Federal Crossbowmen Festival
The Federal Crossbowmen Festival ( French Fête Fédérale de Tir à l'arbalète , Italian Festa federale di tiro della balestra , Romansh Festa federala da tir cul balaister ) is one of the traditional national events of the modern federal state and modern democracy in Switzerland . The "Federal" represents the high point of the activities of all crossbow shooting clubs (sections), towards which work is carried out in the years in between.
history
The Greek Gastraphetes in the 3rd century BC BC is one of the ancient forerunners of the crossbow. The crossbowmen of the Republic of Genoa were considered the best in Europe and were mentioned in a document as early as 1012. In the Battle of Crécy of 1346, at the beginning of the Hundred Years War, around 6,000 crossbowmen fought in the French army, mostly from Genoa. With the transition from hand cocking to foot cocking, the crossbow became the most important remote hand weapon in the great land battles.
In Switzerland, the crossbow was first depicted on the seal of the Lucerne Council Johann von Hildisrieden de Hochdorf from 1235. The crossbow in the municipal coat of arms of Hildisrieden indicates this origin. The oldest bow and crossbow guilds were in Zurich, Schaffhausen and Basel in the later Middle Ages. The Zurich bow and crossbow guilds held a privileged position alongside the guilds in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the rifle with the fast projectiles and the high rate of fire replaced the bow weapon for military purposes and served from then on as a training weapon for shooting training. Crossbow shooting was only practiced in the Winterthur , Thurgau and central Switzerland areas . The Schaffhauser Colonel Bollinger designed a crossbow as a training weapon for the more mature youth. This weapon was used at the military schools in Zurich until 1919. As a target, and especially to protect the little developed arrows, a clay disk, the "tattsch", was shot, for which the "tattschmeister" was responsible. In individual Zurich communities ( Benken , Watt ) and in Thun ( Abschiesset ), the tradition of tattsch shooting with the "Bollingrische crossbow" is maintained by school children to this day.
With Wilhelm Tell , the crossbow became a symbol of patriotism , as a postage stamp from 1900 shows. The crossbow has been a trademark ( Swiss label ) for Swiss quality, precision and reliability since 1917 .
The Federal Crossbowmen Association (EASV) was founded in 1898 by representatives of various Swiss local sections. Its purpose is the promotion of crossbow shooting on a national and international level, the training and further education of young people and members, the organization and supervision of courses, shooting competitions and shooting festivals, the establishment and maintenance of crossbow shooting clubs or societies (sections), the support of sub-associations , Associations and sections in technical and administrative terms. The EASV has been organizing rifle festivals on a national level since 1898, the Federal Crossbow Festival. European and world championships are often held in this context.
The spread of crossbow shooting in Switzerland meant that, in the 1940s and 1950s, various types of crossbows could be produced as ordonance weapons in several Swiss companies (Anton Rüegg, Steinhausen - Fritz Kuchen, Winterthur - Weber, Dübendorf - Gustav Schmid, Necker). When the international competitions organized by the Swiss Federal Crossbow Shooting Association from 1950 required a uniform match crossbow, Swiss developers (Gustav Schmid - Georg Winzeler, Höngg - Schallberger and Inauen) - often internationally successful shooters - were involved in essential technical developments of the match crossbow.
Federal Crossbowmen Festival today
The Federal Crossbowmen Festival is to take place every three years from 2016. It is a major sporting event with national and international participation with many visitors as well as a ceremony with handing over the flag, speeches and banquets. At the 2011 Swiss Crossbowmen Festival in Unterägeri , 1,200 shooters from all over Switzerland and nine European nations took part in the two victories for the Federal Shooting King and the 21st European Championships for 10 days . Around 1,000 shooters took part in the Swiss Federal Crossbowmen Festival 2019 in Ringgenberg .
Federal crossbowmen festivals
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literature
- Werner Meyer : Millet porridge and halberd. On the trail of medieval life in Switzerland . Walter Verlag, Olten, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1985, ISBN 3-530-56707-8 .
Web links
- Jürg A. Meier: Crossbow. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Konrad Grob 1874: Tachschiessen in the Wehntal