Johannes Gruber

Johannes Gruber, 16th Mayor of Appenzell Ausserrhoden 1701–1709.

Johannes Gruber (born December 16, 1640 in Gais ; † April 5, 1710 in Herisau ; legal resident in Gais, from 1710 in Herisau) was a Swiss textile entrepreneur, member of the Small Council and governor from the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden .

Life

Johannes Gruber was a son of Governor Konrad Gruber and Anna Rohner. In 1661 he married Anna Schiess, daughter of the Rittmeister Konrad Schiess. He married his second wife Elisabeth Schiess, daughter of Konrad Schiess, in 1703. From 1675 to 1679 Johannes Gruber was a regional ensign in Ausserrhoder. From 1679 to 1701 he served as governor. From 1700 to 1709 was 16 times Tagsatzung envoy . In the years 1701 to 1709 he held the office of Landammann.

Johannes Gruber was one of the first canvas dealers in Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Together with Konrad Schiess, he registered his trade mark in the trademark register of the merchants of Lyon in 1663 . In 1693 he led an Appenzeller company to Holland . This was later commanded by his sons. In his position as Landammann, as head of the Schiess-Gruber party, he tried several times to discredit the rival Tanner von Herisau party: he falsely accused his predecessor Laurenz Tanner of embezzling public funds. As a result, Johannes Gruber increasingly lost popular favor.

His second marriage took place outside the canton's borders in 1703, as Elisabeth Schiess's close relatives ruled out a marriage under current law. Johannes Gruber persistently refused to pay the fine. This and the abuse of the state seal in favor of his son definitely brought the people to the Tanner side and in 1709 led to Johannes Gruber's fall.

Johannes Gruber was also the head of the Gruber party in the so-called Gruber trade from 1707 to 1712. This was an inheritance dispute between the relatives on the father's side (Gruber) and on the mother's side (Ziegler) of a childless family member. It carried over to the rivalries between the leading regent families in state politics. Active in the profitable international trade and entrusted with high political offices, Johannes Gruber was an outstanding representative of the Ausserrhoder elite of that time .

literature

• Gottlieb Büchler: Stories of the Scheuss family in the region of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden . Trogen: Meyer 1830, pp. 113-118.
• Ernst H. Koller and Jakob Signer: Appenzell's coat of arms and gender book. Bern: Stämpfli 1926, p. 103.
• Walter Schläpfer: Appenzell history. Published by the Government Council of the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden Volume 2. Herisau, Appenzell 1972.
• Thomas Fuchs et al .: History of the Herisau community. Herisau: Appenzeller Verlag 1999.

Web links

• Thomas Fuchs: Johannes Gruber. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . February 26, 2007 , accessed May 19, 2020 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the function of the state offices (state builder, state ensign, state governor, governor) cf. Otto Tobler: Development and functions of the state offices in Appenzell A. Rh. From the end of the 14th century to the present. Diss. University of Bern 1905. In: Appenzellische Jahrbücher 34 (1906), pp. 1–164, here above all from p. 71. Web access via e-periodica.ch.

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