Saffron Guild (Lucerne)
The Saffron Guild is a guild in Lucerne that was founded around 1400 as a society of shopkeepers.
history
When the guild was founded, there was a compulsory guild. Only those who were citizens of the city and who joined the guild could open a grocer's shop and go to the markets. In the 15th century, other craftsmen such as builders, carpenters, bricklayers and stonemasons joined and the society called itself from then on Gesellschaft zum Fritschi .
After the dissolution of the old Confederation around 1798, after the French invaded , the privileges of the nobility and the guilds were revoked. The saffron guild was the only one to survive this wave of dissolution of the guilds in Lucerne. It was continued as a civil association with an interest in Lucerne customs and traditions.
According to the guild master's motto: "Joy for the young, help the poor, love for old age", the guild also has a social character.
Today the membership fluctuates between 420 and 440 guild members. In order to be accepted into the guild, one must be male, have the citizenship of the city of Lucerne or an agglomeration municipality, have lived in the city or agglomeration for at least 10 years and have a good reputation . The saffron guild is not a carnival guild .
Brother Fritschi and Fritschivater
The Fritschi custom, which has been cultivated for centuries, earlier by the shopkeeper society, today by the guild of saffron, probably goes back to the Old Zurich War , when the Austrian overwhelming power on Fridolin Day, March 6, 1446 at the Battle of Ragaz with the help of Lucerne guilds had been defeated. Among the people of Lucerne, a Fridolin was serving as drinking and hingezogener the female sex trooper is described. This Fridolin Day was then for a long time a feast day, which was celebrated with church celebrations and a harness show (military and weapons show), on which the military compulsory Lucerne had to march through the city with weapons.
In the midst of a war of war , Brother Fritschi (derived from Fridolin) originally wandered the city as an oversized straw doll. Because the subsequent drinking and eating feasts in the guild rooms did not fit into Lent, the council moved the arms show to Dirty Thursday . Brother Fritschi is a kind of court jester for the Fritschi father.
The Fritschivater is the guild master of the saffron guild. He is elected at the annual bot . The election can come as a surprise to the person elected as it is carried out without official candidatures. The chosen Fritschivater must accept or reject the election in the following days.
List of guild masters in recent years
| year | Surname |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Daniel Medici |
| 2019 | Reto Schriber |
| 2018 | Alfred Meier |
| 2017 | Rolf Willimann |
| 2016 | Josef Kreyenbühl |
| 2015 | Thomas Bucher |
| 2014 | Andreas Moser |
| 2013 | Louis Fischer |
| 2012 | Damian Hunkeler |
| 2011 | Karl Bucher |
| 2010 | Gregor Schwegler |
| 2009 | Thomas Schaerli |
| 2008 | Philipp Gmür |
| 2007 | Kurt Meyer |
| 2006 | Georges Theiler |
| 2005 | Hansruedi Kronenberger |
| 2004 | Beat Loetscher |
| 2003 | Thomas Ineichen |
Guild activities
The general assembly of the guild is called the annual bot and takes place at the end of the year, usually on the Saturday before the feast of the Three Kings . The Bärteliessen takes place in January , at which the Fritschivater, newly elected at the Jahresbot , is picked up and introduced to his office. This is followed by the Lucerne Carnival with the Big Bang on Dirty Thursday, the move out on the occasion of the Sempach slaughter celebration at the end of June and the seasonal celebration in November. The deceased guildmaker is remembered about this.
At the monthly Zunfthöck in the Nölliturm , the guilds maintain their contacts with one another over food and drink and socializing. The guild is led by the 9-member guild council, with the guild master being elected every year.
literature
- Paul Rosenkranz: History of the Guild of Safran Lucerne: 1400–2000, a guild history from the beginning to the present . 2nd edition, Lucerne 2006, ISBN 3-9522947-1-3
- Paul Hugger: Brother Fritschi from Lucerne . Swiss Folklore Archives Volume 79, Issue 3–4, 1983
