Oberland reformation unrest

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The Oberland Reformation unrest took place in 1528 and was a conflict between insurgents in the Bernese Oberland and the Bern government during the Reformation .

prehistory

In 1524, 1526 and 1527 the city of Bern asked the offices of the Oberland several times about their attitude towards the Reformation. In all three surveys, the offices replied that the people of the Oberland wanted to stick to the old faith. On February 7, 1528, Bern issued the Reformation mandate. The church was subordinated to the Bernese government, mass was abolished, images of saints were banned, the law of fasting was repealed, the monasteries were repealed and the priests were allowed to marry.

All communities in the Bernese Oberland were called upon to vote on the Reformation mandate. In Interlaken z. B. the mandate accepted because it was hoped to be able to get rid of the rule of the Interlaken monastery . In Brienz the priest refused to vote and was therefore dismissed. Bern took over the legal succession of the monastery area and converted it into the Landvogtei Interlaken .

revolt

When Bern demanded the monastery taxes itself, riots broke out. The monks and pastors of the Oberland parishes incited the population and plundered the monastery. Then the rebels moved to the city of Thun . When the Bernese promised to give in and other Oberland communities did not join the uprising, the uprising collapsed for the time being. However, tensions persisted between old and new believers. There were constant mutual provocations, and Catholic priests kept arriving from the Catholic neighboring cantons, calling on the population to stick to the old faith. In some cases they also called for the split from Bern. At the end of September 1528 the uprising broke out again, and insurgents from Brienz, led by Ueli Schryber and from the Hasli, destroyed the Aare thresholds near Unterseen . In Interlaken, a rural community of church people elected a governor and other officials. At the beginning of October 1528 there were public oaths on the old faith in Hasli, Frutigen and the Obersimmental . A short time later, Hasler, Brienzer and 800 Unterwaldner conquer Unterseen. Bern then resorted to military means and advanced into the Oberland with an army under the leadership of Schultheiss Johann von Erlach . At the beginning of November the uprising finally collapsed and the Bernese occupied the entire region. The Bernese criminal court held in Interlaken and deprived the rebellious communities of all rights. The Bernese demanded that the Aare thresholds be rebuilt and that the banners and landscape seals of Hasli and Interlaken had to be handed over.

consequences

After the uprising, the Bern government introduced strict control over church services. From this point on, the pastors had to read out the mandates of the Bern government from the pulpit and a choir court monitored the congregations. In 1530 Brienz got its old rights back.

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