Gallus Moosbrugger

Gallus Moosbrugger, called 'Jöckles Galle'

Gallus Moosbrugger (* 1810 Schnepfau ; † 1886 ibid) was an influential Bregenzerwald cheese merchant ("Käsegraf") and "modernizer" from the famous Moosbrugger family in Vorarlberg . Along with Pastor Johann Georg Rüscher, he is considered an opponent of the writer Franz Michael Felder . Little is known about his life itself. His activity as an entrepreneur is better known.

Trading activities of the Moosbrugger brothers

Gallus, called 'Jöckles Galle', took on a leading position in the Moosbrugger brothers' company alongside his brothers Josef Ambros (1806–1869) and Leopold (1804–1861). Through clever strategic organization, Moosbrugger almost achieved an export / import monopoly . With a fleet of sixty horses, he supplied cheese to the most distant parts of the monarchy , such as Hungary , Lombardy and Veneto . On the way home, the carters brought groceries, tools and textiles that were not produced in Vorarlberg.

Main building and city palace

Starting from the parent company, the “Adler” inn in Schnepfau, the trading business was expanded in the direction of the Vorarlberger Oberland with large estates in Thuringia and patronage over the parishes of Bludesch , Thuringia , Ludesch , Thuringerberg, Raggal , Sonntag, Buchboden and finally to Milan , where Josef Ambros Moosbrugger owned a city ​​palace . There, too, Moosbrugger was integrated into social and cultural life. For example, he had subscribed to a box in La Scala ( Giuseppe Verdi , Nabucco , 1842).

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  Gasthof Adler

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  Cheese buns transport to Milan

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  Gasthof Adler, around the end of the 19th century

Catherine Day

Gallus Moosbrugger lent money to many farmers in the region, or he bought and paid for most of the winter milk in advance on November 25th, Saint Katharina's name day , in Au . If, for whatever reason, the farmer was unable to deliver milk afterwards, he had to work for 'Galle' free of charge.

In order to achieve better milk prices and sales, the farmer, writer and social reformer Franz Michael Felder tried in 1866 to win Moosbrugger over to work with the farmers in a joint cooperative. Since Moosbrugger did not get involved, Felder nevertheless founded the cooperative and agitated against Moosbrugger. As a result, the two became opponents in economic terms. Felder describes the "Katharinentag" in an early socio-critical poetry :

«... what joy will arise when we see Gallus coming, we go to Gaden with him . He will not deny consolation to anyone who has brought his milk to him on beautiful May days. He wrote down all those who were left with good works for the day when the tears were broken. Everyone who refreshes his book, hurries happily and happily where no dengel sees them. "

Moosbrugger, who u. a. was also on the committee for the construction of the Bregenzerwaldbahn , as well as Felder were modernizers who brought new ideas to the Bregenzerwald, which however also disappeared from the political stage after the death of the two.

epilogue

When Gallus died in 1886, "Der Landbote von Vorarlberg" wrote:

«Schnepfau laments the death of a real forest man, the cheese merchant Gallus Moosbrugger, who is well known throughout the country under the name“ Galle ”. In religious and political terms, he initially leaned toward the liberals until he knew them, then he always voted conservatively . "

literature

• Walter Methlagl : The Farmer's Dream - Franz Michael Felder . Bregenz 1984.
• Wilhelm Meusburger: The cheese counts using the example of the Moosbrugger brothers (Schnepfau - Thuringia - Milan). Bregenz 1990 (= supplement to the exhibition “Die Käsgrafen” in the Vorarlberg State Museum ).

Web link

• The Käsgrafen at www.moosbrugger.at

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Cf. Wilhelm Meusburger: The Käsgrafen using the example of the Moosbrugger brothers (Schnepfau - Thuringia - Milan). Bregenz 1990
2. ↑ See Walter Methlagl: The Farmer's Dream - Franz Michael Felder. Bregenz 1984, p. 28 f.
3. ↑ "Der Landbote von Vorarlberg" ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.