Matern Feuerbacher

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Matern Feuerbacher (* around 1484/1485; † before 1567) was a leader of the peasants in the Peasants' War . He lived in Großbottwar around 1500 .

CV and family circumstances

Little is known about the family circumstances of Matern Feuerbacher, who later became known as the captain of the Hellen Christian Haufen . He was probably born around 1484 in Bottwar (today: Großbottwar ) as the son of the mayor Hans Feuerbacher. At first he was named as the landlord and councilor in Bottwar. From 1525 his actions as captain of the peasants in the peasant war are relatively well documented. After the Battle of Böblingen he finally fled to Rottweil , where he was captured and sued in 1527. Completely surprising and with vehement complaints from Stuttgart , he was acquitted in 1528 and went to Zurich , where he obtained citizenship on July 18, 1529. He returned around 1539 and settled as head chef at the margravial court in Pforzheim . It is also known that he was married and also had children. It is also known that his brother Bernhard Feuerbacher was mentioned in Esslingen from 1510 to 1531 as a citizen, lawyer, procurator, hospital clerk and imperial notary.

Feuerbacher's role in the peasant war

When his hometown Großbottwar became a center of the Peasants' War in 1525, the citizens of the town elected the innkeeper on April 16, 1525 on the Wunnenstein as their leader. He was soon followed by over 8,000 farmers known as the Helle Christian Bunch .

Feuerbacher always tried to be moderate and advocated negotiations with the authorities. He also kept the peasants under his command from major acts of violence and slaughter. For this he was often criticized as a "weak" leader.

After the peasant army suffered a devastating defeat at Böblingen and Sindelfingen on May 12, 1525, despite the large majority, he fled south, where he was arrested two years later in Rottweil . Those princes whom he had spared stood up for him in court. In the end he was acquitted for lack of evidence and allowed to travel to Switzerland . His family followed him to Zurich in 1530 .

A secondary school in Großbottwar is named after him today.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Feuerbacher, Matern
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Leader during the Peasants' War
DATE OF BIRTH around 1484
PLACE OF BIRTH Bottwar
DATE OF DEATH between 1539 and 1567