied by Bavaria - Upper Austria was pledged to Bavaria. Nevertheless, the peasants managed to take the town, and it is believed that the townspeople helped them. 46 members of the vigilante now had to fight with the farmers, this was also the last armed conflict of the vigilante.
In September 1658 the hereditary homage to Leopold I took place in Linz with participation from Freistadt. In 1704, the Freistadt militia was reorganized as a city army, which was directly in the service of the emperor. As early as 1734 a separate, urban weir was created, which was in connection with the land militia. Under Emperor Josef II the citizen corps was closed and reintroduced by the French in 1805. From the year 1816 it is reported that the corps was uniformly uniformed for the first time. The manpower was 97 men in 1841 and 115 men in 1857. In 1848 the historical citizen corps merged with the newly established National Guard. The Citizens Corps was able to retain a certain degree of independence and, unlike the National Guard, was not dissolved in 1851.
During the First World War , members of the guard who did not have to do front duty were assigned to guard bridges, railway systems, water reservoirs and the Freistadt POW camp . In 1918 the corps was temporarily dissolved, and in 1922 it was reorganized. At the focal points of the inter-war period (fire in the Palace of Justice in 1927 and civil war in 1934), the civil corps was assigned to guard the powder tower and the water reservoir. The National Socialists dissolved the civil corps again and the weapons were confiscated and destroyed by the victorious powers after the end of the war.
Rifles were again made available to the residents of Freistadt via the Lienz Rifle Corps, and between 1960 and 1961 the Citizen Corps was re-established. The Schmidingerturm has been available as a meeting place since 1967 . In 1972 the 850th anniversary was celebrated.
today
Today the citizen corps no longer serves the defense, but is a cultural association in Freistadt, which contributes to the cultural history of the city. Like other corps, the annual program includes fixed events, such as Corpus Christi celebrations , war honors on All Saints' Day, funerals, etc. In addition, in the old fortress city, the Easter or grave watch is still held on Good Friday and Holy Saturday in front of the town hall and the church. Today (2009) the Freistadt Guard has a manpower of 53 active members. The identification mark is a dark green plume on the hat.
The officer corps consists of a colonel (chairman of the regional association), a major, a captain - first lieutenant and lieutenant (excluding the mayor and corps chief).
Armament
Since the old weapons were destroyed by the Soviet occupation forces after 1945, Freistadt received around 70 Werdl rifles from Lienz in 1960. In 1967 the Ministry of Defense delivered originally packaged Soviet G44 rifles, which are still in use today.
Uniformity
Today's headgear, the Corsican, Corsican, Corsican or Gauntlet hat was adopted by the French in 1805. The Corsican hat is turned up on the right and left and adorned with a dark green plume made of rooster feathers. The officers wear a bicorn hat , also with dark green feathers. This is what distinguishes the Freistadt Citizens Guard from the others.
The dark green color of the tunic - infantry - has been constant since around 1850. The leveling color is burgundy, rare for a citizen corps, and the pants are field gray. The pass polishing corresponds to the leveling color. The double-row buttons on the jackets have an embossed, unreinforced and crowned double-headed eagle with a shield (old city coat of arms).
Flags
Emperor Charles VI. awarded the Freistadt Citizens Corps a flag in 1732, which was repeatedly expanded and redesigned over time. In 1888 the flag was renovated by the local school sisters and in 1966 Countess Therese Kinsky donated a new flag based on the original.
Regular events
The citizen corps participates in regular events such as:
- Grave guard at Easter
- Georgi Mass
- Expressions on Corpus Christi
- War ceremony on All Saints Day
- Funerals
- Meeting with other civil guards, riflemen from traditional regiments
part.
In addition, the Easter or grave watch is still held in Freistadt on Good Friday and Holy Saturday in front of the town hall and the church.
On July 9-11, 2010, a European meeting of the civil guards, riflemen and traditional regiments will be held in Freistadt on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment.
Guard music
Music is historically connected to the guard and as early as the 18th century, the musicians of the citizen corps were mentioned alongside the infantry regiment . The Guard Music has been independent since 1923 after the Stadtmusik split off. In 1958 the band was set up again, first as a music band of the Comradeship Association , and after the founding of the Citizens Guard, it was also used as music for the Guard.
Today the band consists of 40 musicians, whose distinctive mark is a white plume on their hat and who regularly take part in events such as the Corpus Christi parade, St. Peter's fire or the morning pint of the Comradeship Association.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 30 '36 " N , 14 ° 30' 7.3" E