Matthias Klostermayr, also known as Bavarian Hiasl ( German ''Bayerischer Hiasl'', Austro-Bavarian ''Boarische Hiasl'') (3 September 1736—6 September 1771), was a German outlaw, poacher and social rebel who has come to be described, particularly in accounts written in the English-speaking world, as the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

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 ...

. A native of the municipality of Kissing near

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 ...

(his name on the

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

al register is Mattheus Klostermair—the Austro-Bavarian spelling of it), Bavarian Hiasl became an outlaw, first as a poacher and ultimately as the Robin Hood-like leader of a gang of robbers who, during the 1760s, plundered, sacked and robbed in the region around

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Augsburg and Swabia. Although he was captured and put to death by being broken on the wheel in 1771, his mythical accumulated treasure has never been found, and legends surrounding its purported whereabouts have placed it somewhere near one of his hideouts, in an old cave in Kuchelschlag Wood or on Jexhof Farm. In Bavaria and elsewhere, he has become a folk hero, with books, songs, musicals and a modern multimedia museum in Kissing ("Hiasl Erlebniswelt", or "the World of Hiasl") dedicated to him. The museum recreates for visitors the life and times of the "German prince of forests", the "Bavarian Robin Hood", whose gruesome execution took place in Dillingen an der Donau.

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

is presumed to have based Karl Moor, the tragic protagonist of his first play, '' The Robbers'', on the Bavarian Hiasl ten years later, in 1781.

References

*Hansen, Walter (1978). ''Das war der Bayerische Hiasl: Deutschlands berühmtester Wildschütz und Räuberhauptmann''. Pfaffenhofen *Schelle, Hans (1991). ''Der Bayerische Hiasl. Lebensbild eines Volkshelden''. Rosenheim. *Drexler, Toni, et al. (2002). ''Im Wald da sind die Räuber: Kneißl, Hiasl & Co. Räuberromantik und Realität''. Schöngeising.

External links

Official website of the ''World of Hiasl'' museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klostermayr, Matthias German folklore Criminals from Bavaria German outlaws People executed by breaking wheel People from the Duchy of Bavaria People from the Principality of Ansbach 1736 births 1772 deaths People from Aichach-Friedberg Executed people from Bavaria 18th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire People executed by Germany 18th-century German criminals