The privilegierte uniformierte Grazer Bürgerkorps, founded in 1280 to protect the city of
Graz, is the oldest organization in the
Styrian capital. Its motto is ''"Für Treue, Mut und Bürgersinn"'' ("For loyalty, courage and citizenship"). The corps' headquarters is at the Garrison Church in the basement (the former canteen) of the
Brothers Hospitallers building in Graz.
History
Before World War II
When cities developed as places with special rights and freedoms during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Bürgerwehren, Bürgerkorps or Bürgergarden were created for
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
, defense and to maintain order. The Grazer Bürgerkorps (the last remaining branch of the Bürgerwehr Graz) traces its history to 1280, when it was founded by
King Rudolf I of Habsburg. During the 18th-century rule of
Maria Theresa, standing armies began to appropriate these tasks and the original groups assumed a ceremonial role.
Brewmaster
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...
Richard Seebacher (1717-1805) revived a corps of hunters. At the end of the 18th century, three civil corps (the Hunter Corps, the Grenadier Corps and the Cavalry Corps) were unified in Graz.
The Graz garrison fought in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, and citizen corps took over the city's protection.
Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily
Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807) was the first Empress of Austria and last Holy Roman Empress as the spouse of Francis II. She was born a Princess of Naples as the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand I of the T ...
, the second wife of Emperor
Francis II and the first empress of Austria, donated a
campaign streamer
Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. Attached to the headpiece of the assigned flag, the streamer often is an inscribed ribbon with the na ...
. At the war's height in 1809, the Graz citizen corps numbered 1,300 members. Its
Schloßberg clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...
and
bell towers were spared by the French after the payment of a ransom by its citizens.
The corps' weaponry evolved from lances and
halberd
A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...
s to
bayonets and
gun
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
s.
With the introduction of
conscription in 1866, the Grazer Bürgerkorps was incorporated into the defense of the
monarchy
A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
to guard the city's gunpowder and food and to provide security. The Bürgergarde, in its
bearskin
A bearskin is a tall fur cap, usually worn as part of a ceremonial military uniform. Traditionally, the bearskin was the headgear of grenadiers, and remains in use by grenadier and guards regiments in various armies.
Bearskins should not be c ...
uniforms, also marched in
parades. To commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Habsburg dynasty on 1 July 1883 in Graz, where
Emperor Franz Joseph I appeared, the Grazer Bürgerkorps provided music and an
honor guard
A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Grazer Bürgerkorps sent a 200-man company to the borders of the empire. Although it was dissolved in November 1919, after the signing of the
Treaty of St. Germain, it was revived in 1923 as a club.
After the war
In 1953, after the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, reconstruction of the Grazer Bürgerkorps began. Its membership initially increased, peaking in 1966. The group's popularity then declined,
despite a 1978 Civil Corps exhibition at the
Styrian Armoury for Graz' 850th anniversary. For the corps' 700th anniversary, membership began to increase again and a
handbook
A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Engl ...
was published.
In 1984, the Styrian government and the mayor of Graz contributed to the purchase of
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92× ...
rifles for the corps. With the increase in membership, a larger headquarters was needed for its monthly meetings. In 1987 (about 20 years after the dedication of its last flag at the Freiheitsplatz), the Grazer Bürgerkorps dedicated a new corps flag. The hand-painted silk flag (similar to the banner of the Imperial Army of 1836) was donated to the corps. In 2002
Mannlicher M1895
The Mannlicher M1895 (german: link=no, Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95, hu, Gyalogsági Ismétlő Puska M95; "Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95") is a straight pull bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined ...
rifles replaced the corps' Karabiner 98ks, which were retired to ceremonial use. The corps, a member of the Vereinigung der Traditionsverbände Mitteleuropas (VTM), moved to a new location in late 2008.
Equipment
The corps uniform is similar to the pre-1911 version, in steel green rather than black.
Although its 1836 bearskin hats were replaced by smaller ones in 1954, caps from 1849 are still in use.
The Grazer Bürgerkorps has
Werndl–Holub rifle
The M1867 Werndl–Holub was a single-shot breechloading rifle adopted by the Austro-Hungarian army on 28 July 1867. It replaced the Wänzl breechloader conversion of the muzzle-loading Lorenz rifle. Josef Werndl (1831–1889) and Karel Holub ( ...
s with bayonets for ceremonial use, in addition to the Mannlicher M1895s.
Grenadiers wear
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
s dating back to 1765, and officers wear 1861 infantry sabres.
[Handbuch des priv. unif. Grazer Bürgerkorps pages 20-22]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Privilegiertes uniformiertes Grazer Burgerkorps
Military of Austria