Lipper shooters

Lipper Schütze (right) in the prince division of the Rhine Confederation

The infantry units which the Principality of Lippe first set up in the Rhine Confederation and which later served in the German armed forces and finally in the Prussian army were referred to as Lipper Schützen or Lippische Schützen . As a symbol of a sense of home in Lippe, the Lipper Schütze found its way into folk songs in the region in the 19th and 20th centuries. Due to its popularity, it was also featured on the 50- pfennig emergency note issued by the city of Detmold after the First World War. In addition, a juniper schnapps is produced in Lemgo under the name Lipper Schütze , the bottle of which is modeled after a soldier in a uniform from the Principality of Lippe around 1815.

history

The Lipper rifle in his original blue, red and white uniform based on French uniforms and his rifle is part of many historical illustrations. After the Principality of Lippe joined the Rhine Confederation on April 18, 1807, the Lipper Schützen were first mentioned on May 5, 1807 in battalion strength. Along with a schaumburgisch-Lippe company it is the II. Battalion of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Prince Division of the Confederation of the Rhine . The company fought in Tyrol in 1809 and in Spain in 1809/1810 and took part in the Russian campaign in 1812 , but only got as far as Vilnius , covered the withdrawal of the troops returning from Moscow and stayed in Danzig . In 1866 the unit fought as part of the Main Army during the German War .

On May 27, 1867, the Lippe Fusilier Battalion was dissolved by agreement with Prussia. The Lippe soldiers became III. ( Fusilier ) Battalion of the 6th Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 55 transferred; from then on they were part of the Prussian army . From around 1840 the originally French blue-white-red uniforms were based on the Prussian uniforms. The uniform was decisive for the representation of the historical figure around 1815. The original uniforms can be viewed in the Lippisches Landesmuseum Detmold . In addition, the shooter was shown in a blue, white and red uniform from around 1830 on the 50- pfennig emergency note issued by the city of Detmold after the First World War .

Recording in song lyrics

"Lippe-Detmold a beautiful city"

The song Lippe-Detmold, a beautiful city, is a bloody, humorous folk song that is also known nationwide and a kind of regional anthem of the Lipperland. It also refers to the soldiers of the principality. The soldier's song probably originates from the wars of liberation against Napoleon , probably the battle of Prussian Eylau in 1807. The text mocks the German small states and their princes. The song mentions the blue tunic of a Lippe rifleman. When he fell in a battle, the general saw his campaign in danger in the absence of further soldiers because of this loss, for the tiny Lippe had only a tiny army.

"At seventy, the Lippische Schützen moved"

The song To Seventy, because the Lippe Schützen drew was first published in fragments in 1908 and in full in 1912. It had previously been passed down orally in dialect and may have originated in the Franco-German War of 1870/71. There are different versions. Joseph Plaut, who was born in Detmold, made the song known to wider circles through stage appearances and several recordings . The song can also be found on the first record of the folk band Liederjan .

Web links

• Text at volksliederarchiv.de
• Tobias Widmaier: At seventy, the Lippische Schützen (2009), In: Popular and traditional songs. Historical-critical song dictionary . There also images of postcards with the motif of the Lipper Schützen
• The history of the Lippe rifle units
• Information on the L 40 files (Lippische military files) of the East Westphalia-Lippe department of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Archives
• Information on the files L 77 C (Lippe Government - Military Department and College) of the East Westphalia-Lippe Department of the State Archive of North Rhine-Westphalia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Emergency money with Lipper Schütze motif at www.sammlungen-penke.de, accessed on November 15, 2010
2. ↑ 1807 - 1815 The Napoleonic Wars , at www.woiste.de, accessed on November 15, 2010
3. ↑ From Dreispitz to Stahlhelm - The 4th, 5th and 6th Rheinbund Regiment , by D. Fiebig, 1934, online
4. ↑ L. Hölzermann: The share of the Lippe battalion in the campaign of the Main Army in the summer of 1866: elaborated diary; with 2 systems. Detmold: Meyer, 1866 digitized
5. ↑ Article about the song version by Liederjan. In the historical-critical song dictionary.
6. ↑ Widmaier 2009

Coordinates: 51 ° 56 ′ 9.6 ″  N , 8 ° 52 ′ 0.1 ″  E