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HOFER, ANDREAS (1767-181o)

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 561 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HOFER, ANDREAS (1767-181o) , Tirolese patriot, was See also:born on the 22nd of See also:November 1767 at St Leonhard, in the Passeier valley. There his See also:father kept an See also:inn known as " am See also:Sand," which Hofer inherited, and on that See also:account he was popularly known as the " Sandwirth." In addition to this he carried on a See also:trade in See also:wine and horses with the See also:north of See also:Italy, acquiring a high 'reputation for intelligence and honesty. In the See also:wars against the See also:French from 1796 to 18o5 he took See also:part, first as a See also:sharp-shooter and afterwards as a See also:captain of See also:militia. By the treaty of See also:Pressburg (18o5) See also:Tirol was transferred from See also:Austria to See also:Bavaria, and Hofer, who was almost fanatically devoted to the See also:Austrian See also:house, became conspicuous as a See also:leader of the agitation against Bavarian See also:rule. In 18o8 he formed one of a deputation who went to See also:Vienna, at the invitation of the See also:arch-See also:duke See also:John, to See also:concert a rising; and when in See also:April 1809 the Tirolese See also:rose in arms, Hofer was chosen See also:commander of the contingent from his native valley, and inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the Bavarians at Sterzing (April 11). This victory, which resulted in the temporary reoccupation of See also:Innsbruck by the Austrians, made Hofer the most conspicuous of the insurgent leaders. The rapid advance of See also:Napoleon, indeed, and the defeat of the See also:main Austrian See also:army under the See also:archduke See also:Charles, once more exposed Tirol to the French and Bavarians, who reoccupied Innsbruck. The withdrawal of the bulk of the troops, however, gave the Tirolese their See also:chance again; after two battles fought on the Iselberg (May 25 and 29) the Bavarians were again forced to evacuate the See also:country, and Hofer entered Innsbruck in See also:triumph. An autograph See also:letter of the See also:emperor See also:Francis (May 29) assured him that no See also:peace would be concluded by which Tirol would again be separated from the Austrian See also:monarchy, and Hofer, believing his See also:work accomplished, returned to his See also:home. Then came the See also:news of the See also:armistice of See also:Znaim (See also:July 12), by which Tirol and See also:Vorarlberg were surrendered by Austria unconditionally and given up to the vengeance of the French. The country was now again invaded by 40.000 French and Bavarian troops, and Innsbruck See also:fell; but the Tirolese once more organized resistance to the French " atheists and freemasons," and, after a temporary hesitation, Hofer—on whose See also:head a See also:price had been placed—threw himself into the See also:movement. On the 13th of See also:August, in another See also:battle on the Iselberg, the French under See also:Marshal See also:Lefebvre were routed by the Tirolese peasants, and Hofer once more entered Innsbruck, which he had some difficulty in saving from See also:sack.

Hofer was now elected Oberkommandant of Tirol, took up his quarters in the Hofburg at Innsbruck, and for two months ruled the country in• the emperor's name. He preserved the habits of a See also:

simple See also:peasant, and his See also:administration was characterized in part by the peasant's shrewd See also:common sense, but yet more by a pions., solicitude for the minutest details of faith and morals. On the 29th of See also:September Hofer received from the emperor a See also:chain and See also:medal of See also:honour, which encouraged him in the belief that Austria did not intend again to See also:desert him; the news of the conclusion of the treaty of Schonbrunn (See also:October 14), by which Tirol was again ceded to Bavaria, came upon him as an overwhelming surprise. The French in overpowering force at once pushed into the country, and, an See also:amnesty having been stipulated in the treaty, Hofer and his companions, after some hesitation, gave in their submission. On the 12th of November, however, i' _ urged on by the hotter heads among the peasant leaders and deceived by false reports of Austrian victories, Hofer again issued a See also:proclamation calling the mountaineers to arms. The See also:summons met with little response; the enemy advanced in irresistible force, and Hofer, a price once more set on his head, had to take See also:refuge in the mountains. His hiding-See also:place was betrayed by one of his neighbours, named Josef RAI, and on the 27th of See also:January 1810 he was captured by See also:Italian troops and sent in chains to See also:Mantua. There he was tried by See also:court-See also:martial, and on the loth of See also:February was shot, twenty-four See also:hours after his condemnation. This See also:crime, which was believed to be due to Napoleon's See also:direct orders, caused an immense sensation throughout See also:Germany and did much to inflame popular sentiment against the French. At the court of Austria, too, which was accused of having cynically sacrificed the See also:hero, it produced a painful impression, and Metternich, when he visited See also:Paris on the occasion of the See also:marriage of the archduchess See also:Marie See also:Louise to Napoleon, was charged to remonstrate with the emperor. Napoleon expressed his regret, stating that the See also:execution had been carried out against his wishes, having been hurried on by the zeal of his generals. In 1823 Hofer's remains were removed from Mantua to Innsbruck, where they were interred in the Franciscan See also:church, and in 1834 a See also:marble statue was erected over his See also:tomb.

In 1893 a See also:

bronze statue of him was also set up on the Iselberg. At See also:Meran his patriotic deeds of heroism are the subject of a festival See also:play celebrated annually in the open See also:air. In 1818 the patent of See also:nobility bestowed upon him by the Austrian emperor in 1809 was conferred upon his See also:family. See Leben and Thaten See also:des ehemaligen Tyroler Insurgenten-Chefs Andr. Hofer (See also:Berlin, 181o) ; Andr. Hofer and See also:die Tyroler Insurrection See also:im Jahre 1809 (See also:Munich, 1811); See also:Hormayr, Geschichte Andr. Hofer's Sandwirths auf Passeyr (See also:Leipzig, 1845) ; B. See also:Weber, Das Thal Passeyr and See also:seine Bewohner mil besonderer Riicksicht auf Andreas Hofer and das Jahr 1809 (Innsbruck, 1851); Rapp, Tirol im Jahr 1809 (Innsbruck, 1852); Weidinger, Andreas Hofer and seine Kampfgenossen (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1861); See also:Heigel, Andreas Hofer (Munich, 1874) ; Stampfer, Sandwirt Andreas Hofer (See also:Freiburg, 1874) ; Schmolze, Andreas Hofer and seine Kampfgenossen (Innsbruck, 1900). His See also:history has supplied the materials for tragedies to B. See also:Auerbach and See also:Immermann, and for numerous See also:ballads, of which some remain very popular in Germany (see Franke, Andreas Hofer im Liede, Innsbruck, 1884).

End of Article: HOFER, ANDREAS (1767-181o)

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