Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Anglicized, archaic, or otherwise unusual spellings
of proper nouns were retained as printed. Examples include "Botzen",
"Kapuzingerberg", "Schonberg" and "Wencelaus". Inconsistent use of
diacritics was also retained as printed. Obvious typographical
errors were corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
[Illustration:
A MAP TO
ILLUSTRATE
TYROL
AND ITS
PEOPLE]
TYROL AND ITS PEOPLE
[Illustration: THE GOAT HERD, KASTELRUTH, NEAR BOZEN]
TYROL
AND ITS PEOPLE
BY
CLIVE HOLLAND
WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY
ADRIAN STOKES
THIRTY-ONE OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
AND A MAP
METHUEN AND CO.
36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON
_First Published in 1909_
PREFACE
In the following pages, which in addition to being a record of travel
in a delightful and too little known portion of the great
Austro-Hungarian Empire, are also an attempt to present within a
reasonable compass an account of the national history of a singularly
interesting people, the author has sought to deal more fully than is
usually the case in books of the kind, with the romance and legend
which is closely interwoven with the past of "the land within the
mountains," as Tyrol has not inaptly been described.
It is truly a land of mountains, valleys, lakes, and rushing torrents
that may well have bred the race of romance-loving, poetic, and hardy
people who dwell in it. In the minds of those who know it there arises
almost inevitably a comparison with the nowadays overcrowded and
over-exploited Switzerland--and the comparison is, both as regards
scenery and general interest, greatly in favour of Tyrol. The tourist
and holiday-maker who frequent Pontresina or St. Moritz will find in
this comparatively new "playground for Europe" beautiful counterparts
of those places in Innsbruck, Meran, Botzen, Kitzbühel, and other
delightful towns; whilst the more strenuously inclined who delight in
mountain ascents will find the Dolomite region especially attractive,
and in many other districts also interesting climbs. By the shores of
the placid, translucent lakes, and in many a happy, secluded valley,
those in search of rest and quietude will find their desire fully
satisfied. And in such old-world towns as Innsbruck (of many
historical memories), beautiful Salzburg, charming Bregenz, Botzen,
and Meran the traveller with more artistic, literary, or antiquarian
tastes will delight.
That Tyrol deserves to be better known few who have once come under
the spell of its charms of scenery, and the frank hospitality and
friendliness of its people, or have wandered amidst its lovely valleys
and mountains, will deny.
The early history of this interesting country is shrouded in much
mystery, and to place accurately and date many events is a matter of
very considerable difficulty, and in some cases of well-nigh
impossibility, owing to the fragmentary nature of many of the existing
records, and the contradictory nature of the accounts and evidence
afforded by these. The greatest care, however, has been taken to make
the dates given as accurate as possible, and the best authorities and
descriptions of events have been consulted. Amongst others the works
of Dr. Franz Wieser, Hans Semper, Von Alpenburg ("Mythen und Sagen
Tirols"), Perini ("Castles of Tyrol"), Weber ("The Land of Tyrol"), an
excellent and interesting anonymous guide to Salzburg, Scherer, Albert
Wolff, V. Zingerle, Steub ("Die Verfassung Tirols"), Miller, and the
excellent publications of the Tirol and Salzburg Landesverbaende für
Fremdenverkehr, and other organizations.
The spelling of names has presented much the same difficulty as the
correct dating of events. There are several, and in some cases many,
ways of spelling a large number of these. That of the latest edition
of Baedeker has been adopted where this has been the case and doubt
has existed.
The author's especial thanks are due to Herr L. Sigmund, the Secretary
of the Austrian Travel and Information Bureau, not only for much
valuable information, but also for practical assistance whilst
travelling in Tyrol, facilities afforded for research, and the use of
some excellent photographs.
To W. Baillie Grohman, Esq., of Schloss Matzen, Brixlegg, the
well-known authority upon Tyrol, for the settlement of several
disputed dates and accounts of historical events. Also for permission
to make use of information (not otherwise easily procurable) contained
in his exhaustive work "Tyrol, the Land in the Mountains," and for the
beautiful photograph of Schloss Matzen reproduced as one of the
illustrations in this present volume.
To Dr. Richard Muendl, Imperial Councillor, Chief Inspector of the
Imperial Southern Railway, and a member of the German and Austrian
Alpine Society, for many valuable notes upon the Dolomite Region
incorporated in Chapter X.
To Dr. Otto Rosenheim the author's thanks are given for permission to
reproduce some beautiful photographs of Tyrol scenery and Tyrolese
subjects in place of less pictorial work by the author himself.
To many others, who gave information to the author during his travels
in Tyrol, relating to many interesting matters, acknowledgment is also
here gratefully made.
C. H.
_June, 1909_
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
THE ROMANCE AND HISTORY OF TYROL FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
DOWN TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 1
CHAPTER II
TYROL FROM ITS INCORPORATION BY AUSTRIA AS A PART OF THE
EMPIRE TO THE PRESENT TIME 33
CHAPTER III
SOME CHARACTERISTIC LEGENDS, CUSTOMS, AND SPORTS 52
CHAPTER IV
INNSBRUCK, ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE AND TREASURES 71
CHAPTER V
THE ENVIRONS OF INNSBRUCK--CASTLE AMBRAS AND ITS
TREASURES--IGLS: A QUAINT LEGEND CONCERNING ITS CHURCH--THE
STUBAI VALLEY, AND SOME VILLAGES--HALL AND ITS SALT
MINES--SPECKBACHER'S OLD HOME--ST. MICHAEL 113
CHAPTER VI
SALZBURG, ITS HISTORY AND ROMANCE 147
CHAPTER VII
THE ENVIRONS OF SALZBURG--HELLBRUNN, ITS UNIQUE FOUNTAINS
AND GARDENS--THE CASTLE OF ANIF--THE GAISBERG--THE
KAPUZINGERBERG--THE MOZART-HÄUSCHEN--THE MÖNCHSBERG
--SALZBURG CHURCHES 176
CHAPTER VIII
SOME TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF SOUTH TYROL--MERAN, BOZEN,
KLAUSEN, BRIXEN, SPINGES, STERZING, MATREI 192
CHAPTER IX
SOME TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF WALSCH-TYROL: TRENT, ITS HISTORY,
COUNCIL, AND BUILDINGS--ROVEREDO AND DANTE--ARCO--RIVA 233
CHAPTER X
AMONG THE DOLOMITES, WITH NOTES UPON SOME TOURS AND
ASCENTS 254
CHAPTER XI
THROUGH THE UNTER-INNTHAL: KUFSTEIN--KUNDL--RATTENBERG,
AND THE STORY OF WILHELM BIENER--BRIXLEGG, AND ITS
PEASANT DRAMAS--THE FAMOUS CASTLE OF MATZEN--ST.
GEORGENBERG, AND ITS PILGRIMAGE CHURCH--CASTLE TRATZBERG
--SCHWAZ 281
CHAPTER XII
THROUGH THE OBER-INNTHAL: ZIRL, ITS CHURCH, LEGENDS, AND
PAINTED HOUSES--THE MARTINSWAND AND MAXIMILIAN--SCHARNITZ
--LANDECK--BLUDENZ--BREGENZ AND ITS LEGEND OF THE MAID 311
INDEX 329
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
IN COLOUR
THE GOAT HERD, KASTELRUTH, NEAR BOZEN _Frontispiece_
VIEW FROM THE RITTEN, LOOKING SOUTH-WEST 28
THE SCHWARZHORN, SOUTH TYROL 40
A VIEW OF THE TYROL ALPS 54
THE ORTLER FROM THE MALSER HEIDE 68
MOONRISE IN TYROL 94
A PINE WOOD NEAR INNSBRUCK 108
MOUNTAIN POOL ON THE RITTEN 128
A QUIET PASTURE 166
WINTER NEAR MERAN 192
A SOUTH TYROL FARMSTEAD 208
SUMMER-TIME NEAR ST. ULRICH, GRÖDENERTHAL 226
ALPENWIESE, ON THE SEISER ALP 256
MOUNT LATEMAR 276
A WAYSIDE SHRINE IN A PINE WOOD 298
AUTUMN IN SOUTH TYROL 314
IN MONOTONE
A VILLAGE ON THE BRENNER 10
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
YOUNG TYROL 18
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
A WAYSIDE SHRINE, TYROL 24
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
ABOVE THE ARLBERG TUNNEL 32
SUNSET ON A TYROLESE LAKE 36
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
A TYPICAL TYROLESE LANDSCAPE 36
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
THE TRISANNA VIADUCT AND CASTLE WIESBERG 72
A PEEP OF THE ZILLERTHAL 72
THE FAMOUS "GOLDEN ROOF," INNSBRUCK 78
A TYPICAL INNSBRUCKER 88
VIADUCT ON STUBAI RAILWAY 130
VIEW OF THE GROSSGLOCKNER 130
THE MARKET PLACE, HALL 134
THE HALL VALLEY--WINTER 142
MOZART'S HOUSE IN THE MAKART PLATZ, SALZBURG 152
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
ONE OF THE FINEST DOORS OF THE STATE APARTMENTS IN THE
FORTRESS, SALZBURG 164
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
MOUNTAIN PASTURES 178
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
HOHEN-SALZBURG AND THE NONNBERG 182
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
SALZBURG MARKETWOMEN 190
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
MERAN 198
SCHLOSS TYROL, NEAR MERAN 202
A STREET IN BOZEN 206
ST. CYPRIAN AND THE PEAKS OF THE ROSENGARTEN 212
MISURINA LAKE 262
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
A ROAD THROUGH THE DOLOMITES 264
A PEEP OF THE DOLOMITES 270
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
THE LANGKOFEL 272
_From a Photograph by Dr. Otto Rosenheim_
A PEEP OF KITZBUHEL 286
SCHLOSS MATZEN 294
_By kind permission of W. A. Baillie Grohman, Esq._
LANDECK AND ITS ANCIENT FORTRESS 320
CHURCH INTERIOR, TYROL 324
_From a Photograph by Clive Holland_
TYROL AND ITS PEOPLE
CHAPTER I
THE ROMANCE AND HISTORY OF TYROL FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
DOWN TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
As early as the eighth century Tyrol received a name which could not
be bettered as descriptive of its scenery and institutions--"das Land
im Gebirge," the Land in the Mountains. Fascinating alike is the
scenery of Tyrol and its history. When one crosses the Swiss frontier
by the Arlberg route one at once enters upon a land of mountains,
rivers, and pleasant valleys. And with equal truth it may be said that
when one crosses the frontier of Tyrolese history one is at once
plunged in the midst of stirring, romantic, and gallant deeds enacted
throughout the centuries from that far-off age, when the Cimbri
penetrated and traversed the country and swept into north-eastern
Italy, down almost to our own time.
That Tyrol should have proved the battle-ground of nations is, of
course, largely due to its geographical position. In early days it
formed a "buffer state" between the Roman empire and the territory of
the Cimbri and Alemanni.
The question of the original inhabitants of Tyrol is still a much
debated one, and appears to be as far off final settlement as ever;
and this notwithstanding the enormous amount of interest which has
been manifested in the subject by scientists, archæologists, and
students during the last two centuries. Whether they were Cimbri,
Etruscans, or Celts is still doubtful, although many learned
authorities--more especially linguists--incline to the view that the
earliest inhabitants were mainly of the Ligurian race, who were
followed by Illyrians and Etruscans.
And also regarding the manners, customs, and general characteristics
of these early inhabitants, whoever they may have been, very little
conclusive evidence is yet available. By both Greek and Roman writers
they were referred to as Rhætians, in common with the inhabitants of
Eastern Switzerland; and Horace himself speaks of "The Alpine Rhæti,
long unmatched in battle." Thus it is that the most ancient name by
which Tyrol is known is that of Rhætia.
[Sidenote: INVASION OF THE CIMBRI]
To the Romans, however, all-conquering though they were, little was
known of the country until the Cimbri penetrated its mountains and
traversed its valleys and passed on their way to the north-eastern
frontier of Italy about 102 B.C.
By what route these barbarians crossed the Alps on their march to
invade north-eastern Italy there has been as much discussion as over
the question of the original inhabitants of Tyrol. And, although the
event to which we refer occurred scarcely a century prior to the
conquest of Tyrol by the Romans there is little information other than
of a speculative character to throw light upon the question at issue.
For many years the weight of opinion was in favour of the contention
that the Cimbri entered Southern Tyrol and eventually reached the
Venetian plains by the Reschen Scheideck and the Vintschgau, but the
later researches of Mommsen have served to give additional, if not
absolutely conclusive, weight to the view that the Brenner was the
route taken by the Cimbri[1] on their way southward from their
Germanic fastnesses, just as it was undoubtedly the route, but, of
course, reversed, chosen by the Romans under Drusus by which to enter
Tyrol on their march of conquest.
One piece of evidence which would appear to be of considerable weight,
and as conclusively favouring Mommsen's view, is the fact that the
Brenner route forms not only the one of lowest altitude, but also the
only one by which the whole Alpine system and its parallel chains can
be crossed by passing over one chain alone, and in no other spot in
the range do two valleys on either side cut so far into the centre of
the principal chain of the Alps.
Moreover, from Plutarch's "Marius" one learns the spot where the Roman
general, Quintus Lutatius Catullus, and his legions, which were sent
from panic-stricken Rome to check the advance of the invaders, first
encountered the Cimbri on the banks of the River Adige between Verona
and near the foot of the Brenner. The encounter ended in the triumph
of the host of skin-clad invaders who descended the snow-slopes of the
mountains with an onslaught so terrible that even the trained and
well-armed hosts of Rome had to give way before them. But the power of
Rome was not easily shaken, and the triumph of the Cimbri was but
brief. Their southward march was destined very soon to meet with so
severe a check that further advance on Rome, or into the heart of
Italy, was rendered impossible. In 101 B.C., the year following their
appearance in the beautiful province of Venetia, where they created,
so historians tell us, a terrible panic, the Roman arms triumphed at
Vercelli, when the invaders, led by Bojorich, suffered a crushing
defeat in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought, in which it is
said 320,000 were slain, and were driven out of Italy.
The moral effect of this invasion upon the Rhætians, through whose
territory the Cimbri had passed, bore fruit a few years later, when
they attempted the same tactics, making frequent raids into Roman
territory. Some sixty years after the incursion of the Cimbri they
were defeated and driven back into their valleys and mountains by the
Roman general, Munatius Plancus; and a few years later, in 36 B.C.,
not only was a fresh raid repulsed, but the invaders were followed
home, and a considerable portion of the district in the neighbourhood
of what is now known as Trent was taken possession of by the Roman
forces.
[Sidenote: ROMAN CONQUEST OF TYROL]
The Rhætians, however, were a hardy, valorous, and pugnacious tribe,
and so frequent were their attacks upon the Roman forces left to hold
the conquered country that the Emperor Augustus, about twenty years
after the subjection of the Trent district, decided as a measure of
self-protection on the conquest of the whole of Rhætia, as far as the
River Danube.
And for this work he deputed his two stepsons, Drusus and Tiberius.
The campaign, historians are agreed, was planned with great skill, and
probably by the Emperor himself. The Roman forces were divided, one
portion, under Drusus, entering Tyrol from the south, having Tridentum
(Trent) as its base; and the other, under Tiberius, delivering its
attack from the west across what is now Switzerland. Tiberius took
this route (the most direct, though a difficult one) because at that
time he was absent from Italy, in Gaul, as governor. Drusus had a more
easy task, and pushed his way up the wide valley of the River Adige[2]
to the present site of Bozen. His objective was the Pass of the
Brenner, which, once seized, would give him the command of the
country. His advance was not, however, made without opposition, for
the Breones and Genones, who dwelt in the vicinity of the Brenner,
attacked the Roman forces, and a fierce battle and series of
skirmishes ensued. Horace, in Book IV., Ode 14 and 4, gives a vivid
if, possibly, highly coloured account of the struggle which took place
in the gorge near Bozen. The river Icarous ran red with the blood of
both conquerors and conquered. And--as has been the case on many
subsequent occasions when fighting has had to be done by the
Tyrolese--the women played a valorous part, even, according to the
historian, Florus, throwing their infant children into the faces of
the Roman soldiery when other weapons failed.
The campaign of the two stepsons of Augustus resulted in the complete
and final conquest of Tyrol. The victory, won in the narrow gorge of
the Eisack, was commemorated in the name of the bridge _Pons Drusi_
spanning the river, hard by which now stands the interesting mediæval
town of Bozen.
Successful as Drusus' forces were, none the less so were those of
Tiberius. There, however, is less record of his battles, and the
actual ground on which they were fought forms still matter for
conjecture. And equally uncertain is the exact spot where the two
victorious generals ultimately met. It is, however, thought by several
reliable authorities to have been somewhere in the valley of the Inn,
and probably not far distant from the present site of Innsbruck. This
view is made the more probable from the circumstance that a Roman post
was established at Wilten (now a suburb of Innsbruck) then known as
Veldidena.
Here probably both armies rested after a campaign of great fatigue and
severity owing to the nature of the ground over which it was fought
and the stubborn resistance offered by the inhabitants.
Soon Veldidena, from a halting-place of armies, became a town with
houses of considerable size, temples, baths, and surrounding _vallæ_,
or earthen fortifications formed to defend the inhabitants from sudden
attack. Although precautions of the nature we have indicated were
taken wherever a Roman post or station was placed, there is no
historical data to show that the Breones and other adjacent tribes who
were thus brought under the Roman sway did not very speedily
accommodate themselves to the new condition of things and become good
and peaceful citizens of Rome. It appears probable, however, that the
Rhæti did not adapt themselves to the altered conditions as speedily
as did their northern neighbours, the inhabitants of Noricum, with
whom certain Roman habits and customs (including the system of
municipal government) already obtained.
From the evidence adduced by several diligent historians and from that
of one comparatively modern writer[3] in particular it is almost
certain that after the sanguinary and decisive battle on the banks of
the Eisack Tiberius set his face once again westward to resume his
governorship of Gaul, leaving his brother, Drusus, to continue the
subjection of Tyrol, and ultimately to found the important settlement
of Augusta Vindelicorum, now known as Augsburg. Here the Roman general
not only threw up a fortified camp, but also built a forum to
encourage commerce; and soon the settlement became the most important
Roman station to the north of the Central Alps.
Some writers, doubtless bearing in mind the hardihood and bravery of
the native inhabitants and the mountainous and thus easily defended
nature of the ground the Roman legions had to traverse and fight over,
have expressed some surprise at the comparative ease with which Drusus
and Tiberius appear to have accomplished the conquest of the country.
More perfect discipline and arms of greater effectiveness will not,
however, we think, altogether account for this, for history has over
and over again proved that knowledge of the ground by the defenders
and mountainous regions count heavily against successful attacks on
the part of an invader. It can only therefore be supposed that the
various tribes who formed the inhabitants of Rhætia were either
antagonistic to one another or at least were not welded together in a
common cause against the invading Roman hosts, and thus the country
was conquered and kept in subjection with greater ease than would
otherwise have been the case.
As a result of the invasion by Drusus and Tiberius and the Roman
legions the tract of country then and for some considerable time
afterwards known as Rhætia, but now known as Tyrol and the Vorarlberg,
ultimately became Romanized, and by the making of the Brenner Post
Road, which was constructed by the direction of the Emperor Augustus
between Verona and Augsburg (Augusta Vindelicorum), communication
between the Germanic Empire and Italy was opened up. Thus was the
lowest and most accessible of the passes over the mountains which
separated Italy from the barbaric regions beyond crossed by one of
those splendid military roads, which has endured nearly two thousand
years until the present day.
[Sidenote: ROMAN OCCUPATION]
The Roman occupation of Rhætia lasted for five centuries. Under the
rule of Rome the inhabitants learned much of those arts which remained
the heritage of conquered races long after the sway of the great Roman
Empire had come to an end. And traces of that rule, in the form of
weapons, ornaments, articles of jewelry and the toilet, and other
relics have from time to time come to light throughout the portions of
Tyrol settled by the Romans.
Soon along the great Brenner Road, which formed a highway from Italy
to the northern lands beyond Tyrol, activity evinced itself. One of
the most important of the early stations upon it was Veldidena
(Wilten), where the road after crossing the main range of mountains
emerges from the Alpine gorge on the northern side into a wide and
pleasant valley. From this point--close to which, later on, the
capital of Tyrol was destined to be founded--the great Brenner Post
Road branched. One fork led by two divergent ways to the same
objective--Augsburg. The other led in a north-westerly direction by
way of Masciacum (Matzen) and Albianum (Kufstein) to Pons Aeni, which
in all probability closely approximates to the present-day site of
Rosenheim. This road ran down the wide Inn valley, nowadays known as
the Unter Innthal to differentiate it from the valley of the Upper Inn
which runs from the frontier of Switzerland to Innsbruck.
It was along the great military road leading from Verona to Augsburg
that the chief Rhæto-Roman stations were placed. Amongst these were
Tridentum (Trent), Pons Drusi (Bozen), Vilpetenum (Sterzing), Matrejum
(Matrei), Scarbio (Scharnitz), Veldidena (Wilten).
At first, doubtless, these outposts of Roman civilization were little
more than isolated fortresses, or even perhaps merely _speculæ_ or
watch towers, and of these many examples still remain, from which not
only could the road and its approaches be reconnoitred, but also
signals both by day and by night could be made. In the first case by
means of smoke or semaphores, and in the second by bonfires kindled in
cressets or on the hillside itself.
[Sidenote: THE BRENNER PASS]
Another highway into Tyrol through the Vintschgau came to be known as
the Via Claudia Augusta, which name was also improperly applied to a
portion of the Brenner Road. After much contention we think it is now
generally accepted that Mommsen, who has investigated and weighed the
evidence with astonishing care, is correct in assuming that the only
portion of the road via the Reschen-Scheideck Pass which should be
called the Via Claudia Augusta is that traversing the Vintschgau
Valley. The road was constructed not in the reign of Augustus, who
initiated the Brenner Road, but in that of his grandson, the Emperor
Claudius, about A.D. 46-47. It was intended to connect up the River Po
with the River Danube by the Reschen-Scheideck route, and along it at
various times since the middle of the sixteenth century milestones of
Roman origin have been discovered. Though from the fact that little
reference is made to it by the better-known Roman writers of the
period, one may assume that the Via Claudia was of quite secondary
importance to the Brenner Road. But nevertheless it seems probable
that it was the route used for the transportation of stores for the
Roman forces of occupation during the fifth century not long prior to
the evacuation of the country. The Brenner Road for a considerable
period after its construction appears to have been rather a highway
for commerce than a military road in the usual sense of the term.
The chief article exported from Tyrol was salt from the still famous
salt mines at Hall, near Innsbruck, on the northern bank of the Inn.
There were also sent southward into Italy raw hides, timber, Alpine
herbs used in the preparation of medicines, liqueurs, and the purposes
of the toilet; and dairy produce of various kinds, of which cheese was
probably (according to Pliny) one of the chief articles. In those
far-off days, too, much excellent wine was grown far further north in
Tyrol than nowadays when the vine is not cultivated, for vintage
purposes at all events, further north than the southern slope of the
Brenner.
In Roman times the Brenner also formed a link between Aquileia, one of
the most flourishing and important seaport cities on the Adriatic, and
Noricum. As did also another, then important but nowadays almost
deserted route, that of the Plöcken Pass, of which it is believed
Cæsar made frequent use. Along this several important stations were
founded, amongst them Tricesimum, Julium Carnicum (Zuglio), Aguntum
(Innichen), Lonicum (Lienz) and Sebatum (Schabs). Time, however, was
destined to divert the trade from the Plöcken Pass route to that of
the Brenner, and the settlements along the former gradually declined
in importance.
As we have before stated, the Brenner Pass was not originally used so
much for military purposes as was afterwards the case. And it is not
until the latter half of the second century of the Christian Era that
we find it assuming importance as a military highway. Then the
frequent incursions southward of various Germanic tribes caused the
Romans to fully comprehend the strategical value of northern Rhætia.
Two decades at least were occupied in the reconstruction of the
surface and bridges along the road which had owed its origin to the
Emperor Augustus, and the result was the building of a highway
suitable for the speedy passage and massing of large bodies of troops.
Of the stations which were founded along it we have already spoken, it
only remains to say that these were supplemented by "posts" which were
dotted here and there as they were along most other roads made by
Roman builders. They were, however, chiefly used for military and
state rather than for ordinary purposes.
An interesting writer,[4] who has made the history of the Brenner a
special study, has thrown considerable light upon the inns and
hostelries which little by little sprang up to meet the requirements
of the travelling public of those days, who were not, as a rule,
permitted to make use of the official posts. Apparently, these refuges
from the other alternative of spending a night upon the road were by
no means luxurious. In fact, they were probably far otherwise, and
their chief redeeming feature was the undoubted cheapness of the
accommodation they offered. It could not be considered an extravagant
charge for a night's lodging with food of sorts when the bill amounted
to rather less than the equivalent of an English halfpenny! a sum
which would nowadays surprise the modern _oste_ or innkeeper of the
Italian Tyrol as much as his own charges would the Roman wayfarer of
long ago.
[Illustration: A VILLAGE ON THE BRENNER]
[Sidenote: ROMAN REMAINS]
On the heels of Roman civilization, represented by commerce and
travel, which was destined not only to permeate conquered Rhætia, but
to penetrate the regions beyond, in course of time there sprang into
existence a fortress here and a castle there which not only served to
hold the land, but also to encourage and initiate civilization and
bring security to those residing in its immediate vicinity. Of
these, happily for the historian and antiquarian, many traces yet
remain. All along the Brenner the Romans found and were not slow to
seize upon natural coigns of vantage where their unexampled skill as
military builders and engineers permitted them to speedily convert not
easily accessible spurs of the mountains into impregnable fortresses.
Upon some of the castles, the ruins of which nowadays serve to render
these rocky crags of undying interest, the stars must have looked down
ere the dawn of the Christian Era.
Of the occupation of Rhætia by the Romans, unfortunately comparatively
few authentic details have come down to us. But long ere the power of
Rome had waned, never to reassume its pristine greatness, the problem
of resistance to the invasion from the Teutonic tribes to the north
and north-east had become a very real one. Towards the end of the
third century A.D. the Alemanni crossed the Danube and threatened
Rhætia, and through it Italy. They were, it is true, defeated by the
Emperor Maximianus, but the check inflicted was but temporary. About
A.D. 260 Rhætia was invaded several times by the same barbarian tribe,
and on one occasion, at least, Tyrol was ravaged from end to end, and
the invaders afterwards entered Italy, which they penetrated as far
south as Ravenna, having first plundered and destroyed Verona. In the
reign of Claudius (about 269) there was yet another invasion, and
although the forces of Rome ultimately proved victorious in the
struggle with the Teutonic hordes in a battle fought at Naïssus on the
borderland of Tyrol and Italy, when 320,000 are said to have been
slain, there was no lasting peace.
The inroads of the Goths vexed many a quickly succeeding Emperor in
the days when reigns were scarcely to be reckoned as frequently by
years as by months, and it was not until the reign of Aurelianus that
the Goths were driven out of Rhætia and Vindelicia.
Under succeeding Roman rulers there were other raids by the Goths,
and then at last along the roads of Rhætia and over the passes of the
Brenner and the Plöcken poured the invading hosts which were destined
to bring about the eclipse of the powerful Empire which had for so
many centuries controlled the destinies of the greater part of the
then known world.
Just as in our own land, history is almost silent for the period
immediately following the departure of the Roman legions, drawn off to
save Rome, if possible, from the invading hosts of the Goths and Huns,
so was it in Tyrol. Of the years of devastation by fire and sword
which succeeded the withdrawal of the Roman forces from Rhætia there
have come down to us but very scanty details. During this period much
of Roman art and civilization was undoubtedly blotted out by the
barbarian hordes; and, indeed, so far as can be ascertained, little of
either was ultimately left in Rhætia.
Theodoric, the Ostrogothic leader, who had conquered Italy in about
489, planned Rhætia and the Brenner as a barrier against the attacks
of northern invaders, a tribe of whom (the Baiovarii) ultimately
possessed themselves of Vindelicia and Rhætia as far as the southern
slope of the Brenner Pass. About this same period--the middle half of
the sixth century--a very considerable portion of north-eastern Italy
and that part of Rhætia in the vicinity of Tridentum (Trent) was
seized by the Longobards or Lombards. Their Italian Empire lasted for
two centuries, and eventually included the larger portion of what is
nowadays known as the Italian Tyrol.
Meantime, the Baiovarii or Bavarians had conquered the upper part of
Rhætia, and in the beginning of the seventh century their Duke,
Garibaldi II., succeeded in checking the frequent inroads of the
Slavs, although he did not succeed in entirely excluding them from the
country; in the eastern portion of which they remained for a
considerable period. Towards the end of the eighth century (about 789)
the whole of what is now known as Tyrol came under the sovereignty of
Charlemagne, who crushed the Lombards, and a few years later succeeded
in also subduing the Baiovarii.
During the centuries of internecine warfare, with its concomitants of
rapine and chaos, which succeeded the evacuation of Rhætia by the
Roman forces, most of the original inhabitants or peaceably disposed
Romanized Rhætians fled with other fugitives from the southern or
northern plains to the valleys and byways amid the mountains which
hitherto probably had been almost if not entirely unpopulated. Here
they settled, leaving the main routes open to the passage of the
Teutonic invaders bent on the plunder of the Italian cities and
plains, who, we may imagine, did not greatly trouble themselves
regarding the byways or waste time in conquering those who had thus
hidden themselves amid the higher Alpine valleys and fastnesses.
The result of this is seen in the circumstance that whilst in many
cases the out-of-the-way places and villages to this day preserve
their original Romanized Rhætian names, those upon the main routes of
travel have in many instances a purely Teutonic nomenclature.
[Sidenote: "THE LAND IN THE MOUNTAINS"]
The great Empire which Charlemagne created had strangely enough no
natural delimitations, and when it was divided, in A.D. 806, into
three portions amongst his sons, the division was not made upon any
usually recognized system or plan. Tyrol still was unknown by that
name, the country about that time being known as "Das Land im
Gebirge," or "The Land in the Mountains." The immediate successors to
the divided empire of Charlemagne were far less able than he to cope
with the anarchy which so frequently overwhelmed south-eastern and
north-eastern Europe in those days. There was practically no such
unity as now prevails, and, owing to this, the powerful nobles and
ecclesiastics gradually succeeded in dividing up the land amongst
themselves according to the almost universal custom of the Middle
Ages.
The records of Tyrolese history of the period are, however, so
wretchedly meagre that few positive and uncontrovertible facts have
come down to us regarding the events which immediately followed the
partition of Charlemagne's Empire amongst his sons. That the Brenner
Pass and Tyrol formed a sort of highway for successive invaders of
Italy, who swarmed across it from the East and North, there is,
however, little reason for doubt. As has been very truly said, "What
these vast expeditions, consisting of more or less disorderly masses
of curiously mixed races, all in the panoply of war, all eager for
booty, even if bent on a peaceable mission, meant for the countries
through which they slowly ate and robbed their way, it is not quite
easy to picture to one's self in these civilized days, when, even in
the fiercest war, the non-combatant has no reason to go in fear of a
violent death or having his women outraged before his eyes, and his
house razed to the ground." That such things took place in Tyrol is
made almost certain from the statements of contemporary writers,
amongst others, Gottfried von Viterbo, Vincenz von Prague, and Otho
von Freising.
[Sidenote: OLD-TIME TRAVELLERS]
It is the custom for most people to imagine that the "extras" for
lights, tips to servants, and attendance which so often makes the
present-day hotel bill exasperating, are a modern institution. This
is, however, not the case, for some most interesting and illuminating
diaries of early travel which were discovered in 1874 amongst the
archives of the monastery of Cividate show that at the commencement of
the thirteenth century there were a succession of inns already
existing along the Brenner route, where travellers could not only
obtain lodgment and entertainment, but even purchase necessary
medicines. There are also entries for lights, attendance, and
gratuities, which probably vexed the soul of the ecclesiastical
diarist we have referred to as much as they do modern travellers.
Of the types who tramped or rode along the great Tyrol highway and
lodged at the inns, we have fortunately a fairly detailed and
accurate picture handed down to us. If only there had been a Tyrolese
Chaucer what a record might have been preserved! From the diaries of
the Bishop of Passau (whose notes we have quoted), however, we
gratefully gather that in addition to the ordinary itinerant merchants
and countryfolk there were bard musicians of both sexes, conjurers
(more or less skilful, and many of them charlatans), singers,
mendicant friars (some of little holiness), and the far-famed
minnesingers who for a considerable period had a great vogue at Courts
and castles. Along this famous high-road of the Brenner and through
Tyrol passed, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, many of the
pilgrims and Crusaders bound for or returning from Palestine or some
distant shrine of peculiar merit or holiness.
[Sidenote: EARLY TYROLESE RULERS]
One of the chief amongst the many changes and reforms instituted by
Charlemagne was the sub-division of the countries he had conquered and
welded together to form his Empire into margravates or departments
which he placed under the rule of his nobles and other officials whom
he appointed for the purpose. Although this system undoubtedly worked
well during his powerful sway, after his death and during the anarchy
and dissension which distinguished the reigns of his immediate
successors what might have been expected happened. The more powerful
of the nobles and officials and their descendants soon commenced to
regard their offices as of the nature of hereditary appointments, and
in consequence with the development of this idea small dynasties were
gradually founded, and towards the close of the tenth century three of
these had sprung into existence in Tyrol. These three Countships or
_Grafschaften_ were of Andechs, Eppan, and Tyrol, and the country was
eventually divided up amongst them and the great ecclesiastical lords
of the Sees of Trent, Brixen, and Coire.
As is the case with so much of early Tyrol history and events, very
scanty information of a reliable character has come down to us
regarding the origin of these three great families of nobles who held
sway in the country. Nor is it for the purpose of this book necessary
to enquire closely into the evidence we have. The origin of the family
of Andechs is almost entirely unknown, although for a considerable
period they were the most powerful of the three families we have
named. The Eppans are believed to have been descendants of a natural
son of a Duke of Bavaria, and their long and bloody feud with the
Bishops of Brixen on account of lands taken from them and given to the
See is enshrined in Tyrol history and legend.
The third family, the Counts of Tyrol, though originally by no means
the most important, was destined to outlast the other two, and
eventually to become possessed of most of the country and give its
name to ancient Rhætia. Although even in the days of the Roman
occupation there appears to have been a Castle Tyrol, which was the
residence of a centurion, the family, as it is generally known, is
supposed to have taken its origin from Count Hunfried who lived in the
reign of Charlemagne, and was also Count of Vintschgau. This noble
came into prominence on the division of Charlemagne's Empire amongst
his three sons; but it appears to be probable that it was not until
the middle part of the thirteenth century that one of the owners of
Castle Tyrol or Teriolis first took the title of Counts of Tyrol.[5]
The earliest reference to the three Counts of Tyrol appears in the
archives about the year 1140, and we find the family dwelling in the
Castle Tyrol or Teriolis, near Meran. It was from this fortress, now
in a ruinous condition except for the chapel and fine porch dating
from the twelfth century, that not only the family took its name but
eventually the whole country came to be known. Gradually one by one
the possessions of the other nobles in Tyrol were taken from them or
became absorbed by marriage in that of the Counts of Tyrol. Until
about 1240 the then reigning Count Albert was able to style himself
Prince Count (or gefürsteter Graf) of Tyrol so widespread and rich
were his possessions.
The Principality thus formed remained a fief of the German Empire
until the reign of Maximilian I. (1493) when it was incorporated with
the other possessions of the Crown.
The first of the Prince Counts of Tyrol was successful, in 1248, in
obtaining from the Counts of Andechs the district of the Inn Valley,
once the site of Roman Veldidena, which place tradition asserts was
destroyed about A.D. 452 by the Huns under the leadership of Attila on
their return through Tyrol after their defeat by Aëtius at the battle
of Chalons.
During the early Middle Ages the Premonstratensian Abbey of Wilten had
been built on the site of the ancient town, and later on the Counts of
Andechs, who had become possessed of land in the neighbourhood on the
banks of the Inn, became the most powerful and influential nobles in
the district. Under them a trading post or centre of commerce was
founded near the bridge over the Inn, the importance of which can be
easily understood when its proximity to the Brenner high-road, a then
busy thoroughfare, is borne in mind. From this bridge over the Inn was
derived the name of the town Innsbruck--afterwards destined to become
the capital of Tyrol--a mention of which appears for the first time in
archives of the year 1327. It was to the foresight and enterprise of
Otto of Andechs that the town owed the walls, towers, and
fortifications which were to stand it in good stead. Count Otto also
built himself a palace, which still is known as Ottoburg.
Concerning the various princes who reigned over Tyrol in succession to
Count Albert down to Henry, the youngest son of Meinhard II., who, by
marrying the daughter of the King of Bohemia, claimed the throne on
the death of his father-in-law and took the title of king, although
forced to surrender his claims to Bohemia, and rest content with Tyrol
and Carinthia, it is not necessary to say much. This Henry was a
good-natured, easily influenced ruler, who by reason of these
characteristics fell almost entirely into the hands of the more
powerful of his nobles, who by flattery and supplies of money to meet
his spendthrift habits were able to acquire not only influence over
him, but also gain great possessions from and unchecked by him. Under
this ruler Meran became the capital of Tyrol; and Hall, Sterzing, and
other places were raised to the dignity of towns.
Though easily led, Henry was not without his virtues, for he granted
several privileges which were in the interests of commerce, and under
his rule the hard lots of the villein and working classes were
lightened, and a heritable system of land tenure for the peasant class
devised and established. The effect of this was destined to be
beneficial not only to those it was primarily intended to assist, but
also to the nobles, and Henry himself. For as the nobles seldom or
never paid taxes it followed that, with increased prosperity, the
lower orders (who bore the greater part of the burden of taxation)
could be taxed to a higher degree without suffering in proportion.
Many stories are current concerning the difficulties into which
Henry's wastrel habits got him. One of them is that he was unable at
Innsbruck to settle the bill of a fish and wine merchant, and as a
last resort gave this man, one Eberhard, the bridge toll, which it is
unnecessary to say formed a valuable consideration.
[Illustration: YOUNG TYROL]
[Sidenote: "POCKET MOUTHED MEG"]
At his death in 1335 he left no male heir, the succession falling to
his daughter Margaret, known to history as "wide (or Pocket) Mouthed
Meg" on account of her remarkably ill-formed mouth. How her mouth
became so ugly is not exactly known. One story states the name was
derived from the word _Maultasche_, in consequence of her having had
her ears (or side of face) boxed or struck. The explanation gains
some weight from the fact that the blow was said to have been struck
her by one of her Bavarian relatives, and the circumstance that she
ultimately left her heritage to her Austrian cousins and not to the
Bavarian branch of the family, thus causing Tyrol to become a part of
the Austrian Empire.
Eventually, after many abortive attempts to arrange a marriage with
the numerous suitors who were willing to become allied to perhaps the
richest though the ugliest heiress in Europe of that time, for her
inheritance comprised the dukedoms of Goricia, Croatia and Carinthia,
as well as the beautiful land Tyrol, Margaret was married, in A.D.
1330, to the youthful Prince John of Bohemia, the bridegroom being
nine years of age and the bride several years older. The latter was
destined to have a troublous career, ugly as her mouth in some of its
details; and the young couple, when (a few years after the formal
marriage) they came to live together, were almost from the first at
variance.
John was feeble and of weak intellect, and Margaret as determined and
shameless as were many other women rulers in those times. Plots and
intrigues were rife, the former between the two parties who espoused
the German or Luxembourg (Bohemian) claims, the latter between
Margaret and her courtier and even peasant lovers, some of whom were
given privileges and even lands and patents of nobility by the amorous
princess of the "Pocket Mouth," who made several unsuccessful attempts
to get rid of her husband, until she frightened him into returning to
his own country. This desire accomplished, Margaret commenced to put
in operation her further plans. John was a fugitive, going from castle
to castle in search of shelter or sanctuary, awaiting assistance from
his father or the Luxembourg party, which was favourable to the
Bohemian side of the question. Soon the Emperor Louis, who was the
ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and a deadly enemy of the Bohemians,
saw an opportunity for accomplishing a long-cherished desire, that of
the acquisition of Tyrol.
He found a ready accomplice in his good-looking, attractive son, who
appeared willing enough to marry another man's wife, however
ill-tempered and ugly, even before the first marriage was formally
declared null and void by the Pope, provided wealth and possessions
were acquired with her. However, when the Pope--who himself had cast
longing eyes on Margaret's possessions--heard of the proposed union,
he not only declined to annul the marriage between John and Margaret,
but threatened the latter with excommunication if she espoused the son
of Louis, who was his implacable foe. There were also reasons of
consanguinity which made the marriage impossible without the Pope's
sanction. Louis, however, not to be thwarted in his desire, set about
to find a bishop willing to defy the Pontiff and bold enough to
solemnize the marriage. Soon he succeeded in persuading the Bishop of
Freisingen both to annul the first marriage and celebrate the second.
Accordingly the Emperor, in whose train were numbers of nobles, set
forth with the bishop mentioned, and also the bishops of Augsburg and
Regensburg, for Tyrol.
But whilst on the journey and crossing a pass (the Jaufen), which
afforded the quickest route from Sterzing to Margaret's home near
Meran, the Bishop of Freisingen's horse stumbled and threw its rider,
killing him on the spot. This accident so sapped the courage of the
other two bishops (who doubtless considered the event as a direct
message of wrath from Heaven) that they refused to go on with the
scheme upon which they had embarked.
This did not, however, weaken the determination of either the Emperor
or Louis, who, on his arrival at Castle Tyrol, forced the terrified
resident chaplain to celebrate the marriage, although we are told the
people protested loudly, anticipating terrible punishments for
breaking the laws of the Church and defying the commands of the Pope.
Nevertheless the event was celebrated with great festivities, and, so
far as one can gather, no immediate wrath from Heaven was experienced
by the evildoers.
[Sidenote: ERA OF CIVIL WAR]
During the weak rule of John, the various nobles in Tyrol had gained
great ascendency; had extended their possessions and rights; and had
in fact seriously weakened the sovereign power of their ruler. Louis
proved of very different metal to his precursor. He at once attacked
the nobles, who had aggregated to themselves unlawful or dangerous
authority, devastating their estates, burning and dismantling their
castles and fortresses, and exiling those who did not submit. Civil
war of the most bloodthirsty kind ran riot in Tyrol, and other
disasters in the shape of fire, which destroyed some of the most
important towns, including Meran the capital; swarms of locusts,
plague and earthquake, all afflicted the unhappy and unfortunate land.
It is needless to say that these terrible calamities were esteemed by
many Tyrolese as the direct expression by Heaven of anger at
Margaret's bigamous marriage and defiance of the power of the Church.
The ravages of the Black Death were not less severe than in other
parts of Southern Europe, and, according to one chronicler, scarcely a
sixth of the population of Tyrol were left alive. As was so often the
case in the Middle Ages, some human scapegoat was sought for and
found; and the very common one was fixed upon--the Jews. The
persecution of this unfortunate race which ensued was of so ruthless a
character that neither women, children, nor the aged were spared, with
the result, we are told, that very few were left alive.
Then succeeded a period of war. The supporters of the discarded
husband of Margaret--John of Bohemia--were not slow to seek to revenge
themselves upon her, and Tyrol was subsequently invaded by the King of
Bohemia, who was joined by the militant Bishop of Trent with
considerable forces. An active campaign followed, characterized by
great cruelty on the part of the invaders, during which the two chief
towns, Meran and Bozen, were captured and destroyed, and ultimately
Margaret was besieged in her own Castle of Tyrol. It was so admirably
situated for defence that in her husband's absence Margaret, who, with
all her vices and failings, was no coward, was able to defend it
successfully from all assaults, and did so until her husband was able
to return by forced marches, and surprising the besiegers, succeeded
in defeating them and forcing them to retire. The country, however,
suffered terribly during the enemy's retreat, as, in revenge for being
baulked of their prey, they burned and ravaged in every direction, and
spared no man from the sword. Indeed, the history of the campaign
exhibits in the most lurid light the underlying and primitive savagery
of all warfare in the Middle Ages.
It was to meet the heavy charges arising from the prolonged campaign
and defence of his territory that Louis had to sell or pawn many of
his richest personal possessions, with the result that many nobles
(who provided him with money or other support) gained or regained
valuable privileges and a considerable accession of power and
influence.
[Sidenote: STORIES ABOUT "MEG"]
Into the whole course of this war and the history of
Tyrol--interesting and even fascinating though it be--it is impossible
for us to enter. Margaret ultimately (it may be noted) made her peace
with Rome, owing to the influence exercised over the Pope by her
Austrian cousins of the House of Habsburg, the condition of their
mediation being that she should leave to them and not to her Bavarian
cousins her heritage should her son and heir Meinhard pre-decease her,
and die without issue.
Fate favoured the schemes of the Habsburgs, for both Margaret's
husband Louis and her son died before her, the latter at the early age
of twenty. As an example of the old saw, "Give a dog a bad name and
hang him," popular opinion laid both deaths at Margaret's door. Her
husband died in 1361-2 whilst on a journey to Munich in her company.
This supposed murder was, according to then common report, a _crime
passionel_ arising from Margaret's fear that Louis was about to
compass the death of Conrad of Frauenberg, a noble with whom she had
carried on an intrigue that had been common talk and a scandal for
years. On the death of his father, Meinhard assumed the responsibility
of government; in doing this he appears to have placed, or attempted
to place, some sort of check upon the shameless conduct and intrigues
of his mother, and when he died in January, 1363, his death, like that
of Louis, was laid at his mother's door. Popular opinion, however, has
been proved to have been in error by historians who do not favour the
supposition that she was really guilty of either death; and although
no explanation of the actual cause of Louis's death is forthcoming,
there would appear some evidence for supposing that Meinhard's
untimely end was unromantic and free from mystery, and, in fact, was
the result of drinking cold water whilst overheated from exertion.
In those days, although news travelled but slowly according to modern
ideas, it was less than a fortnight ere it had reached Vienna, and
Rudolph IV. of Habsburg, by travelling "day and night," was at Bozen
eager to make certain his position as the eldest of the three brothers
to whom his cousin Margaret had agreed to cede Tyrol and her other
wide possessions.
Around the picturesque, though licentious and uninviting, figure of
"Pocket-Mouthed Meg" has gathered an accretion of traditions and tales
unequalled by those attached to any other Tyrol ruler. But, although
she was for many years so outstanding a figure in the history of her
country and indeed of South-Eastern Europe, strangely few authentic
records or documentary corroboration of these stories have been
discoverable.
Thus, by the death of Meinhard in 1363, the country became a portion
of Austria under the rule of Rudolph IV., who, though young, was wise
and far-seeing. However, he was not destined to long enjoy the
possessions he had acquired chiefly by skilful diplomacy, and on his
death, two years after his accession, Tyrol was governed jointly by
his two brothers--Leopold and Albert.
During this dual control the Bavarian relations of Margaret made
frequent incursions into the country, especially in the neighbourhood
of the Unter-Innthal, and in 1369 succeeded in obtaining a large sum
from the Habsburgs at a temporary peace made at Schärding. Ten years
later the dual sovereignty came to an end, the two brothers dividing
the inheritance, Leopold taking Tyrol as his share. He was killed at
the Battle of Sempach on July 9th, 1386, where the Swiss gained so
signal a victory under the leadership of Arnold Von Winkelried.
[Sidenote: DUKE FREDERICK'S REIGN]
In 1406 Frederick, Leopold's youngest son, succeeded to the
sovereignty, which during his minority had been held by his elder
brothers and his Uncle Albert, who had ruled the country in so lax a
manner that the nobles gained a great ascendency.
It was, indeed, no easy task to which Duke Frederick was called. The
nickname bestowed upon him, that of "the Empty Purse," was by no means
an exact description of his financial condition, save during a
comparatively short period of his reign of thirty years. It was given
him at the time he was an outlaw by reason of the ban of the Church,
and was obliged to fly for his life and take refuge amid the
mountains. His was a stormy reign. In the early portion of it he was
at variance with many of the most powerful of his nobles, who resisted
his attempts to curtail the power which they had acquired during his
minority. After the anxieties and hardships which ensued, when the
country was over-run by the Bavarians, and even the capital
threatened, Frederick was destined to have still greater trouble by
reason of his action at the Council of Constance, which was summoned
to settle the momentous questions as to who was the rightful head of
the Church, and who the ruler of the Empire. There were three
claimants for each position, nominated and supported by the rival
factions. The spiritual claimants were John XXIII., Benedict XIII.,
Gregory XII.; and the temporal Kings Sigismund of Hungary, Jost of
Moravia, and Wencelaus of Bohemia.
[Illustration: A WAYSIDE SHRINE, TYROL]
Of the Ecclesiastical claimants John had Frederick's support, and when
the former, failing to get elected by the Council, had not only to
renounce his claims but flee for his life, Frederick assisted him to
escape from Constance. This act of loyalty to a friend almost cost
Frederick his life, as Sigismund (who of the three candidates had been
elected Emperor) was his enemy, and not only succeeded in persuading
the assembly to declare Frederick's throne forfeited, but also him and
his chief supporters and followers outlaws, to shelter any of whom was
a crime punishable with death.
Frederick's evil case was made worse and his difficulties immeasurably
increased by the secession to the ranks of his enemies of his brother
Ernest, who had taken the Dukedom of Styria as his portion of the
inheritance.
Duke Ernest took up the reins of Government of Tyrol, and there ensued
a period of bloodshed and disastrous Civil War in which the peasants
and the lower classes remained firm and loyal supporters of their
ruler Frederick, and the greater number of the nobility espoused the
cause of the usurper Ernest. At length a peace was brought about
between the two brothers, chiefly through the mediation of the
Archbishop Eberhard of Salzburg, and the Duke Louis of Bavaria. The
reconciliation of Frederick and Duke Ernest, whose estrangement had
been brought about by Frederick's action in relation to Pope John at
Constance which had brought him under the powerful ban of the Church,
took place at the castle of the Archbishop at Kropfsberg.
The remaining portion of Frederick's life appears to have been
peaceable, and notwithstanding his _sobriquet_ of "Empty Purse" he
left a huge fortune in treasure, which some authorities assert was the
greatest amassed by any ruler of those times. He was undoubtedly one
of the most able, and with the peasants and townsfolk most popular,
rulers Tyrol has ever had as a separate principality. He carried on a
struggle throughout his reign against the encroachments of the
nobility upon the lands and liberties of the people, which in itself
was a thing sufficient to gain him the love and loyalty of the great
masses of his subjects, which his affable manners, generosity, and
kindliness served to cement. To him belongs the credit of summoning
the first Tyrolean Landtag of any use or importance, held at Meran in
1423. Subsequently the Landtag was convened at Innsbruck, which town
in consequence gradually came to be regarded as the capital of Tyrol.
On the death of Frederick he was succeeded by his son Sigismund, then
a mere lad of eleven or twelve years of age. The latter lived for some
seven years at the Court of Vienna under the control of his guardian
the Emperor Frederick III. Whilst in Vienna he became acquainted with
one Æneas Silvius de Piccolomini, afterwards Pope Pius II., a widely
travelled, able but licentious man who had journeyed so far afield as
Scotland, and who poured such glowing descriptions of the beauty of
the ladies of the Scottish Court into the young Duke Sigismund's ears
that he became possessed with a desire to marry a Scotch bride. Thus
it happened that when the daughter of Charles VII., King of France,
died (whom it had been intended by his father he should marry) the
young Duke Sigismund wooed and won Eleanor, daughter of ill-fated
James I. of Scotland, to whom as dowry the Duke gave the historic
castles of Ambras, Imst, and Hörtenburg for life. This gifted princess
lived in Tyrol for a period of more than thirty years, and by her
gentle manners, love of sport, especially hawking and hunting, and
social accomplishments made herself much beloved by her husband's
subjects. Her Court, for the size of the principality over which her
husband ruled, was very large and luxurious.
During the reign of Sigismund the vast mineral wealth of the
Unter-Innthal district especially became opened up, and this enabled
the Duke to spend lavish sums upon pleasures, entertainments, arts,
and science, which soon caused his Court at Innsbruck to be spoken of
as one of the most refined, gay, and interesting in Eastern Europe. At
the same time Tyrol owed much to Sigismund, as he was a generous
patron of art and employer of artists of all kinds.
[Sidenote: THE WAR WITH VENICE]
On the death of his consort Eleanor he married, in 1484, the Princess
Catherine of Saxony, who was both young and beautiful. A man of great
judgment, he yet committed the grave error of provoking a war with the
Venetians, whose trade with Tyrol was an important and valuable asset
in the country's commerce and material prosperity. It arose from the
seizure of some rich silver mines the property of the Venetians in the
Valsugana, and the tense situation arising from this act was
aggravated shortly after, in April 1487, by the forcible seizure of
the goods of Venetian merchants who had come (as was their wont) to
the great fair held at Bozen. Over a hundred and twenty Venetian
merchants were also thrown into prison. In the war which ensued the
Tyrolese were ultimately victorious; but the victory was a Pyrrhic one
as Tyrol lost much by this struggle with the great commercial power of
those remote times. The Venetians took a speedy revenge, "boycotting"
Tyrolese trade, absenting themselves from the fairs and markets, and
avoiding using the Brenner Route which had very materially added to
the wealth of the country.
Sigismund, as had other rulers of the Mountain Kingdom, fell out of
favour with the Church, owing to a quarrel with the Cardinal Bishop of
Brixen, Nicholas of Cusa, chiefly on account of the latter's
persistent endeavour to exalt the power of the Church at the expense
of the former's temporal authority, and it was only Sigismund's
indifference to religious matters and power in his own country which
enabled him to treat with unconcern if not positive contempt the ban
placed upon him by the Church of Rome. He even went the length of
making war upon the Bishop, and of besieging him in his castle at
Brunneck; and as a consequence was excommunicated by both Pope
Calixtus III. the Courageous and Pius II.
In Sigismund's declining years he applied himself "to the task of
purchasing salvation in the manner approved by the Church he had
defied, and whose bulls, bans, and mandates he had scorned." He set
about founding monasteries, gave largely to charitable endowments, and
was generous in other ways to a Church which was anxious to pardon the
sinner who was willing to purchase absolution on satisfactory monetary
or other terms. One effect of this great expenditure was to impoverish
the country, which had already been much "drained" by the demands made
upon it by Sigismund's patronage of art, love of women, and lavish
entertainments.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE RITTEN LOOKING S.W.]
[Sidenote: MAXIMILIAN I]
Maximilian, his cousin (afterwards the famous Emperor Maximilian I.),
succeeded him on his abdication in 1493. He was in a great measure an
ideal ruler for Tyrol, whose brave, independent people were touched by
the spirit, frankness, and great personal bravery of their new prince.
Fond of war, he was equally devoted to the chivalric jousts and games
of the period, and, if one may believe historians, to these sterner
qualities was united a kindly and approachable disposition which
further endeared him to his people. It was only in the latter portion
of his reign that he lost touch with and hold upon them, and, owing to
the heavy drain that incessant wars and military operations had placed
upon the country, necessitating heavy taxation, became in a measure
unpopular.
From his biographers one gathers that the Emperor was deeply affected
by the change of attitude of the populace towards him, and he referred
to it bitterly on several occasions. During some considerable time
before his death he always went about accompanied by his coffin, which
he is stated to have described as "the one narrow palace which
architects can design at small cost, and the making of which does not
bring ruin upon princes."
During the reign of Maximilian to Tyrol was added other and
considerable new territory, including the Ampezzo district; Rovereto;
the three lordships of Rattenberg, Kitzbühel, and Kufstein; the towns
of Riva and Arco; a portion of the present Vorarlberg; and a portion
of the Pusterthal. Maximilian also did something for education in his
capital of Innsbruck, where he built a new palace which was first used
at the time of his second marriage with Maria Bianca Sforza of Milan
in 1494.
He was succeeded by his two grandsons, the Emperor Charles V. and the
Archduke Ferdinand. The former, however, found his dominions so vast
that he soon resigned his Austrian possessions (including Tyrol) to
his brother Ferdinand, who afterwards became Emperor. The reign of the
latter, though long, was not a happy or prosperous one. The religious
disturbances brought about by the Reformation, which Ferdinand
severely suppressed, and risings of the peasants in consequence, made
his name detested in Tyrol, so that in the War of the Schmalkald the
inhabitants supported Charles V. It was at Innsbruck (after two
unsuccessful attempts to leave Tyrol) that he was surprised by his
treacherous friend Maurice of Saxony, who had marched his army rapidly
into Tyrol intent upon capturing Charles. The latter, who had no army
with him, having arrived at Innsbruck on his way to the Council of
Trent, in order to escape had to leave his palace at dead of night in
torrents of rain in May 1552--a man broken in health and tired of
life.
It was this Ferdinand who founded the famous Franciscan Church at
Innsbruck with its world-renowned tomb in memory of his grandfather
Maximilian I.
On the death of Ferdinand, in 1564, he was succeeded on the throne of
Tyrol by his second son who bore his name. A romantic interest
attaches to this Archduke, who after much opposition on the part of
his family married the beautiful daughter of an Augsburg merchant,
Philippina Welser, who ultimately succeeded in winning the Emperor's
sanction to the marriage.[6]
The thirty-one years' reign of Archduke Ferdinand was chiefly notable
for the encouragement given by him to Art. Indeed, during this period
the country reached its highest culture. The world-famous art
collection now in Vienna, concerning which most authorities are in
agreement that it was the most extensive and beautiful formed up to
that period, owes its existence almost entirely to him. In his Castle
of Ambras, near Innsbruck, he gathered together art treasures that are
now, as regards many examples, almost if not quite unique; and by so
doing ensured his position with posterity as one of the first, most
learned, and most discriminating of art collectors and connoisseurs
the world has known.
[Sidenote: A ROYAL ROMANCE]
Ferdinand and his beautiful spouse remained throughout their married
life devoted to each other, although when the former's father, in
1563, recognized the marriage it was agreed that any children born to
the pair should not be recognized as of Royal birth, the alliance
being regarded as morganatic. The story that Philippina died a violent
death seems to have no basis upon fact.
Ferdinand after the death of his first wife married Anna Katharina
Gonzaga of Mantua, to whose devout tendencies and influence over him
Innsbruck and the neighbourhood owed many of its religious houses and
institutions.
On the death of Ferdinand, as his and Philippina's children could not
succeed to their father's possessions and title for the reason we have
mentioned, and as there were no children of the marriage with Anna
Katharina, Tyrol reverted in 1595 to the Emperor Rudolph II., who soon
appointed his brother the Archduke Maximilian as Regent. This prince
was the head of the Teutonic Order, and bore the title of
Deutschmeister. After his death Tyrol reverted to the Emperor
Ferdinand II., who in 1622 celebrated his second marriage with
Eleanora Vincenzo of Mantua at Innsbruck. The event was celebrated
with great magnificence even for a period when entertainments of the
kind were veritable triumphs of splendour and art, and the wedding
feast was served by Tyrolese noblemen.
Ferdinand soon appointed his brother the Archduke Leopold as Regent,
and on his death in 1632 the latter was succeeded by his widow, the
wise and beautiful Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Medici, who
governed Tyrol during the minority of her two sons. Her chief
counsellor was the brilliant and distinguished Chancellor Wilhelm
Biener. The Archduke Ferdinand Charles came of age (and succeeded to
his estates) in 1646, and in default of male heirs was succeeded by
his brother Francis Sigismund in 1662. The reign of the last named
lasted only three years, and came to a sudden and tragic close on the
very eve of his marriage. Popular opinion ascribed his death to
poison, given to the Archduke by his physician Agricola, the latter,
at the time, being supposed to have been instigated to the crime by
some Italian nobles whom the Archduke had banished from his Court. On
the death of Sigismund the second Tyrolese-Habsburg line of rulers
came to an end.
[Illustration: ABOVE THE ARLBERG TUNNEL]
It was then that Tyrol finally came into the possession of the
Emperors of Austria, by whom the ancient title of Prince-Count of
Tyrol and other subsidiary titles are still borne.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Several well-known authorities still refuse to accept this theory.
[2] Also called the Eisack.
[3] Mommsen in his "Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum."
[4] W. Von Rodlow.
[5] This view of the origin of the country's name is, we would add,
disputed by some authorities.--C. H.
[6] This is disputed by some authorities, but would appear to have
been the case.--C. H.