Large rally at Sigmundskron Castle

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The large rally at Sigmundskron Castle near Bozen in South Tyrol took place on November 17, 1957. The motto “Los von Trento” was coined for her, which briefly anticipated the measures of the South Tyrol package and had a decisive effect on the development of the autonomy of South Tyrol .

At the rally, the recently elected chairman of the South Tyrolean People's Party, Silvius Magnago, gave the main speech. He campaigned for the implementation of the demands and thus became a symbol of South Tyrolean autonomy.

prehistory

In the Paris Treaty of 1946, Italy had assured Austria that it would grant the South Tyroleans rights of self-government. As a result, however, it was not the predominantly German-speaking province of Bolzano (i.e. South Tyrol) that was granted significant autonomous competences, but rather the significantly larger region of Trentino-Tyrolean Etschland with an Italian-speaking majority of the population. After the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955, the hope arose in South Tyrol that Austria would do more for the concerns of the South Tyroleans. This was guaranteed by the then Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Bruno Kreisky , who was a proven friend of South Tyrol. At the time, however, the government in Rome was of the opinion that the Paris Treaty had already been fulfilled and, on the other hand, continued to promote the immigration of Italian workers and the construction of social housing for them. After the announcement by the Minister for Public Works that 5,000 additional social housing would be built in Bolzano, the new leadership of the South Tyrolean People's Party wanted to hold a rally in Bolzano . For security reasons, the rally was moved to Sigmundskron.

course

The situation during the rally was extremely tense. Among the approximately 35,000 participants, quite a few were willing to march to Bolzano. However, Chairman Magnago had promised the quaestor (police chief) of Bolzano that there would be no violence. He also announced this to the crowd at Sigmundskron Castle, saying that he had given his “German word” that there would be no violence. Magnago was able to keep the restless crowd in check thanks to his good rhetoric. When he finally demanded the “Lot of Trento”, the crowd responded with cheers.

At the rally, Frangart's then local chairman, Sepp Kerschbaumer, distributed a leaflet that was not signed, but can be assigned to the South Tyrol Liberation Committee .

Evaluation and consequences

In recent historiography, the Sigmundskron demonstration is considered to be the end of the compromise policy and the first democratic emancipation act of the South Tyroleans. It marks the beginning of lengthy negotiations to expand South Tyrolean autonomy . Up until now, most of the autonomous competencies had been reserved for the Trentino-Tyrolean Etschland region with its Italian-speaking majority of the population. Negotiations took place in the 1960s and, in 1972, the so-called “South Tyrol Package” came into force, which largely deprived the region of power and considerably expanded the powers of the predominantly German-speaking South Tyrol .

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Michael Gehler : Difficult starting position. In: Solderer, Gottfried (ed.): The 20th century in South Tyrol. Volume 3. Raetia: Bozen 2001. ISBN 8872831520 , pp. 102-129.
  2. ^ Rolf Steininger : The South Tyrol question. University of Innsbruck , accessed on June 15, 2010 .
  3. ^ A b Günther Pallaver : Democratic start. In: Solderer, Gottfried (ed.): The 20th century in South Tyrol. Volume 3. Raetia: Bozen 2001, pp. 88-101.
  4. Hans Karl Peterlini : South Tyrolean bomb years. From blood and tears to a happy ending? Edition Raetia, Bozen 2005.
  5. Michael Gehler: From half autonomy to inner self-determination. In: Hannes Obermair et al. (Ed.): Regional civil society in motion - Cittadini innanzi tutto. Festschrift for Hans Heiss . Vienna-Bozen: Folio 2012. ISBN 978-3-85256-618-4 , pp. 325–342, here p. 329 (thesis 14).

Coordinates: 46 ° 28 ′ 50.9 ″  N , 11 ° 18 ′ 19.1 ″  E