Mathias Kneißl) n English: "Kneissel" known as Robber Kneissl (in German Räuber Kneißl, in

Austro-Bavarian Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavaria ...

Raiba Kneißl), (4 August 1875 in Unterweikertshofen – 21 February 1902) was a German outlaw, poacher and popular

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

in the Bavarian folklore of the Dachau district when the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

was part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. Chased by scores of green-uniformed rural policemen, who were already widely considered to be corrupt and who were further disliked for being

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

ns who could not speak the local Upper Bavarian dialect, Kneissl became a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

to the local population because of his repeated humiliations of the police. According to German forensic scientist Mark Benecke, Mathias Kneissl never saw himself as a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

figure and was, in reality, "just a man who went astray with no way of getting back."

Early life

Mathias Kneissl was born on 4 August, 1875, as the eldest of six children of a poor innkeeper. In 1886 his parents, who were later described as having "unknown origins" and as, "ill-tempered", purchased the mill at Sulzemoos Schacher. The mill was "a strategically remote location", and was often used as a secret meeting place for local criminals. When he was 12 years old, a school report card wrote about Kneissl, "He is not totally devoid of gifts, but he is lazy beyond imagination. He never pays attention, his output doesn't exist. It is useless to scold him or punish him. He has no love of school whatsoever."

Career

Kneissl then began accompanying his brothers at an early age while

poaching 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 huntin ...

. At age 16 he was imprisoned for the first time, because members of his family were suspected of

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing live cattle, often several or many at once. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination ...

. His father was arrested for plundering the pilgrimage shrine of Herrgottsruh at Friedberg in 1892 and died soon after while in police custody in the town of Dachau. Soon after, Kneissl's mother was also arrested and imprisoned for

and her sons began to skip school in favor of similarly poaching instead. six years. After serving his sentence, he was released in February 1899 and worked as a carpenter in Nußdorf am Inn. After six months Kneissl was dismissed by his master, because his colleagues refused to work with him any longer. Due to his bad reputation, he was unable to find another job. For two years, Kneissl was pursued by the police. After his accomplices were arrested, he continued committing armed robberies on his own. An attempt to arrest him occurred on 30 November 1900 in Irchenbrunn Altomünster. In a massive gun battle, two policemen were injured so badly that they subsequently died. Three months later, in March 1901, Kneissl was captured at Geisen Egenhofen by 60 policemen. During the preceding gunfight, Kneissl was seriously injured by a bullet in the abdomen.

Trial

Between 14 and 19 November 1901 Kneissl was placed on trial at

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. He was charged with two murders, attempted murder, as well as

armed robbery 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 ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

. At his trial, which was followed by the media with great attention, Kneissl said, "As my bad luck would have it I had to go to the same school right up to my 17th year, just because Pastor Endl could not stand me and kept harassing me. Many of my friends left school long before I learned as much as the others. For the final exams, I was the only one told to do a calculation on the blackboard. I didn't want to do it. I don't accept unfairness. I will not bow even if it kills me." Kneissl confessed to most of the charges, but denied an intent to kill against the two policemen who were shot by him. However, the court found him guilty of murder, premeditated bodily harm with fatal consequences, extortion and for aggravated robbery. The Court then sentenced him to receive the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for murder and 15 years imprisonment on the other charges. Sentenced on a Monday, Kneissl allegedly sarcastically remarked: "Well, that's a good start of a week." Judge Anton Rebholz appealed by letter to the Ministry of Justice, which confirmed Kneissl's death sentence. Kneissl was awakened shortly after seven o'clock on the morning of 21 February 1902. He was then executed via

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

. The executioner was Franz Xaver Reichhart.

Legacy

Kneissl was already a legendary figure in his own lifetime. The people, especially the small farmers of Bavaria saw in his outlaw life something revolutionary, a rebellion against the authorities. Even in recent times the Kneissl legend remains popular. Musical examples include the songs "Kneissl" by Georg Ringsgwandl (1993) and "Schachermüller-Hiasl" by Schandmaul (2016). Three German films are based on his life story: '' Mathias Kneissl'' by Reinhard Hauff (1971), ''The Proud and Sad Life of Mathias Kneissl'' by Oliver Herbrich (1980) and ' by Marcus H. Rosenmüller (2008).

Early life

Career

Trial

Legacy

References

Further reading