1809 - IN DEFENCE OF THEIR MOUNTAINS

In the framework of the celebrations held to mark the second centenary of the Tyrolean Wars of Liberation, Reinhold Messner makes use of his Mountain Museum to explain the developments that caused a mountain people – in this case the farming community of the Tyrol – to rise up and defend themselves against the big Bavarian and Napoleonic armies. Paintings by contemporary artists, memories of the protagonists, relics from 1809 and the works of modern artists shed light on Andreas Hofer and the tragedy of the events two hundred years ago.

The exhibition is integrated in the circular tour of Messner Mountain Museum Firmian at Sigmundskron Castle. It is open from 1 March to 15 November 2009.

Exhibition dates: 1 March to 15 November 2009
Opening hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. / closed on Mondays
 

Anno ‘09 – In defence of their mountains

Tyrol, the land in the mountains, has always had a key strategic function at the heart of Europe. As a result, the Tyrol has repeat-edly come under pressure. Whether the 1809 War of Liberation was a wise tactical move or even meaningful at all, whether An-dreas Hofer was a charismatic hero or merely a pawn in a big-ger game, the war was a fact – and its effects were disastrous.

Andreas Hofer today is an important element in the interrelated history of all five parts of the land and to that extent a symbol of integration in the modern perception of the Tyrol. And the heri-tage of the old Tyrol, which we also owe to Andreas Hofer as the source of a common identity, lives on – in the Tyrol, South Ty-rol, the Trentino (Italian Tyrol) and in several municipalities in the Belluno Dolomites (Anpezo-Hayden and Buchenstein).

Here I see opportunity rather than fate: On the basis of our his-torical unity and in the framework of Schengen as an EU agree-ment that overcomes both national borders and the wars of the past, we are now confronted with the task of shaping a future and the quality of life in the Tyrol. The modern Tyrol is no longer the victim of some historical infamy; it is the sum of people with different languages and cultures, natural resources like water and mountains, and unique landscapes. What this Tyrol may be lack-ing in size can be compensated by our commitment to our com-mon ground. Let our weapon be the word.

Reinhold Messner