Destruction of Rapperswil
| date | 1350 to 1355 |
|---|---|
| place | Canton of Zurich , Canton of St. Gallen |
| output | Victory of Zurich |
| consequences | "Bund von 1351" between Zurich and the Waldstätte , consolidation of the supremacy of Habsburg Austria |
| Peace treaty | «Peace of Regensburg» from 1355 |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
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| Commander | |
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Rudolf Brun (1336–55) |
brother of Count Johann II. von Habsburg-Laufenburg, unknown by name,
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The destruction of Rapperswil - also known as the «pillage of Rapperswil» - was basically not a single event, but part of a guerrilla war ( feud ) in the years 1336 to 1350 and 1355, respectively. As a result of the Bruns guild constitution and the « Murder Night of Zurich » it should be viewed in connection with the Swiss Habsburg Wars.
The conflict resulted in the Battle of Grynau , the intervention of Duke Albrecht II of Austria and long-term skirmishes. On the night of February 23-24, 1350, this led to the «Murder Night of Zurich», to the imprisonment of Count Johann II von Habsburg-Laufenburg , to the destruction of Rapperswil, and Zurich troops occupied Rapperswil possessions.
After the destruction of the Habsburg fiefs of Rapperswil and Altendorf, Zurich looked for new allies and found them in the "Bund von 1351" with the Waldstätten . The conflict escalated further and Habsburg- Austria intervened actively in the warfare, which initially ended with the "Regensburg Peace" of 1355.
prehistory
Feud between Zurich and Rapperswil (1336 to 1350)
It is not clear whether the exile of the members, the so-called «Notabel», of the previous council of the city of Zurich or a dispute between the knight Götfrit 'Götz' Mülner and some « Constafflers » of the ruling council of Brun'sche from July 1336 Guild constitution put additional strain on the new, fragile coalition between the city nobility, craftsmen and merchants right from the start. It seems certain that between June 8th and July 18th 1336 twelve or probably 22 councilors, the vast majority of which came from the merchant patriciate, and their families were banished from the city of Zurich .
The majority of the exiles fled to Rapperswil to live with Count Johann I von Habsburg-Laufenburg , the son of Countess Elisabeth von Rapperswil . Count Johann was probably hoping for the repayment of debts with some of the displaced persons and with the city of Zurich, if they should regain their old offices. Under the protection of Count Johann I, the exiles in Rapperswil formed a counter-government of the "outer Zurich" with the aim of destabilizing the Brun'sche regime in Zurich.
Zurich, in turn, sought support from Count Kraft III. von Toggenburg , who was in conflict with Count Johann I because of the Rapperswil Castle Grynau , which secured a strategically important crossing over the Linth between Lake Zurich and Lake Walen . In the battle of Grynau on September 21, 1337, the Zurich count Johann I, who perished in the process, defeated Count Kraft III. as commander of the Zurich troops. This in turn provoked the intervention of the Habsburg Duke Albrecht II of Austria , who forced Zurich to renounce all conquests and to hand over their property to the exiles, which the city of Zurich refused. After Albrecht II's intervention, there was relative peace for a few years.
The counter-government of the "outer Zurich", with the help of its partisans in the city, continued to plan the overthrow of Brun's regime and found new support with the coming of age Count Johann II. Count Johann II. Von Rapperswil, who was a minor when his father died, is also said to have been offered the repayment of all debts and the redemption of the Wollerau and Pfäffikon farms pledged to the city of Zurich.
Johann II probably continued the guerrilla war in the second half of the 1340s and, like his father, became the leader of the coalition against the Brunian regime.
Murder Night in Zurich (February 23/24, 1350)
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On the night of February 23 to 24, 1350, a coup d'état was carried out on the city of Zurich: The allies within the city walls were supposed to let in the "outer" through the gates and then together Brun and his followers (presumably the members of the "Small Council" ) murder in their sleep or « … On the night of February 23rd to 24th, 1350, the aristocrats expelled from the city after the Brunsch guild revolution in 1336 tried to regain control of Zurich“ after all the people were sleeping ” bring to. The attack failed and the attackers were severely punished. »
Contemporary images and traditions suggest that both sides fought extremely bitterly and the street war ended with the victory of Mayor Brun's supporters: a total of 28 deaths were reported, including 15 “outsiders”. Of the 'numerous' prisoners, Brun had 18 wheels and 17 beheaded - Count Johann II von Rapperswil-Laufenburg remained incarcerated in the city of Zurich's Wellenberg for around two years .
Destruction of Rapperswil (Sankt Matthis 1350)
Rudolf Brun and his troops probably already moved on February 24, 1350 - «S. Matthis »- in front of Rapperswil, which surrendered out of concern for Count Johann II, who was being held captive in Zurich and was presumably set on fire by the Zurich troops on the same evening .
However, the count's brothers are said to have hoped for the Habsburg relatives to intervene and 'sabotaged' a peace treaty: Brun used this reason to destroy Alt-Rapperswil (Altendorf) in the March and dragged the walls of Rapperswil and the castle so that Rapperswil did not more could be defended. Troops from the city of Zurich also occupied the Untere March and thus gained control of the Bündner passes .
Also of interest are passages from the chronicle of the city of Zug , which summarizes the events from their perspective:
“The councilors who had been driven out of the city - not all of them suffered this fate - fled to Rapperswil. They found an ally in the local lord of the city, Count Johannes von Habsburg-Laufenburg, with whom they in turn attempted a violent and bloody but unsuccessful attempt at overthrowing the city on what would later become known as the Murder Night of Zurich in 1350. From Zurich's point of view, this breach of the peace was seen as an occasion for a feud and was rewarded with the conquest of Rapperswil and the capture of Johannes von Habsburg-Laufenburg, Count Johann II, who was held responsible for the murder. Since the latter refused to accept a corresponding peace offer from Zurich, the feud could not be ended ... »
The richly illustrated topographical and historical chronicle of the Old Confederation by Johannes Stumpf reports on the destruction of Rapperswil as follows:
«… [An] no dom [ini] 1350, to S. Matthis evening. But his people were cut off / and Graaff Hans himself was caught / zů Zürych long contained in fenugreek / of which we will say afterwards. Rapperswyl was conquered and occupied by the Zurichers instead and closed. But when the other Graven von Habspurg did not have a friendship with Zürych annemmen / and the Zürycher ires zůsatzes ... »
The woodcut illustrates the arson by Rudolf Brun in 1350. The silhouette of the city of Rapperswil is reproduced exactly in its first north elevation: from the Halsturm the house front extends westward to the church and castle. The watchtower at the west end [Endingerhorn] of the castle hill is integrated into the crenellated circular wall of the city fortifications .
Effects
A direct consequence of the destruction of Rapperswil on May 1, 1351 was the “Bund von 1351” - the city of Zurich joined the emerging Confederation - with the four forest sites in order to be able to 'stand' against Habsburg. Despite an arbitration award, the conflict escalated after Duke Albrecht II of Habsburg demanded the restoration of the destroyed fortresses in August 1351 , both of which were Habsburg fiefdoms. When Albrecht began a siege of the city of Zurich in September 1351, Brun consented to arbitration that was in favor of the Habsburgs and was not accepted by the Waldstätten.
The "Brandenburg Peace" between Zurich, the Habsburgs and Rapperswil finally came about through the mediation of the Margraves of Brandenburg : Count Johann II was released, Zurich was supposed to vacate all Habsburg and Rapperswil territories and the city should not accept any Ausburger in the future - Rapperswil is probably meant, in which the exiled councils presumably owned land, probably as a pledge for the debts of the Rapperswil counts mentioned at the beginning.
In 1353 the Waldstätte continued the fighting, and it was only when Emperor Charles IV marched with an army in front of Zurich that Brun consented to the "Regensburg Peace" of 1355.
In fact, the House of Habsburg emerged victorious from the turmoil surrounding the Brunsche guild constitution. Its supremacy in northern Switzerland was clearly confirmed and Rapperswil passed into the possession of Habsburg Austria.
Count Johann II. Von Rapperswil could not afford the high costs of rebuilding the destroyed city and the Rapperswil fortresses and sold the goods on the upper Lake Zurich with the city and castle of Rapperswil to Habsburg Austria.
As the new owner, Duke Albrecht II of Habsburg Austria had the castle and town expanded into a base against the expanding Confederation as early as 1352, and Rapperswil remained a Habsburg until 1458.
The destruction of Rapperswil in tradition
The still practiced Eis-zwei-Geissebei on Shrove Tuesday to fall to the siege and destruction of the city by Rudolf Brun, should have served as a compassionate townspeople hungry children food from the windows of their homes.
literature
- Martin Illi: History of Constaffel, from Mayor Rudolf Brun to the 20th century , NZZ Buchverlag, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-03823-021-9
- State Archives of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Small Zurich Constitutional History 1218–2000 . Published on behalf of the Directorate of Justice and the Interior on the day the Zurich Constitutional Council was constituted on September 13, 2000. Chronos, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-905314-03-7
- KW Glaettli (Ed.): Zürcher Sagen , 2nd edition, Zurich 1970
- Karl Dändliker : History of the City and the Canton of Zurich , Volume 1, 1908
- Karl Dändliker: Swiss History , 1885
- Adolf Weisser: The night of murder in Zurich. A historical picture from the German city life of the 14th century , Meyer & Zeller, Zurich 1856
- Johannes Stumpf : Chronicle of 1547/48
Web links
- Official website of the city of Rapperswil (redirect to the website of Rapperswil-Jona)
- City Museum Rapperswil-Jona on ogrj.ch
- Rapperswil-Jona culture construction kit, 36 museums without a roof
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Notabel" defines in this context the merchants and noble craftsmen represented in the City Council of Zurich (goldsmiths, silk manufacturers, money changers, etc.)
- ↑ Notable . In: Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 9 , issue 9/10 (edited by Heino Speer and others). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1996, ISBN 3-7400-0983-7 , Sp. 1549–1550 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de ). - The definition of the word notable is “ noble, honorable, outstanding ”.
- ^ Website of the Zunft zur Letzi , History of the Guilds: « … On July 18, Brun went to settle accounts with the members of the old council. 22 of them were declared incapable of counseling, twelve of them banished from the city for a time ... »
- ↑ Zurich City Archives VII. 179., Archive of the Zunft zur Schmiden 1336–1986
- ↑ Einsiedeln monastery archives Professbuch: Abbots 23. Konrad II. Von Gösgen
- ↑ a b Martin Illi: Brun'sche guild revolution. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz .: « … In 1337 Brun defeated his opponents, who had been banished or fled from the city and who had gathered in Rapperswil (SG), in the battle of Grynau. A counter-coup by the external opposition in 1350 was brutally suppressed (so-called Zurich Murder Night). »
- ^ Website of the Zunft zum Widder , history: « … Murder night in Zurich on St. Matthias Day (23 February). The former rulers have become conspirators and seek to take control of Rudolf Bruns and his loyal followers, but are overwhelmed and largely killed by the vigilant citizens. The butchers do grim work with butcher's axes and knives and receive special rights for this (St. Petersfahrt). »
- ↑ During his imprisonment in Zurich, Count Johann II composed the minnie song “Blümli blawe”, which Goethe immortalized in the ballad “Das Blümlein Wunderschön des Captives”.
- ↑ «p. Matthis »is probably the early High German name of Saint Matthias , whose feast day in the late medieval Empire was celebrated on February 24th.
- ^ Website of the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints, St. Matthias
- ↑ Citizens' community of the city of Zug, extract from Zug will not become federal , on the occasion of the 650-year membership of the Canton of Zug in the Swiss Confederation, by Thomas Glauser, 2002.
- ↑ Representation from the facsimile of the Stumpf'schen Chronik 1547/48 in the Rapperswil City Museum . Description according to the labeling of the exhibit.