 |
Muttenz History |
|
|
18th/19th CenturyBy middle of the 18th century, both the financial and social situations of the villagers had not changed much to the better. The main population of Muttenz consisted of: 27 farmers and their families, 170 'Tauners' (farm hands)with their families and 40 widows. This was the state, when Elisabeth Spänhauer-Spitteler decided to leave for the American Colonies with her four children Heinrich, Wernet, Anna and Barbara. At the same time, the family of Claus Spänhauer + Ursula (Schwartz) emigrated with their children Jacob + Matheus. Nine years later, Heinrich returned to Muttenz on a visit and when he again headed for America, 66 emigrants from Muttenz left with him. Among them we find another Spänhauer family, the one of Stephan Spänhauer + wife Ursula (Brodbeck) with their son Friedrich. In 1750, another 11 people from Muttenz followed. Napoleon and his Effect on Switzerland and MuttenzBetween 1792-97, Napoleon's enormous army were sweeping across Europe. The mighty Napoleon purposely and strongly interfered with the Swiss home-policy and kept troops on our territory. Through his strategy of oppression with both Government and folks, he managed to have 16'000 Helvetic (Swiss) soldiers march with him against Russia in the year 1812. The Swiss men fought under the command of General Bleuler from Zürich and proved to be extremely brave. However, a mere 700 of them returned. Also Muttenz had been compelled to draft a number of men. After Napoleon's final defeat at Leipzig in 1813, the remaining Helvetic men turned against him by joining the Allied troops which consisted of the Russian, Prussian and Austrian armies, who pursued him jointly. The Helvetic Government had allowed the Allied troops to cross Switzerland, so this meant open war against France. Nevertheless, quite miraculously, there was hardly any bloodshed on Helvetic (Swiss) territory. Napoleon was made a prisoner of war and deported to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea, and a Peace Treaty was signed. After Napoleon had escaped from Elba and returned to Paris, the Peace Treaty was suspended. He put together a new army, and again masses of Allied troops passed through Swiss territory (also Muttenz) towards France. At Waterloo (Belgium), 1815, the Allies succeeded in defeating Napoleon for good and he was deported to his final destination on the island of St. Helena, way out in the Atlantic Ocean. He died there in 1821. In 1814, after Napoleon's surrender, the borderlines of the European countries were newly drawn. Switzerland now consisted of 22 Cantons and was no longer called 'Helvetic Republic'. The Congress of Vienna (1815) recognized and acknowledged the 'Eternal Neutrality' of Switzerland. From a notebook left by Daniel Tschudin-Spänhauer (1804-1885) the former owner of today's Farmhouse Museum (his wife being Elisabeth Spänhauer, 1806), we get an idea of how Napoleon's campaigns affected this part of Europe. He remembered the time of his boyhood as a time of Confusion, Disorder and Hunger. Daniel personally knew the men drafted from Muttenz, and people had a feeling they would never see them again. After Napoleon's final defeat at Leipzig 1813, masses of soldiers of a multi-national composition were swept across Swiss territories. Daniel Tschudin, at that time 10 years of age, remembered this event "as if the earth had opened up, setting free all men that have ever populated this earth from the time of Creation". Uncountable masses of soldiers were pushing westwards in the direction of France. Three days before Christmas, our community had to put up with a massive contingent of troops that had crossed the Rhine at Birsfelden. All households had to accommodate up to 50 men. Daniel's parents, living in a modest house, were allocated 16 soldiers plus a sergeant and a medical doctor. The children had to move up to the attic and leave their room and beds to the worn-out men. The sergeant and doctor shared the nuptial bed. The family had to bring straw into kitchen and living-room for the remaining men to sleep on. The cow had to cede her place in the stable to two horses. Mother did not only have to do the cooking, but stay up and bake bread all through the night. The hungry men devoured the bread still hot - and in the morning there was nothing left for us children. The next morning, a drum called the men to assembly in front of our house. We children witnessed the incredible procedure of a shoe-inspection. The soldiers who had holes in their soles got a beating with hazelsticks. As this lot of men finally moved out, new contingents of soldiers poured into the village, whom again we had to accommodate and feed. This distress lasted until the Peace Treaty was signed (1814). We could hear the bombarding of the fortress of Huningue, just across the border from Basle, and our windows rattled. We boys climbed a hereby hill, whence we could watch the cannon-balls fly through the air. On April 15, 1814, Huningue capitulated. The Sunday after, father took his family to where the bombarding had taken place. Cannon-balls lay scattered all around. From a deep, broad ditch in front of the tower, hands, feet and heads of dead bodies stuck out from under a thin layer of earth. There was a terrible stench in the air. Often farmers were compelled to follow the troops with their own horse and carriage in order to transport their belongings. Many of them did not return home till months later. The impoverished people were also stricken by successive crop failures between 1812 and 1819. Auction sales became the order of the day. However, since everybody was poor, people were not willing to buy, and more often than not only half of the actual value was paid. Many a man who had stood bail for a relative or a friend went bankrupt himself.
Liberation of the Country PeopleThe French Revolution, and Napoleon's doings, had quite an impact on all European countries, thus also on Switzerland. For a limited time, that is, from 1798 to 1814, Switzerland was called 'Helvetic Republic'. The slogan of the French Revolution : In 1803, the new order was established, and Muttenz installed their own Municipal Council, headed by a President. In 1804, the Council of Basle agreed to free the peasants from ground-rent and tithe. The buying off rate was set at twenty times the yearly ground-rent, all in hard cash. They took the average revenue of the years 1778-79 as a basis. The money was payable within three years, plus 5% interest. These terms for exemption from ground-rent and tithe shifted another heavy burden on to the shoulders of both the villagers and the community - and many a small farmer, finding no other way of providing for the buying-off price, had to sell his property. The community, on the other hand, cleared vast extensions of wood, making the necessary money by selling the highly priced oak-wood. This is how the Feudal Mastership over Muttenz came to an end. In the time between 1812-24, the whole district of Muttenz was measured anew, and more precise maps were drawn. From 1814-20, a teacher named Erhard Schneider, a scholar of the world-famous Heinrich Pestalozzi (founder of the public school-system), was forming in Muttenz a number of teachers upon an initiative of the Council of Basle. Between 1824-26, another Teachers' Seminar was held in the parsonage of St. Arbogast. A later Swiss General, by the name of Rolls, was one of these pupils. The Separation from the City of BasleIn the year 1814, and thereafter, the Council of Basle consisted of 90 members from the town and 60 delegates from the country - a misbalance which no-one seemed to have any objection to for a long time. Gradually, however, it became apparent to the country-people that they were in a disadvantage as against the towns-people. In 1829 it was resented that the Council of Basle had offered too little funds to the provincial population who were suffering from both flood-damage and the heavy taxation. The Council, on the contrary, claimed a substantial piece of forest which had always belonged to the community of Muttenz. Once again under the influence of the happenings abroad -this time the French July-Revolution of 1830- 300 'patriots' from 20 municipalities gathered in Muttenz on January 2, 1831, claiming Equality of Rights. Johannes Mesmer, the innkeeper of the 'Schlassel'(the key) in Muttenz, as well as Christoph Rolls, the school teacher and later General, were among the leaders. In 1832, the country-people, disappointed and disillusioned, installed their own Provisional Administration under Stephan Gutzwiller. Johannes Mesmer was elected a member of the Provisional Government. Strangely enough, it was the very communities of the Lower Baselbiet that pleaded for a separation from the Town of Basle that now, in our days, request a reunion! Due to several minor fights, the men of Muttenz guarded the border against Basle for two consecutive years. The towns-people, annoyed by the disturbance from the Baselbiet, decided to show them by force of arms that might meant right. On August 3, 1833, they marched -well-armed-eastwards. Muttenz was evacuated but, fortunately, spared by the soldiers. Captain Mesmer took post with his sharpshooters at the foot of the Wartenberg. Just outside of Muttenz, the first battle took place. Many a man from Muttenz, standing face-to-face with a towns-man, felt weak in-his knees and deserted into the woods. As of today, there is a common grave of the 30 killed men within the churchyard of St. Arbogast. The towns-men marched on past Pratteln, setting fire to a few houses, toward the 'Hülfteschanz', where a fierce battle brought defeat to the towns-men. To prevent more shedding of blood, Confederate troops -10,000 men in all- were sent out to occupy the entire Canton while the legal separation of Basle Town and Country was worked out and legally established. There are, henceforth, two Cantons: Baselstadt (town) and Baselland (country) also called 'Baselbiet'. The State's fortune was divided, whereby the country received 64%. The Council of Basle issued a verdict by which people were asked to respect the self-reliance of the country-people and to make an effort to live on friendly terms with them. The Minister at St. Arbogast of those days of confusion, a Mr. Preiswerk from Basle and his family had to leave Muttenz in a hurry. Verena Spänhauer, sorry for the Minister's wife, who had always been kind to her and everyone, offered to help her move. Under cover of darkness, she carried a basket 'full of chinaware on her head from Muttenz to Basle for her, a good 6 miles. In a small village, where everyone knows everything about everybody, the news about Verena's help had instantly spread, giving way to the rumors that the Spänhauers were 'pro-Basle'. To scare their sympathy for the town right out of them, someone landed a bullet in a window-shutter of the Spänhauer living room. In the course of time, it became impossible for the entire population of Muttenz to live on farming exclusively. After the separation, the village was lacking in industry and remained dependent on the town as far as jobs were concerned. The quarry on the Wartenberg offered some earning. The 'Paulus Cathedral' and the German railwaystation (8) 'Badischer Bahnhof' in Basle were partly built with stones of Muttenz' origin. However, with a sudden change in architecture, the demand for stones gradually shrank to zero. Instead of the quarry, gravel works were taken into operation. In 1835, a salt-spring was discovered near the former monastery 'Rothaus'. This was the beginning of a new and still prospering industry. In 1845, 30 men from Muttenz participated in the 'Sonderbund-krieg' (9). The community added 16 Swiss Francs (some 55) to the soldiers' pay and the ones returning were treated to a good meal. In the year 1856, the Municipal Council of Muttenz made a survey in the Upper Baselbiet about the watch-making industry, with the intention to bring this prospering industry also to Muttenz. In spite of the Council's offer, to grant a credit of 8,500 francs as an initial capital, no-one showed interest in taking up watch-making - and the idea was dropped altogether. In the 1860s, there was one 'spacious' school, located where the Mittenza complex is today, containing: 3 classrooms for lower and upper grades, an apartment for the schoolmaster, a conference room for the Municipal Council plus one room each for the fire-engine and a large winepress. In the year 1864, 30 'Posamenterstühle'(looms for ribbon weaving) were operating in private homes in Muttenz. During the years, lack in demand for home-woven ribbons gradually brought an end to this line of handicraft and thus the extra earnings. The German/French War of 1870-71 swept a number of refugees from Germany and the Alsace (10) over this territory. In Muttenz, the civilian refugees were well looked after and cared for, whereas the soldiers were, as elsewhere, interned and guarded by local soldiers who, in return for this job, were paid some 40 Rappen ($.25) per day. The peasants' village of Muttenz and the suburban Birsfelden, both united into one community, had never really lived on friendly terms together. In 1874, they decided to part. Birsfelden became an independent community with 251 hectare territory (approx. 625 acres). Since 1876, wrought-iron petrol lampposts illuminated the streets of Muttenz. From 1895 on, pipe-lines conducted the water right to the houses. In 1898, electricity was provided for and in 1924, gas. The Turn of the CenturyAround the turn of the century, Muttenz was still a farmers' village. At 7 a.m., the 'Betsi' -'Betzeit'- (time for prayer), the nightwatchman used to send the children home that were still playing or strolling about in the streets. Muttenz had but a few minor stores, one grocery store, two sisters selling licorice, salt and matches. The baker also sold petrol, another pair of sisters, pulling their cart from house to house sold vegetables in the streets. The eating habits were still the same. The farmers used to eat five times a day: the first meal early in the morning consisted of coffee, bread + butter, cheese and 'Rbsti'(Swiss kind of fried potatoes). At 10 a.m., sausage, bacon, wine and/or tea was consumed. For lunch they ate home-grown vegetables and own dairy products. Followed by 'Zobe', the 4 o'clock snack with bread and cheese. Supper again brought 'Rbsti' on the table, eventually 'Geschwellti'(boiled potatoes), bread and cheese, butter and milk-coffee. People began to seek work in factories in Basle and also in Münchenstein. In 1910, a factory worker made 10 Rappen per hour ($.06); he used to work for ten hours a day on weekdays and 9 hours on Saturdays. To compare: one pound of white bread cost 25 Rappen in those days, thus 1.5 man-hours' wage. Of course, they had no way of eating at a canteen or a cheap snack-bar. No such thing existed in those days, and the few restaurants were far too expensive for them. The great invention of Sandwich had not found its way to this part of the world yet, either. So it usually was a younger sister or brother who brought them their modest but cooked meal in a basket and on foot. They often walked an hour and more one way! One grandmother of the writer, Karolina Leupin, was the youngest child of her family and she used to make the luncheon trips to a ribbon mill in Basle, where her sister and brother labored for many years and in any kind of weather. Explanatory Comments(1) Reindeer:
(2)Jura:
(3)Schaffhausen:
(4)Wartenberg:
(5) Augusta Raurica:
(6) Strasbourg:
(7) Huguenots:
(8) Railway-Stations:
(9)Sonderbundkrieg :
(10) Alsace:
|
