Kaspar Unternährer

Martin Disteli : The Death of the Tellen

Kaspar Unternährer (born January 2, 1621 in Schüpfheim ; † October 8, 1653 there ) was a Swiss peasant leader and was one of the Drei Tellen , who symbolized the rebels in the Peasants' War of 1653, the first three confederates (Walter Fürst, Arnold von Melchtal and Werner Stauffacher) personified and merged them with the figure of the freedom hero Wilhelm Tell .

Along with Hans Emmenegger , Christian Schybi and Niklaus Leuenberger (Bern), Kaspar Unternährer is one of those whose names are often mentioned in connection with the Swiss Peasants' War of 1653. After the Thirty Years' War , many farms were in debt, and when the city and republic of Lucerne , which like all other cities had political and economic power, decided to devalue coins, the farmers protested. Kaspar Unternährer, Hans Zemp and Ueli Dahinden started the Tellen movement . On January 26, 1653, Unternährer wanted to call for the establishment of the "old rights" at the people's assembly in Heiligkreuz as leader of this league and then at the meeting of the Wolhuser Bund .

After an incident, he was pursued by the Uri troops under Colonel Sebastian Zwyer von Evibach and fled with Dahinden to the Entlebuch Alps , while Zemp fled to Alsace. In the meantime, the peasant uprising developed into the Swiss Peasant War, which ended in June 1653 with the defeat of the peasants. Unternährer survived and committed with Ueli Dahinden and Hans Stadelmann on September 28, 1653 to assassinate the new Governor . They shot the witness Kaspar Studer from an ambush and injured the mayor Ulrich Dulliker. Governor Melchior Schumacher was unharmed.

Lucerne then sent troops under Colonel Alphons von Sonnenberg . On October 8, 1653, Unternährer and Dahinden were tracked down and shot after a short fight, the two bodies were brought to Lucerne, exhibited in public, beheaded and quartered. Melchior Schumacher was confirmed as bailiff, but did not reside up in the Willisau bailiff's castle, but down in the town. The attack on the Lords of Lucerne is significant because it was the only known assassination attempt on the territory of the Old Confederation.

literature

• Andreas Suter: The Swiss Peasant War of 1653. Political social history, social history of a political event. Bibliotheca Academica Verlag, Tübingen 1997, ISBN 3-928471-13-9 .
• Hans Schumacher: Outline of a family story . Lucerne 1935/37.

Web links

• Gregor Egloff: Three places. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Georg Kreis : Three Confederates. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Andreas Suter: Peasants' War (1653). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .