Adrian von Bubenberg (born c. 1424[ citation needed ] in Bern; died August 1479 in Bern) was a Bernese knight, military commander and mayor ( Schultheiss ) of Bern in 1468-1469, 1473-1474 and 1477-1479. In Switzerland, he is remembered as the hero of the 1476 Battle of Murten.
Adrian von Bubenberg was born as the son of Heinrich IV. von Bubenberg, Schultheiss of Bern and lord of Spiez, whom he succeeded in 1465. During a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1466, he was dubbed a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, and inscribed his name and emblem on the wall of David's Tomb. [1]
Numerous times before and after the Burgundy wars, he led Bernese negotiations with other cantons of the old Swiss Confederacy and foreign powers including Savoy, Burgundy, France and the Holy Roman Empire. But his heroic stature in Swiss history is due to his tenacious defense during the siege of Murten. He had been appointed commander of the city garrison in April 1476. The city was besieged during twelve days in June by the troops of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and Bubenberg managed to hold until he was relieved by confederate forces on 22 June, leading to the decisive defeat of Charles.
Von Bubenberg was buried in the choir of the Berner Münster, the Cathedral of Bern. Ever having been short of funds in spite of being the head of Berne's preeminent noble house, von Bubenberg was posthumously banned for his debts in 1481, but the government resisted Pope Sixtus IV's demand that he be exhumed and dishonourably buried because of this.
Bubenberg's deeds figure already in the near-contemporary illustrated chronicles by Diebold Schilling the Elder. Later, he became an icon in Romantic nationalism, portrayed in literature as the ideal of knightly virtue and of patriotism, notably in the novel Ring i der Chetti by Rudolf von Tavel (1931). In 1897, Bern honoured Bubenberg with a bronze statue on Christoffelplatz, which was renamed to Bubenbergplatz on the occasion. The design for the statue triggered a dispute on whether it was proper to show Bubenberg on foot rather than as a knight in an equestrian statue. The statue was moved to the nearby Hirschengraben in 1930 to make room for tramway infrastructure; plans to move the statue triggered controversial debate in Bernese newspapers in early 1930, but the plan found popular support in a vote of 6 April, the statue was removed on 24 April and erected at its current location on 19 May. [2]
City of Bern produced a silver medal in 1897 in memory of Adrian von Bubenberg. [3]
The canton of Bern, or Berne, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the de facto capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the canton, displayed on a red-yellow background.
The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains. The Hohenstaufen emperors had granted these valleys reichsfrei status in the early 13th century. As reichsfrei regions, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden were under the direct authority of the emperor without any intermediate liege lords and thus were largely autonomous.
The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in the following years and was killed at the Battle of Nancy in 1477. The Duchy of Burgundy and several other Burgundian lands then became part of France, and the Burgundian Netherlands and Franche-Comté were inherited by Charles's daughter, Mary of Burgundy, and eventually passed to the House of Habsburg upon her death because of her marriage to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The Battle of Grandson was fought on 2 March 1476, during the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the hands of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
The Battle of Laupen was fought in June 1339, between Bern and its allies on one side, and Freiburg together with feudal landholders from the County of Burgundy and Habsburg territories on the other. Bern was victorious, consolidating its position in the region. As a consequence of the conflict, the relations of Bern and the Swiss Confederacy tightened, resulting in Bern's permanent accession in 1353.
Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont was a member of the House of Savoy and military commander during the Burgundian Wars.
Sigmund von Erlach, sometimes given as Sigismund von Erlach, was a Swiss military commander and a politician in Bern.
The Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen is a 16th-century fountain in the Gerechtigkeitsgasse in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland. It is the only Bernese fountain to retain all original design elements, and is listed as a cultural heritage of national significance.
The Bubenbergplatz is a plaza in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. It is part of the area outside the third city walls. It is located south-west of Bahnhofplatz and is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site that encompasses the Old City.
The Erlach family was a Bernese patrician family. They first became citizens of Bern around 1300. During the 17th and 18th centuries they were one of the leading families in Bern. For centuries the family served as senior military commanders in both Bern and in foreign armies. They were mayors of Bern and ruled over many other towns and cities in western Switzerland. Several family members received the upper nobility title "Reichsgraf".
Margrave Philip of Hachberg-Sausenberg was the son of the Margrave Rudolf IV of Hachberg-Sausenberg and Margaret of Vienne. Philip reigned in 1487–1503 as Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg and Count of Neuchâtel. From 1466 he called himself Lord of Badenweiler.
The Erlacherhof is a town mansion on the Junkerngasse No. 47 in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland, only a few steps away from the Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus.
Bremgarten Castle is a castle in the municipality of Bremgarten of the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Spiez Castle is a castle in the municipality of Spiez of the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The Gümmenenkrieg was a war between the emergent city-states of Bern and Fribourg in 1331-33 in what is now Switzerland. The war pitted Bern and the new Swiss Confederation against the Habsburg-supported city of Fribourg and local nobles. It was also the first in a series of battles that brought the Habsburgs and Fribourg into prominence in the County of Burgundy. The war ended without resolving anything and led to other wars between Bern and Fribourg.
Oberer Mannenberg Castle is a ruined castle in the municipality of Zweisimmen of the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Samuel Frisching was a Swiss soldier and politician from Bern. Between 1715 and 1721 he served as that city's Schultheiss, a position not totally dissimilar from that of a modern city mayor.
Ittigen Castle is a historical country house in Ittigen in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Trostburg Castle is a small castle in the municipality of Teufenthal in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
Marx Röist (1454–1524) was a member of the political elite of Zürich, and from 1517 the second commander of the Papal Swiss Guard.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
