Josef Speckbacher

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Josef Speckbacher
Josef Speckbacher Monument (Hall in Tirol)
Profile of Josef Speckbacher from 1813

Josef Speckbacher (born July 13, 1767 in Gnadenwald , Tyrol ; † March 28, 1820 in Hall in Tyrol ) was a Tyrolean freedom fighter and also known as the man von Rinn after his wife's court. Speckbacher was Jakob Riedl's cousin and temporary superior .

Life

Speckbacher was the son of a timber supplier to the Hall salt works . After only a short schooling, he got a job in the salt mine . His family gave him this job. Until then he had repeatedly brought this into trouble through poaching , but also fights with forest officials.

At the age of 27, Speckbacher married Maria Schmieder von Rinn in 1794 and worked on his wife's farm from the day of the wedding. It was around this time that his nickname Mann von Rinn came up. Respected by everyone, Speckbacher was elected to the local court committee around 1796 at a politically explosive time.

When it came to the battle of Spinges (in Spinges near Brixen ) in the following year , Speckbacher fought alongside Captain Philipp von Wörndle (1755-1818) alongside Katharina Lanz , the heroine of Spinges, against the French. But also in 1800 and 1805 he fought against the French occupation troops and in 1809 took part in the three battles on the Bergisel alongside Andreas Hofer .

According to today's assessment, Speckbacher is considered an excellent tactician. With his irregular, local troops, he caused great damage to the enemy troops, especially in the impassable mountains. Together with Peter Mayr and Joachim Haspinger he defeated the Rheinbund division in the narrow area of ​​Mittewald-Oberau ( Sachsenklemme ).

In September 1809 he set up his headquarters at the Bärenwirt in St. Johann in Tirol and prepared to defend the north-eastern border at the Strub Pass . After he was beaten by Unken and Melleck on October 17, 1809 , Speckbacher fled to Vienna , where he was personally praised and awarded a medal by Emperor Franz. There he was commissioned in May 1810 to settle the Tyrolean refugees in southern Hungary and was thus involved in founding the village of Tyrol in what is now the Romanian part of the Banat. Speckbacher stayed in Vienna until 1814 and lived with his comrade Jacob Troggler during this time . It was only when Tyrol was reunited with Austria in 1814 that Speckbacher was able to return safely to Hall, where he retired as an Imperial and Royal Major .

In 1820 Speckbacher contracted a kidney disease , the causes of which can certainly be found in times of war. After several weeks of severe pain, Speckbacher died at the age of 53 on March 28, 1820 in Hall. In honor of his funeral on March 30th in Hall, several rifle companies moved up. On April 20, 1858, his remains were solemnly exhumed and buried in the court church of Innsbruck with its own tomb next to Andreas Hofer and Joachim Haspinger.

Josef Speckbacher was a daredevil of the purest sort throughout his life, characterized by cunning and a courage that bordered on the daring. His story is illuminated very colorfully and vividly in a book by Luis Trenker .

reception

In honor of Josef Speckbacher, streets in Kufstein , Wörgl , St. Johann in Tirol , Meran , in the Innsbruck district of Wilten and in Vienna- Ottakring streets were named. A barracks in Hall in Tirol also bore his name. The Speckbacher barracks was abandoned and sold in 1998.

Pierre Paul Gilmans filmed parts of his life in the 1913 silent film Speckbacher with Ferdinand Exl in the lead role.

In Breitenstein (Lower Austria) am Semmering there is an "Alpine Society Speckbacher" that operates a mountain hut there.

literature

Web links

Commons : Josef Speckbacher  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Speckbacher, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Man from Rinn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tyrolean freedom fighter
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1767
PLACE OF BIRTH Gnadenwald , Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1820
Place of death Hall in Tirol