Franz Anton Schneider
Franz Anton Schneider , mostly just Anton Schneider , (born October 13, 1777 in Untertrogen , Weiler-Simmerberg , † July 16, 1820 in Fideris , Graubünden ) was an Austrian lawyer, freedom fighter and, in 1809, commander-in-chief of the Vorarlberg popular uprising in 1809 .
Life
The son of the surgeon Alexander Schneider was born in Untertrogen, a settlement now in the Weiler-Simmerberg market. At that time it belonged politically to the Kellhöfe-Altenburg court and thus to Vorarlberg (Austria). He attended high school in Feldkirch and graduated with an above-average Matura . Anton Schneider studied philosophy and law at the University of Innsbruck , but interrupted his studies twice (1796 and 1799) because he took part in the armed resistance against French troops. In this context he was honored in the defense of Feldkirch for his skill and bravery and promoted to ensign. In 1800 he received his doctorate from the University of Innsbruck.
In 1802 Schneider began his practical work in the office of the Austrian patriot and lawyer Dr. Ganahl in Dornbirn . After an interim job in Memmingen , he opened his own practice in Bregenz . Meanwhile appointed captain of the Landsturm , he married the daughter of the Bregenz mayor and baker Klausner in 1808.
As an Austrian patriot, Anton Schneider supported all efforts to reverse the annexation and occupation of the country by Bavaria . Under the influence of the spirit of the Enlightenment, values such as tolerance, humanity, equal treatment of all citizens and the fight against injustice had a high priority for him. Because of these characteristics, which are atypical for a revolutionary, his level-headedness right up to his later surrender in a hopeless situation, radical contemporaries unjustifiably called him a traitor.
In the first phase of the Vorarlberg popular uprising, Schneider remained in the background. He successfully defended the Bregenz magistrate Moz and later the magistrate Beer from Weiler.
At the beginning of June 1809 the Tyrolean provincial government appointed him in one fell swoop (appointment as provincial commissioner with military and civil supreme command) as the responsible leader of the insurrection movement. He led the fighting of the rebellious Vorarlbergers against the Bavarian-Württemberg-French troops. However, the military development was decided in battles outside of Vorarlberg. The freedom movement came to a standstill. After the Austrian defeat in the Battle of Wagram , Schneider decided to surrender and went into captivity in Württemberg . He thus escaped the execution demanded by Napoleon (as with Andreas Hofer ). Prince Paul of Württemberg brought him to Hohenasperg . From there Schneider came to Bavarian prisons. In the trial opened against him, his detailed knowledge of the corruption in the Bavarian civil service brought his accusers into such difficulties that the trial was brought to an end in closed sessions.
Anton Schneider was released again with strict conditions for his further whereabouts. After the general amnesty on October 1, 1810, he was transferred to the Court of Appeal in Vienna . There he let his former mentor Archduke Johann entice him to collaborate on the uprising plot of Josef von Hormayr's Alpine League. When Foreign Minister Metternich learned of the planned uprising, Hormayr and Schneider were arrested in 1813. Archduke Johann was no longer allowed to enter Tyrol. Schneider was imprisoned at Spielberg Fortress near Brno and was released on April 6, 1814, seriously ill.
Schneider was still able to experience the relinking of Vorarlberg to Austria (but without the Westallgäu, his homeland). He died unexpectedly (only 42 years old) during a spa stay in Fideris / Graubünden in 1820 .
literature
- K.-H. Burmeister: Tailor Franz Anton. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 10, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7001-2186-5 , p. 376.
- Friedrich Karl von Tettenborn : Contemporaries. A biographical magazine for d. History of our time Verlag FA Brockhaus (Leipzig and Altenburg 1817), pages 172-174, chapter Anton Schneider
- Michael Grimm: An attempt at a history of the former Reichsfleck and the still so famous pilgrimage site Altdorf, called Weingarten, together with its surroundings self-published, 1864, p. 205 u. a. End of the Vorarlberg uprising with the arrest of Dr. Anton Schneider
- Franz von Erlach : The wars of freedom of small peoples against large armies. Haller'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1867, p. 96 about Anton Schneider's peacemaking attitude
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Schneider, Anton . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 31st part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1876, pp. 11–13 ( digitized version ).
- Karl Heinz Burmeister (Ed.): People's hero or traitor? Dr. Anton Schneider 1777–1820 (= Vorarlberger Landesarchiv [Hrsg.]: Writings of the Vorarlberger Landesarchiv . Volume 1 ). Fink's Verlag, Bregenz 1985, ISBN 978-3-900438-16-6 ( online as PDF on the website of the Vorarlberger Landesarchiv ).
- Hansjörg Strasser: The Alpine Rebel: Dr. Anton Schneider, 1777-1820. A process history from the time of Andreas Hofer . Verlag für Heimatpflege, 1987, ISBN 978-3-88019-017-7 .
- Georg Wagner: Life and Work of Dr. Anton Schneider. In: Heimatbuch Weiler im Allgäu. Verlag Holzer, Weiler im Allgäu 1994, pp. 277-280.
- Hubert Weitensfelder: Industrial Province: Vorarlberg in the early industrialization 1740–1870. Campus Verlag, 2001, pp. 87 and 88 with economic motives for the Vorarlberg uprising from the perspective of Anton Schneider ( books.google.de ).
Web links
- Entry on Franz Anton Schneider in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- Hermann Stoller: The year of uprising 1809 in the Westallgäu (PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ At that time, a court was responsible for administration and justice, whereby administration is to be seen in the sense of today's district (Germany) or district authority (Austria). It was not until 1868 that the administrative institutions in Austria were separated.
- ↑ Meinrad Tiefenthaler, Arnulf Benzer: Vorarlberg 1809. A struggle for freedom and independence . Russ, Bregenz 1959, OCLC 163796581 , p. 60 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schneider, Franz Anton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schneider, Anton |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian lawyer, freedom fighter and in 1809 commander-in-chief of the Vorarlberg people's uprising |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 13, 1777 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Understood , Weiler-Simmerberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 1820 |
| Place of death | Fideris , Graubünden |