Johann Georg Meindl

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Johann Georg Meindl (born April 23, 1682 in Weng im Innkreis , Electorate of Bavaria , today's Braunau district , Austria ; † April 9, 1767 in Salzburg ) was a Bavarian freedom fighter.

Johann Georg Meindl was one of the leaders of the Bavarian popular uprising in 1705/06 against the occupation by Austria under Joseph I. As an armed leader, he accompanied the uprising in Bavaria over the entire period.

Coat of arms Bavaria 1703

Youth and education

His parents Cyprian and Maria Meindl ran the Tafernwirtschaft Nro. 37. The father came from a respected bourgeois family from the nearby market Mauerkirchen and the mother from the Kasingergut in Weng. For Johann Georg Meindl the study career was determined. At the age of eleven he came to the Jesuit high school in Burghausen . At this " Latin School " the foundation stone was laid for his talkativeness and eloquence. And it was here that he made friends with Georg Sebastian Plinganser from Pfarrkirchen, who was a year older than him . Meindl was also able to complete the first year of studying philosophy at the Burghauser Jesuit grammar school, and the other two years at the Benedictine University in Salzburg . In 1701 the 19-year-old completed his studies in philosophy. Because his parents had meanwhile moved to Markt Altheim and the brewery Nro there. 50, Wenger is often referred to as the “student from Altheim”. Whether Meindl after the "basic studies" philosophy and the "right" study of theology or jurisprudence began, is not occupied.

Meindl during the Bavarian popular uprising in 1705/06

Beginnings of the popular uprising

In the same month that Meindl graduated in Salzburg , the War of the Spanish Succession began in Italy . In 1703 the Innviertel, border area between Bavaria and Austria, became a theater of war. After the Bavarian defeat at Höchstädt in 1704 , there was no improvement in social and economic conditions in the former war zones. By order of the emperor, as many funds as possible were to be raised from all parts of the country to finance the warfare. The trigger for the first unrest was the planned forced recruitment of 12,000 young Bavarians. The first groups had already hidden in the forest. There were spontaneous riots in many places. In Mauerkirchen armed men marched into the market and on November 6, 1705, fought a first battle with imperial dragoons . It is believed that Johann Georg Meindl was the head of this first action. The student from Weng appeared as the leader of the Bavarian popular uprising in his homeland from the start.

The popular uprising

Johann Georg Meindl also seems to have been one of the organizers between the individual riot zones. On November 11th, 5,000 “Weilharter” from Meindl and 5,000 “Taschner farmers” from the Rottal met under his school friend Georg Sebastian Plinganser at Frauenstein am Inn Castle . He later said that at that time "the siege of Braunau and Schärding with the Meindl had already been decided". The army moved to Braunau and besieged the fortress (November 14, 1705).

First Burghausen and the fortress there fell into the hands of the rebels from Upper Weilhart. Meindl moved into the city on November 17th and set up his quarters there (in today's Hotel Bayerischer Hof). With the fall of Braunau on November 27, 1705 and Schärding on December 4, 1705, the rebels gained power over the entire Innviertel , the region became the heartland of the popular uprising. Rebels from other Bavarian regions got their directives in Braunau and at the same time agitators were sent from here in all directions.

During the popular uprising, Johann Georg Meindl was usually on the side of the “hawks”, who advocated decisive action. Only if the imperial family were driven out of the country could the “Kurbayerische Libertät” be restored and the relentless exploitation come to an end. Meindl was by no means an uncompromising leader. When the imperial administration made the first offers of mediation and an armistice, Meindl agreed. "He knew about the worries his farmers had about their farms," ​​writes Christian Probst. But at the Anzingen negotiations it soon became clear that the administration was only trying to gain time. They waited for reinforcements to put down the uprising. Meindl was a realist when he led 4,000 men from Burghausen to Marktl as the “falcon” four days after the armistice agreement . There the main power of the Unterländische Bayerische Landesdefension prepared with around 12,000 men to march against Munich.

Johann Georg Meindl stayed in Burghausen and participated in the mobilization and organization of the troops. He was referred to as a "field marshal and general over a regiment of riders" and as such commanded eight companies. The role he played in the Braunau parliament (from December 21, 1705) has not yet been fully researched.

The end of the survey

Sendlinger Bauernschlacht (Fresco in the Sendlinger Church)

With the defeat of the Oberlanders in the Sendlinger Murder Christmas on December 25, 1705, the Bavarian popular uprising had passed its climax. In Braunau, however, the indomitable war party (“unreasonable” - as Christian Probst called it) continued to dominate. Her head was Georg Sebastian Plinganser and Meindl was one of them. On January 1, 1706, he issued a patent and, in his role as Schützenobrist, ordered the position of all Innviertel riflemen. Once again, a powerful unit should be built up. Apparently he succeeded. Because when a "relief army" set out to recapture the city of Vilshofen , Meindl was given the task of following and strengthening it. But this order came too late, Meindl's riflemen only encountered the few survivors of the Battle of Aidenbach . With this, the end of the Bavarian popular uprising was finally sealed in the lowlands. One after the other, the cities of Schärding, Braunau and Burghausen fell into the hands of the imperial family.

Johann Georg Meindl fled to the Weilhartforst and holed up with hundreds of rebels. He was one of four fleeing "Haupträdelsführern" for outlaws declared him 100 ducats species bounty have been suspended. In the event of his capture, he was given a "gentle response" - which would have meant an execution. Imperial troops crossed the Weilhartforst in search of the hidden insurgents, even cornered Meindl once, but were unable to arrest him. His family, first and foremost his father Cyprian, were harassed in vain to get information about the hiding place.

The hopes of the last rebels for a resurgence of the popular uprising (among other things with the support of Elector Max Emanuel from Brussels ) were soon dashed. Johann Georg Meindl also had to accept the failure of the survey. He left Weilhart and began a new life in safe Salzburg. As a carbine, he joined the archbishop's mounted bodyguard, his skills as a “rifle bishop” and “general over a regiment of riders” were in demand here. When exactly Meindl took up this position and whether it was offered to him, he was welcome or perhaps not recognized at all, it is not yet clear.

Salzburg time

In any case, the wanted rebel of yore became a husband, able officer and respected citizen. Johann Georg Meindl lived in Salzburg for almost 60 years after the events of the Bavarian popular uprising . In old age he appeared several times as a godfather; in the last sponsorship entry, the then 73-year-old is named “Nob.D. Joannes Georgius Meindl ", so called" Nobilis Dominus ", as" Noble Lord ". Johann Georg Meindl died on April 9, 1767 at the age of 84 in Salzburg.

Afterlife

The memory of him stayed alive for a long time. Christian Probst knows: “Even at the end of the 19th century, people in the Innviertel told a wide variety of stories and legends about him, the clever fox. [...] The heartland of the Bavarian popular uprising, the Innviertel, has its legendary figure in the courageous and clever student from Altheim [resp. Weng / Innkreis] , the friend and helper of the peasants who, unlike the Schmiedbalthes and the riflemen in the Reschenhof in Aidenbach, did not perish in a heroic struggle, but struck the imperial one by one and became a respected officer in nearby Salzburg. "In in literature he was credited with eloquence and dexterity, military talent and leadership, bravery, determination and cunning.

Johann-Georg-Meindl-Strasse is named after him in his birthplace.

literature

  • The Bundwerk. Series of publications of the Innviertel culture group. No. 20, 2005, ZDB ID 1365255-2 ;
    • Lothar Bodingbauer: Georg Meindl, the student from Altheim. Pp. 21-26;
    • Maria Gann: The War of the Spanish Succession and the uprising of the peasants and citizens against the imperial occupiers. Pp. 18-21;
    • Franz Maier: The pastor of Georg Meindl. Pp. 27-36.
  • Konrad Meindl : Schützenobrist Johann Georg Meindl, the "student" from Altheim, and the Bavarian peasant uprising in the Rentamte Burghausen 1705/06. In: Negotiations of the Historical Association for Lower Bavaria. Vol. 24, No. 3/4, 1886, ISSN  0342-247X , pp. 363-456.
  • Christian Probst : Better to die Bavarian . The Bavarian people's uprising in 1705 and 1706. Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich 1978.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Degenhart: Author reading - Niederbayern TV - colleague Andreas Reichelt presents his new book. Niederbayern TV, July 29, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Marita Pletter: Reading journey into history. Retrieved August 6, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Probst 1978, 399f.
  4. ↑ Konrad Meindl was the great-great-grandson of Franz Xaver Meindl (1688 – approx. 1760), who in turn was a brother of Johann Georg Meindl.
  5. ^ The article in the digital state library of Upper Austria
personal data
SURNAME Meindl, Johann Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Rebel and leader of the Bavarian popular uprising
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1682
PLACE OF BIRTH Weng im Innkreis , today's Braunau district , Austria
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 1767
Place of death Salzburg