Zurzacher fair

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Colored woodcut from the Stumpf Chronik , printed by Christoph Froschauer , Zurich 1549: The Zurzacher Messe, depicting the Rossmarkt and the maid's dance

The Zurzacher Messe (Swiss German Zurzi Mäss ) was an important mediaeval fair event in the former pilgrimage site of Zurzach, today Bad Zurzach in the canton of Aargau . It consisted of two events, the probably older Verenen Mass , named after St. Verena , and the Whitsun Mass or leather mass .

history

Mural (around 1515) in the ballroom of Abbot David von Winkelheim in the St. Georgen monastery depicting the Zurzach mass
The "Engelburg" from 1577 on Sternenplatz is a typical trade fair building with a large vaulted cellar for storing goods

The oldest mention dates back to 1363, but the origin is likely to go back even further. As Forum Tiberii , so marketplace of Tiberius , described by Ptolemy in his Geographike hyphegesis the location on the Rhine up against Kaiserstuhl AG , op judgment hall, seu Tribunal caesaris. , Where Tiberius court held. The Romans probably also used the strategically favorable location on the Rhine as a storage area .

In 1408 King Ruprecht allowed the two fairs to be extended from one to three days each. In 1433, Emperor Sigismund approved an additional weekly market on Saturday and confirmed the two annual markets. Emperor Friedrich III also renewed these privileges in 1442 . Since 1415 the fair has been under the protection of the Eight Old Places , which they confirmed in 1589.

location

Zurzach is located on the Upper Rhine , which was already crossed here in pre-Roman times, later the Romans settled here. They built a fort and a bridge . In the Middle Ages this bridge did not exist continuously, the traffic was mainly with Weidlingen and barges over the Rhine, including over the Aare near Koblenz. The rapids at Ettikon were bypassed by Treidler ("Stüdler") or reloaded overland. A ferry existed between Rheinheim and Zurzach until modern times. The Kaiserstuhl – Hohentengen bridge over the Rhine was also important.

Were

The main trade was in agricultural products, leather, furs, cloths and fabrics, but also books and prints; in the 17th and 18th centuries Nuremberg goods , glass from Bohemia, linen threads and ribbons from the Netherlands, lace from Saxony, wool, woolen socks. Manufacturers such as Johann Rudolf Meyer and Peter Bally traded and sold silk ribbons, mousselines , indienne and shoes here. The importance lay in the large quantity of the respective goods. In the spots (since John Stumpf so dubbed for "market town") acted it at the dealership mostly wholesalers, sales were therefore far higher than other fairs. The houses were equipped as special exhibition halls with storage rooms and folding shutters. A replica is in the Museum Höfli . The transport of goods and tolls brought work and income opportunities to the neighboring Landgraviate of Klettgau .

Decline

With the outbreak of the plague, the fair was first regulated by quarantine regulations. Although the trade fair was provided with letters of protection in the event of acts of war, the special trade fair trade broke down more and more due to the emerging railroad, new road construction and industrialization. Markets in the spirit of the fair were held until around 1890, but the heyday was over.

literature

  • Albert and Hans Rudolf Sennhauser and Alfred Huber (eds.): History of the Fleckens Zurzach. Hist. Vereinigung des Bez. Zurzach, Zurzach 2004, ISBN 3-9522575-2-4 .
  • Edward Attenhofer: Zurzach (= Swiss homeland books No. 180), Haupt, Bern 1976.
  • R. Laur-Belart, HR Sennhauser, E. Attenhofer, A. Reinle and W. Edelmann: Zurzach. (= Aargau Home Guide, Volume 6). Volksblatt and Sauerländer, Aarau 1960.
  • Historical Association of the Zurzach District (ed.): Contributions to the history of the Zurzach district

Web links