Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger
Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger (born May 17, 1729 in Bern ; † December 3, 1799 in Augsburg ) was the last ruling mayor of the city and republic of Bern .
Life
Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger was born as the son of Sigmund Steiger, Governor of Morges, and Jeanne Elisabeth de Vuillermin and was Lord of Montricher . Steiger studied in Halle (Saale) . Travels took him to Breda , where his brother Johann Albrecht Steiger was stationed. He married Margaritha Elisabeth von Büren in 1756. In 1755 he was appointed mayor of the external estates and in 1764 joined the Bernese Grand Council. In 1759, Steiger was one of the founders of the Grande Société . From 1772 to 1774 he served as mayor of Thun , from 1774 as a member of the small council, from 1777 to 1780 Venner zu Gerwern, from 1780 to 1787 Deutschseckelmeister and from 1787 as Bernese mayor. As an old man, he fought alongside Karl Ludwig von Erlach on March 5, 1798 in the Battle of the Grauholz against the French under General Schauenburg and hoped, in his own words, to find an honorable end with the army and not to close the unhappy fatherland survive , but was rescued by his ordinance corporal Christian Dubi and the gunner Markus Dinkel . Steiger first fled to the Bernese Oberland and traveled on to southern Germany . Steiger died in exile a year later and his bones were transferred to Bern Minster in 1805 .
Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger was the grandfather of Friedrich Amadeus Sigmund von May .
politics
Steiger played an important role as a mediator in the restoration of peace in the Geneva turmoil from 1781 to 1782. With the French Revolution he became an advocate of the old order and thus became an opponent of Karl Albrecht von Frisching , who opposed the revolutionary demands of France pursued an adjustment policy. In exile, he recruited troops in Berlin and Vienna to drive the French occupation out of the country and restore order. In Augsburg in 1799 he tried again to organize resistance against the French.
reception
An attic statue of Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger stands on the facade of the main building of the Bernese Kantonalbank . The last mayor is often received in literature and art, most recently in the novel The Last Night of the Old Time by Lukas Hartmann (2007).
literature
- Johann Ith: Commemorative speech on Weiland the gracious Lord Schultheiss Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger at the solemn interment of his bones in the great cathedral on April 17th, 1805, given by Johann Ith , Bern 1805.
- Berchtold Haller: Niklaus Friedrich Steiger. The last mayor of the old city and republic of Bern 1729-1799 , Bern 1901.
- Emil Blösch : Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, pp. 584-591.
- Collection of Bernese Biographies , Vol. 2, Bern 1894, pp. 550-560.
- Kurt von Steiger: Schultheiss Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger , Bern 1976.
Web links
- Hans Braun: Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Friedrich Sinner |
Schultheiss von Bern Easter 1787 - March 4, 1798 (odd years) |
Albrecht von Mülinen |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Steiger, Niklaus Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | last mayor of old Bern |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 17, 1729 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bern , Switzerland |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 3, 1799 |
| Place of death | Augsburg , Germany |