Peter Mayr

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Peter Mayr (born August 15, 1767 in Siffian ( Ritten ), Tyrol , † February 20, 1810 in Bozen ) was a Tyrolean innkeeper and freedom fighter .

Life

Family tree of Mayr von Sulz (Staffler) on the Renon

Peter Mayr was born the son of farmer Peter Mayr (1741–1806) and his wife Maria Unterhofer, a double farmer in Oberbozen (1743–1815). In 1795 Peter Mayr took over the inn at the Weißes Kreuz on the country road south of Klausen , which was usually called "beim Schober". In 1804 he acquired the inn on the Mahr on Brennerstrasse. Like many innkeepers in Tyrol, Peter Mayr also played an important role in the struggle for freedom against Napoleonic France and its allies. As early as April 3, 1797, he proved himself as the elected leader of the Ritten riflemen in the skirmish on the Grumeregg (Hörtenberg above Bozen-Dorf) against a French division that had to give up its attempt to climb the Renon and retreat to Bozen.

After Tyrol's incorporation into the newly created Kingdom of Bavaria (1805), his inn became a meeting place for Tyroleans, who were dissatisfied with the new political situation. Secret meetings took place in the Schmiedhäusl behind his inn, including the "Peasant Convention" on November 25, 1807 under the leadership of Andreas Hofer , at which it was decided not to obey the orders of Bavaria in church matters and to protect the "vilers of the houses of God" of the Catholic faith from the country.

Triple oath

In preparation for the Tyrolean uprising, Andreas Hofer stopped by various innkeepers in Tyrol on his return trip from Vienna and discussed the planned actions with them so that they could notify the riflemen and farmers around them. Mayr took on this task for his circle and fought on May 25 and 29, 1809 at the head of the Pfeffersbergs together with Josef Eisensteck am Bergisel . After the armistice in Znojmo (July 12, 1809), when the Austrian troops were recalled from Tyrol and the French occupy Innsbruck almost without a fight , Peter Mayr and the star landlord Peter Kemenater from Schabs met at Kreuz landlord Martin Schenk's in Bressanone for a briefing (known as a "triple oath"). They decided to procure ammunition and food, to fortify the Brixner Klause, to demolish the Ladritscher bridge and to pile material for rock avalanches on the heights of the Eisack Gorge . There Peter Mayr blocked off the Eisack Gorge north of Oberau with rifle companies from the lower Eisack and western Pustertal and rubbed off on 4th / 5th. August 1809, together with Josef Speckbacher, the Rouyer division, consisting mainly of Saxon-Thuringian troops, was established. That is why this place was later given the name Sachsenklemme . Marshal François-Joseph Lefebvre , who arrived in Sterzing on August 6, 1809 with 7,000 men , then had to retreat to Innsbruck.

In the 3rd Bergisel Battle on August 13, 1809, the companies commanded by Peter Mayr from South and North Tyrol formed the center of the Tyrolean contingent. After the liberation of the country, he returned home as a "recognized sub-commander". When the last Bergisel battle was lost on November 1, 1809 and Andreas Hofer wanted to give up, Peter Mayr and other shooters at the meeting on November 5, 1809 in Steinach am Brenner advocated the continuation of the fight. He advanced with Eisack valley riflemen into the Pustertal valley and fought back General Rusca's troops at the Mühlbacher Klause three times, but had to give way during the fourth attack and withdrew into the Sarntal valley . When he found out that Andreas Hofer had once again been voted to continue, Peter Mayr dared to try to liberate Brixen, but finally had to realize that any further resistance had become hopeless.

death

Peter Mayr says goodbye. Picture by Ferdinand Schmutzer , 1899

Mayr escaped and hid in the Leitererhäusl in Feldthurns , but was betrayed for 50 guilders and taken to Bozen as a prisoner on February 8, 1810. There he spent the last few days in the St. Afra House like Andreas Hofer before. The court martial sentenced Peter Mayr to death on February 14, 1810. His wife Maria Fuchs, who rushed up with the five children, managed to get General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers to overturn the judgment under the pretext of a formal error and initiate new proceedings. This gave Peter Mayr the opportunity to save himself if he had publicly declared that he had never heard of the proclamation of Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais of November 12, 1809, according to which the carrying of weapons was forbidden under the death penalty . But he didn't want to buy his life with a lie. Thereupon the death sentence was confirmed again on February 19, 1810 and carried out on February 20, 1810, on the day of Andreas Hofer's death, near the old Grieser Holztrift, a little north of today's Talfer Bridge from Fusiliers. Mayr's body was buried in the Bolzano cemetery near the provost church (today's cathedral).

Honors

The Peter Mayr monument in Bolzano (unveiled in 1900)

On September 30, 1900, a memorial was unveiled at Pfarrplatz in Bolzano, based on a design by Georg von Hauberrisser , which under a neo-Gothic superstructure adorned with a crucifix carried a relief depicting Mayr's capture by the French. A corresponding text was placed under the relief. When Bolzano was bombed in World War II, the helmet-shaped attachment was destroyed in 1943 and the memorial was badly damaged. In 2009 it was rebuilt on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Tyrolean struggle for freedom.

In 1943 the South Tyrolean artist Oskar Wiedenhofer created an idealizing portrait of Mayr under the title I don't buy my life for a lie , which was the cover of the magazine Tirol - Vorarlberg. Nature, art, people, life from 1944 found wide distribution.

In the Gries-Quirein district of Bolzano , in the Untermais district of Merano and in the Wilten district of Innsbruck , a street was named after Peter Mayr.

literature

Web links

Commons : Peter Mayr  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Psenner p. 4
  2. ↑ Anton Malfer: The old Grieser bridgehead . In: Der Schlern 22, 1948, p. 54f (with map). Here also the sometimes held but erroneous view that the execution took place on the bleached cloth further south.
  3. ^ Rifle Company Bozen (Ed.): Peter Mayr. Festschrift for the rebuilding of the Peter Mayr monument in Bolzano February 21, 2010. Bolzano 2010 ( PDF; 683 kB )
  4. ↑ Carl Kraus , Hannes Obermair (ed.): Myths of dictatorships. Art in Fascism and National Socialism - Miti delle dittature. Art nel fascismo e nazionalsocialismo . South Tyrolean State Museum for Cultural and State History Castle Tyrol, Dorf Tirol 2019, ISBN 978-88-95523-16-3 , p. 158–159 (with ill.) .
  5. ↑ Josefine Justic: Innsbruckerstraße name. Where do they come from and what they mean . Tyrolia-Verlag, Innsbruck 2012, ISBN 978-3-7022-3213-9 , p. 99 .
personal data
SURNAME Mayr, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maier, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tyrolean freedom fighter
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1767
PLACE OF BIRTH Siffian ( Renon ), Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 1810
Place of death Bolzano