Marktoberdorf - The time has finally come! After Edition I “Fischer's Sagenschatz”, the stories of the homeland and other stories by the district judge Ludwig Wilhelm Fischer (1817-1890), eagerly awaited by friends of the homeland, have now been published. The editor Siegfried Laferton recently presented the so-called Fischeriana Edition II “Fundus of home history” in the Modeon Marktoberdorf.
Thanks to the tireless perseverance and curiosity of Siegfried Laferton, who worked his way through the labyrinth of collections, readers can now take part in Clemens Wenzelau's electoral court in Oberdorf Palace and the market as well as many events from the surrounding area. This includes local and church histories as well as stories about popular belief and sorcery. Siegfried Laferton, who worked as a teacher until 2020 and who discovered his passion for folklore and local history at an early age, transferred parts of the 54 volumes by the district judge from the old German Sütterlin script into our current script.
The original of the significant local history works is well kept in the Bavarian State Library in Munich.
Four years ago, with the help of sponsors, the city of Marktoberdorf succeeded in digitizing these 54 volumes and thus making them accessible via the Internet.
The project was partly financed by the local homeland association.
A magistrate and storyteller
But who was the diligent recorder of the original stories, this Ludwig Wilhelm Fischer? Born five years after the death of Prince-Bishop Clemens Wenzelau (1739-1812) in Rain am Lech, he later became a lawyer and, in 1856, was transferred to the Oberdorf Regional Court, today's Marktoberdorf, as district judge and administrator. This work brought him together with people from all walks of life. He traveled a lot, held court and listened to the stories of people who, as contemporary witnesses, had a lot to report about the “kind” Prince-Bishop Clemens Wenzeslaus and the hard everyday life in the country. LWFischer collected these stories and events with passion and supplemented them with his own drawings.
Therefore, there is a lot to discover while leafing through. For example the story of the Bavarian Hiesel: A rascal, you could say. Even a poacher. He drove his mischief in the Oberland, but the farmers protected him because he killed the game that was harmful in their eyes at the time. In Osterzell he was finally taken prisoner in 1771 after violent resistance. On the way to Dillingen, the authorities were able to convince themselves of the almost limitless affection for Hiesel on the part of the rural population. Numerous she flanked the path of the prisoner and his fellow prisoners to show them their sympathy. In his trial he is said to have confessed to all of his 50 crimes, but he was sentenced to death. He is said to have accepted the judgment calmly and praying with the words "he deserved death".
The authorities acted in a similarly merciless manner in the story of Stephan Weyrauch, who was executed in Oberdorf in 1754. He is said to have regretted his actions in court extraordinarily, so extraordinarily that he even moved the audience to tears with his words. When he then stepped onto the scaffold and died steadfastly, the accompanying priest is said to have said: “Everyone confessed that one had never seen such a beautiful execution in his life,” read publisher Laferton with an unmoved expression. At the same time, tears flowed from the portrait of St. Crescentia in Kaufbeuren.
What a treasure Laferton has unearthed with his tireless work and made accessible to his contemporaries becomes clear when reading the extensive work.
It is thanks to Siegfried Laferton that a window has opened into the past of the town of Marktoberdorf, said Mayor Dr.
Wolfgang Hell.
One marvel at Ludwig Wilhelm Fischer, who developed the historical sources and oral traditions as an avid supporter of the Grimm School and a lawyer at his place of office.
He recorded his earnings meticulously and critically by hand.
A contemporary witness in the best sense of the word.
Astrid Froese
