Alexa Brunner

During the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, Andreas Hofer became a Tyrolean folk hero. As the head of a resistance movement, he became caught up in a dangerous political game of interests between the French and Austrians, Napoleon and the Habsburgs. After the defeat at Austerlitz, the Habsburgs had to cede Tyrol to the Bavarian kings in 1805. The liberal Bavarians implemented numerous reforms in Tyrol, including religious reforms, which met with resistance from the rural population. The young Archduke Johann wanted to take advantage of their discontent. In Andreas Hofer, the commander-in-chief of the Tyrolean troops, the brother of Emperor Franz I finds a loyal patriot whom he can use for his political moves. The Tyrolean revolt against the French and Bavarians puts Napoleon in a tight spot. In several battles, the rebels succeed in defeating the Bavarian and French troops, but not in defeating them for good.

Michael Gaismair is generally known as the leader of the oppressed people in the Tyrolean peasant uprisings in the 16th century. Yet he was far more than a simple rebel. Michael Gaismair had extraordinary foresight and he dared to fundamentally question the church and the supremacy of the nobles – which of course did not please the authorities at all. Betrayal and imprisonment only fueled his passion for the concerns of the peasants and ensured that he was no longer content with reforms. In his thoughts and actions, he was in no way inferior to Martin Luther and Thomas Müntzer. His plans and actions brought him into contact with the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli and the two kingdoms of France and Venice. His demands was far ahead of its time and already included points such as the separation of the church from the state, or the reduction of privileges. But the powerful Habsburgs knew how to prevent this and persecuted the Tyrolean leader until his death.