Harzschützen
Harzschützen called themselves members of a movement in the Harz region during the Thirty Years' War .
In the years 1624/1625 the residents in the area around the Harz rose against the arbitrariness , requisitions and looting of the mercenaries . Because of the repetitive attacks, the tortured population resorted to self-help and formed small resistance groups, consisting of farmers from the surrounding villages. They left their homes, formed small divisions and moved into bases in areas of the mountains that were difficult to access. They called themselves "Harzschützen". Their leaders were mostly men who were already in military service and who had mastered the craft of war . The movement was mainly concentrated in the Harz foreland in the areas around Osterode , Benneckenstein , Stolberg , Thale , Blankenburg , Nordhausen and Neustadt unterm Hohnstein.
According to contemporary information, the Harzschützen numbered around 600 men. They waged a successful guerrilla war, making clever use of the wooded and mountainous terrain. They destroyed requisitioning troops , attacked transports, chased out commandos and smashed weak garrisons . In 1626 and 1627 they extended their forays to Halberstadt , Aschersleben and Einbeck .
However, there was only loose contact between the centers of the movement and there was seldom cooperation. But it was not until the late 1920s that troops were able to suppress this largest resistance movement in Central Germany during the Thirty Years' War.
musical
The rock musical of the same name , which has been performed every summer in the medieval Harzgerode Castle since August 2007, commemorates the Harz riflemen . It takes place in 1625 and tells the story of the founding of the Harzschützen combined with a love story. The organizer is the Harz narrow-gauge railway , which also uses a special train, the " Harzschützenexpress ", which transports visitors from Quedlinburg to Harzgerode. From May 2012 the musical will have its location in Stolberg (Harz) .
literature
- Helmut Asmus: Die Harzschützen, a people's movement in the Thirty Years War , in: Nordharzer Jahrbuch 13 (1988), pp. 46-48.
- Frank Boblenz : Aspects of the Harz shooting movement in 1929 in the Lower Harz , in: Nordharzer Jahrbuch 18/19 (1995), pp. 93-108.
- Frank Boblenz: Report by Colonel David Peckherr from 14./24. July 1627 about the action against the Harzschützen and the incineration of Benneckenstein , in: Benneckensteiner Heimatheft 45 (2003), pp. 79–86.
- Hans Hoffmann: Harzschützen and the turmoil of the 30 Years War , Bad Harzburg 1992.