Andreas Balzar, nicknamed Balzar of Flammersfeld (), full name ''Andreas Ludwig Balzar'' (c. 1769–1797) was a German

robber Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. At the point of death, he confessed to killing 21 officers with his own hands.

Early life

Andreas Balzar was born on 28 January 1769 in Höchstenbach in the German mountain region of

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the States of Germany, German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Ma ...

. As the eldest son, he should have followed his father into the priesthood. At first, he acceded to his father's will and attended the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Herborn. After being exposed there as the long-sought

poacher Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunti ...

of the prince's game estate, he was expelled from school, but before he was handed over to the court, he managed to escape from Herborn. He reached his parents' home in

Flammersfeld Flammersfeld is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Westerwald, approx. 35 km north of Koblenz. Flammersfeld was the seat of the former ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective mu ...

, but his father turned him away.

Russian military service

He is said to have moved to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where his brother served in the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's bodyguard. He found service as a soldier fulfilling and rose to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the bodyguard.

Return home

It is unclear what prompted him to return to his homeland, the

. But when he did, he quickly fell in with a band of marauding robbers; he subsequently formed his own gang of poachers and made himself its leader. When a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

indecently assaulted Balzar's bride as his troops marched through Flammersfeld, Balzar asked his hunters to help him hunt the French. Farmers and young boys also followed his call, but his appeal for a general uprising in the Westerwald was unsuccessful. At times, Balzar fought with his ''

Freischärler The ''Freischar'' () was the German name given to an irregular, volunteer military unit that, unlike regular or reserve military forces, participated in a war without the formal authorisation of one of the belligerents, but on the instigation ...

s'' on the side of the Imperials (''Kaiserliche''), as the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

troops were called, but he often carried out his own ventures with his men. Under the name "Le capitaine noir" ("The Black Captain") he was searched for by the French; several times he was able to escape from their captivity. In summer 1797, however, he was betrayed into the hands of a French search party, who brought him to Westerburg, where he was sentenced to death by shooting at a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

. Although he was a poacher in the eyes of the French, the fact that he was not, like robber leader

Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler ( 177821 November 1803; ) was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most famous crime sprees in German history. He has been nicknamed Schinderhannes and Schinnerhannes () in German and John the Scorcher, John the Flayer ...

, led to the

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...

or hanged may have had something to do with his Russian officer rank. However, his death by shooting made him a hero in the Westerwald for decades. He was executed on 3 October 1797 in

Westerburg Westerburg () is a small town of roughly 6,000 inhabitants in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is named after the castle built on a hill above the medieval town centre (''Burg'' is German for “castle”) Geograph ...

. Even today, Flammersfeld hosts performances of his fateful life; the Hessian author and archivist,

Christian Spielmann Christian Spielmann (born 1963, Innsbruck, Austria) is an Austrian physicist and a professor at the University of Jena. Education and career Spielmann obtained his Ph.D. in 1989 at the Vienna University of Technology where he also habilitated i ...

, made him a character in a novel at the beginning of the 20th century as "Balzar of Flammersfeld".

Literature

* Erwin Katzwinkel: ''Andreas Balzar''. In: Lebensbilder aus dem Kreis Altenkirchen. Altenkirchen, 1979 * Erwin Katzwinkel: ''Andreas Balzar – Legende und Wirklichkeit''. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreises Altenkirchen. Altenkirchen, 1975 * Christian Spielmann: ''Balzar von Flammersfeld. Roman vom Westerwalde'', Leipzig 1906, later also worked by Fritz Vater into a local history play (''Heimatspiel'')

External links

Theaterspielgemeinschaft Flammersfeld
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balzar, Andreas Westerwald Altenkirchen (district) German robbers History of organized crime 18th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century German criminals People executed by France by firearm Military personnel of the Russian Empire 1760s births 1797 deaths