Uelzisch poor food

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The Uelzische Armenessen is a charitable festival on the occasion of the liberation of the city ​​of Uelzen from the occupation of the Celle dukes in 1397. It is celebrated as a benefit event to this day and is therefore one of the oldest charitable events in the world.

Historical background

On February 26, 1396, the Celle dukes Heinrich , Friedrich and Bernhard von Braunschweig-Lüneburg moved into the city of Uelzen . They were returning from the double wedding of their sister Agnes with the Mecklenburg Duke Albrecht and Margarethe , their daughter from a previous marriage, with Albrecht's son Erich . After moving into Uelzen, the city council was initially placed under arrest, until the weapons were finally confiscated, the city gates bricked up and occupied. The city was unable to act.

The reason for the occupation of the city of Uelzen is the Lüneburg War of Succession , which was fought for the succession in the Principality of Lüneburg . Heavily indebted, the Guelphs emerged victorious from the dispute and in the following years had to get another loan from the clergy, the nobility and the cities, which were united to form the Sate , in addition to Lüneburg and Hanover, including the city of Uelzen that in turn they allowed a strong influence on government affairs.

With the attack on the city of Uelzen, the Sate War began , in which the Welfs tried to correct their loss of power militarily. From Uelzen, the commercial trains to Lüneburg were deliberately attacked and shipping on the Ilmenau was stopped. This created an economic blockade that hit trade seriously. The Hanseatic city of Uelzen meanwhile had to endure the occupation and requested the help of other Hanseatic cities . Lübeck and Hamburg were ready to provide military aid and subsequently destroyed the Guelph fortress Harburg , created a new connection between Ilmenau and Elbe and dissolved the siege ring around the city of Lüneburg. In the summer of 1396 there was an armistice and, after tough negotiations, the war was only ended about a year later.

In October 1397, after further negotiations with the city of Uelzen, the Dukes of Cellesch decided to release it again. While they had assured the city at the beginning of the occupation that Uelzen would not have to face any costs, it can be assumed that the city had a high financial outlay in terms of food and accommodation for the soldiers; In addition, some sources report that the city had to buy itself out of the dukes by paying a large amount. After more than a year and a half, the city of Uelzen was free again. Although the burdens on the occupation must have been immense, the relief should now be made known in praise of God for freedom regained. Instead of seeking vengeance, the city held an annual ceremony to thank God for deliverance and at the same time to support the poorest of the poor within the city.

Historical ceremony and feeding of the poor

The first feeding of the poor took place on the day of the martyrs Crispin and Crispian , i.e. on October 25, 1397. The historical course of the festival is passed down in Middle Low German through the tradition of the Uelz city historian Gustav Matthias :

Dat us our city and dor quid and vriej wa wedder answered, so wi vorscreven radmanne endrechtliken des to rade been, dat wi and our nakomelinge, we de na tiden desser suluen stad radmann sint, willet and scullet to eternal tides in de ere des almechtighen godes, siner leven muder Marien, all godeshilgen, besunderen sunte Crispini et Crispiniani, in erem dage for the sake of the provestes sing laten de sculre and up den orghelen ene erike missen van den sulven hilgen and laten ok kopen enen schapesbuc and zeden and dar to so vele brodes, as me des dar to behuvet, and gheven dat poor luden, de des bedorven, for the sake of god.

In the New High German transmission the text reads:

Because our city and our city gate have been handed over to us again, that is why we councilors have agreed that we and our descendants, who after us will be councilors for this city, will for everlasting glory to Almighty God, his dear Mother Mary, all God's saints, especially St. Crispin and Crispinian, on their day, with the consent of the provost, want to have a wonderful mass with choir and organ sung in honor of these saints. We will also buy a ram and let it boil, and also take as much bread as it takes, and give it to poor people who need it, for God's sake.

Uelzisch poor food in modern times

The Uelzisch Poor Food is celebrated annually on the last weekend of October up to the present day and is therefore one of the oldest charitable events in the world. Since 1996, on the initiative of Uelzer citizen and association co-founder Ludwig König, the historical Uelzen association has taken on the execution of the festival, which basically adheres to the schedule set by the city council in 1397, but is now celebrated in the form of a benefit event : First of all, the festival is celebrated with a the service held by the provost of the city of Uelzen, accompanied by a choir and organ playing. This is followed by a ceremony with a selected speaker, musical accompaniment and finally not the original poor feeding, but a dinner consisting of a potato stew and bread served with it. Since 2017, the event is under the patronage of the word stop ends mayor of the Hanseatic city of Uelzen and HRH Prince Heinrich of Hanover .

The collected donations are passed on to charitable institutions. In the past few years z. B. supports the day care center for single homeless people and finances food packages for the hostel to home . Since 2018, the station mission and the Johanniter lunch table in Uelzen have also received donations. This means that the proceeds still benefit the poorest of the poor in the city today.

Accompanying the poor food, the Association Historisches Uelzen eV publishes literature with historical reference to the city of Uelzen in the form of the White Series .

literature

  • Brosius, Dieter: Welfare care in the late Middle Ages and early modern times. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2000 (= White Series, Volume 7).
  • Habermann, Bernd: Urban archeology in Buxtehude. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1995 (= White Series, Volume 2).
  • König, Ludwig (ed.): A brief chronicle of the city of Uelzen. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2009 (= White Series, Volume 12).
  • Mahler, Fred: A walk through a strange world. Living conditions in Uelzen from 1400 from the perspective of an archaeologist. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1996 (= White Series, Volume 4).
  • Schlemm, Georg Theodor: Brief description and history of the city of Uelzen. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2003 (= White Series, Volume 9).
  • Tack, Uwe: The Getrudenstiftung in Uelzen. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2008 (= White Series, Volume 11).
  • Tamcke, Martin: The Reformation impulses for education and faith in Herzog Ernst. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1997 (= White Series, Volume 6).
  • Tamcke, Martin: Poverty as an ideal. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2001 (= White Series, Volume 8).
  • Vogtherr, Hans-Jürgen: About the origin of the Uelzen feed for the poor. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1997 (= White Series, Volume 5).
  • Vogtherr, Thomas: On how Uelzen dealt with his past. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1990 (= White Series, Volume 1).
  • Vogtherr, Hans-Jürgen: Uelzen's declaration of war on the Danish king. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1995 (= White Series, Volume 3).
  • Vogtherr, Thomas: Uelzen. History of a city in the Middle Ages , with a contribution by Hans-Jürgen Vogtherr. Uelzen: Becker 1997.
  • Vogtherr, Thomas: Foundations of the city of Uelzen. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2003 (= White Series, Volume 10).
  • Woehlkens, Erich : The Leprosorium St. Viti. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 2010 (= White Series, Volume 13).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vogtherr, Hans-Jürgen: About the origin of the Uelzen feed for the poor in 1397. Uelzen: Verein Historisches Uelzen 1997 (= White Row, Volume 5)
  2. ↑ ibid.
  3. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung der Lüneburg Heath: Names in a damp tone. Uelzen May 13, 2017, p. 2 .
  4. ↑ Potato soup for a good cause . In: https://www.az-online.de . October 30, 2017 ( az-online.de [accessed April 26, 2018]).