April 24, 1848

Yesterday, Freiburg commemorated the 165th anniversary of a skirmish between revolutionists and troops of the Grand Duchy of Baden at the Jägerbrunnen (Hunter's Fountain) close to Günterstal, a nearby village. On Easter Sunday, April 23, 1848, one of the most famous encounters of the Baden Revolution took place between the feudal government and people fighting for a democratic republic. In 1848, revolutionary uprisings all over Germany made the princes tremble. 

The Baden Revolution was the longest, starting in Offenburg on September 12, 1847, with a paper titled "Thirteen demands of the people of Baden" that called for democratic government reforms, and ending in Fort Rastatt on July 23, 1849, with the fall of this last revolutionary refuge. Carl Schurz, well known in the States, escaped his imprisonment and shooting according to martial law through the sewer system at the last minute. You may want to read more about the Badische Revolution in German.

Already last Sunday afternoon on April 16, about 300 people walked from Günterstal to the Freiburger Rathaus (town hall) and commemorated the skirmish, visiting three historical places on their way:

The memorial stone at the site of the 1848 fight.

The Dortu-Mausoleum (read more) at the old Wiehre cemetery.

The last barricade was at the Schwabentor (Swabian gate).

Having left Günterstal,
the 2013 revolutionists followed the historical trail and approached the memorial site.

Many heads with varying amounts of gray hair limit the view. The guy in front is rapping the Revolution. To his right, you can see the by-now mossy memorial stone. The gentleman holding the mike and the people in the back with their black, red, and golden ribbons are the organizers of the memorial march.

To the left, the man with the tie is Freiburg's Social-Democrat MP Gernot Ehrler (whom you met in an earlier blog). He, too, said a few words about the historical implications of the aborted fight for freedom and democracy in 1848. The upcoming federal election in September oblige. According to Gernot Erler, the word combination "social" and "democracy" was first used, and its meaning was explained in Der Festungs-Bote No. 10 (Newspaper of Fort Rastatt), published on July 18, 1849.

Some participants wore historical-looking outfits ...

... and made a terrible noise firing blank cartridges.

We all sang revolutionary songs at the old Wiehre cemetery. Note the boy with his Brezel on the left.

 

He had followed the crowd on its long march to the Rathaus. Now he looks tired but clings to his Brezel. 

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