Beer war between Görlitz and Zittau

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The beer war between Görlitz and Zittau was a dispute between the cities of Görlitz and Zittau . The city of Zittau insisted on a right granted in 1414 that enabled it to sell beer duty-free in Görlitz. When some Görlitzers attacked a delivery of Zittau beer and destroyed it, the dispute between the two cities escalated. The event is known as a beer feud or beer war.

Events in advance

"Melting, brewing and serving his bourgeois narung ..."

- Johannes Hass, Görlitz Upper Town Clerk

In the Middle Ages, several hundred families in Görlitz had the right to brew beer as well as the right to pour out the beer produced. Mostly it was the respected cloth maker families like the Emmerichs , the Schneiders or the Frenzel family who also worked as brewers. In addition, they were councilors of the city and thus had a say when it came to importing foreign beer or local beer prices. Apart from these families, only the landed gentry were allowed to brew beer themselves.

As early as 1367, Emperor Charles IV decreed that local and all traders based in the district were not allowed to serve anything other than Görlitzer beer.

"Every Kretscham and every other person sitting within the Görlitzer Weichbildes is not allowed to bring anything other than Görlitzer beer to the villages or other places where the Weichbild is to be served."

- Emperor Charles IV.

In 1489 King Matthias determined

"... that no one else should sell strange beers a mile and a half to Görlitz to calculate, otherwise the von Görlitz people would like to punish the same criminals if the opportunity arises and take the beer away."

This was known and observed in the city and the surrounding villages. Many larger neighboring cities, such as Zittau, felt disadvantaged to have to do without the lucrative business. At that time, the Zittau beer was one of the most popular in Europe. The master brewers based in Zittau invoked a right obtained in 1414. King Wenzel had allowed Zittau beer to be distributed duty-free in Görlitz, Bautzen , Löbau , Kamenz , Lauban and Breslau .

In 1488 the Görlitz council announced that between Michaelmas (September 29th) and Pentecost no strange beer could be served within two miles of the city.

escalation

On May 4, 1490 twelve horsemen and thirty foot servants were sent to Horka . They confiscated the Kamenz beer from Kretschmer Wendt, who lived there, and left him in prison for over four weeks. On June 8th, a hundred Görlitzers arrived in Penzig and captured the Kretschmer Kellerhans. His beer was also confiscated. In the next few weeks it hit many more traders in the surrounding villages.

On May 29, 1491, some youths from Görlitz recklessly attacked a delivery of beer from Zittau at the Läusehübel between Rosenthal and Ostritz . They broke the barrels and spilled the beer. The place is still known today as the beer puddle . However, the attack by the Görlitzers was unjust because the attack occurred in the Zittau district.

In Zittau two days later the attack was responded to with a feud letter . This was brought to Görlitz on an old horse by a hunchback named Krebs. In the letter they revealed to the mayor of Görlitz, the council and the municipality of Görlitz that they would harm the Görlitz residents as a result of this malicious act. Before the mayor of Görlitz could answer Georg Emmerich , the messenger rode away again. At the same time, Zittau soldiers attacked the village of Wendisch-Ossig . They beat up the farmers and took away horses, cattle, pigs, beds, clothes and money. A message left behind said that the Görlitzers should get their cattle back from the Zittau market. A total of 25 horses, 149 cattle and 170 pigs were stolen from the Zittauern. However, the Görlitzers did not respond. Zittau celebrated a great retribution battle festival.

A skilled Zittau poet created a song of derision about Görlitz.

Do you want to hear a new poem like the one in Görlitz '?
They got it badly.
The people of Zittau took the cows.
On a Wednesday it happened that the Görlitzers were seen taking off.

In the morning in the thaws they chopped up the Zittau beer.
The news came to Zittau.
It caused great pain to the citizens.
They discussed how they wanted revenge ...

Little Crab rode to Görlitz.
He brought the feud letter with him.
The mayor just said: We want to give you an answer.

The messenger thought in his courage that the answer would not be good.
So he rode away quickly.
In Wendisch-Ossig he met the men,
who invaded the area very powerfully, they took the farmers' cows and pigs.

Then they hunted to Zittau jach.
The Görlitzers followed behind.
Now the people from Zittau poured beer and wine and said, let's be happy,
now we've been advised, have to boil and roast.

Who is it that sang these rhymes?
He's called a fresh boy ...
He sings and tells us a lot more.
He was never allowed to go to Görlitz.
He has a fresh mind.
The Görlitzers are reversible hats.

When a Caspar Weber from Horka performed the song in Görlitz, he was arrested and publicly beaten by a judge's decision. In Zittau the Görlitzers were christened the reversible hats . In return, the people of Zittau were given the name Kühetreiber for their cattle theft .

On June 6th Zittau attacked Heidersdorf . The Görlitzers then assembled an army of around 2,000 men. It consisted of city soldiers and citizens, but also simple peasants. The men were posted at the vineyard near Leschwitz and near Köslitz , where they waited for the Zittauer. If the people of Zittau should advance to Görlitz, the Görlitzers had orders to give them a bloody reception. However, in order not to endanger their privileges, the Görlitzers held back.

In order to end the dispute, the bailiff at the time prohibited the two cities from violating each other. Zittau was obliged to pay a fine of 300 guilders to repair the damage caused. Zittau's council, however, refused to accept such a disgrace and refused to pay the amount to Görlitz. This state of affairs lasted for a number of years until surrounding villages and communities collected the amount to reconcile the two cities. Because they feared that the disputes between the two cities could escalate to such an extent that the Upper Lusatian Six- City Association would break. The Görlitzers gave the sum to the governor.

aftermath

Even after the end of the beer war, foreign beers were not tolerated in their own district. In 1530, a Zittau force invaded Eibau and smashed a barrel of Laubaner beer. The remaining barrels were confiscated and transferred to Zittau.

In 1662 there was another beer war in Upper Lusatia . However, this remained bloodless and was carried between Zittau and Löbau. A year later, Zittau brewery citizens took seven barrels of beer from the Bautzner tax collector Seidel, which he had brought to Zittau for his own wedding.

See also

literature

  • Josef Franz Hausmann: The beer war between the cities of Zittau and Görlitz. Ed .: Gablonzer Abendblatt, sheets for local history, education, tourism and sport, 1922.

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