Ignaz Alois Anton von Indermauer zu Strelburg…
August 1796 CE
Ignaz Alois Anton von Indermauer zu Strelburg und Freifeld, born into the Tyrolese noble family In der Maur zu Strelburg und Freifeld, had been educated in Innsbruck and had studied law before joining the state service.
In 1789 he arrived in Vorarlberg and led the administration of the district office here.
He had been appointed the Landvögte and Kreishauptmann, the Provincial Governor, district chief and representative of the Habsburg crown, of Vorarlberg in 1791.
As Landvögte and Kreishauptmann, he oversees legal and financial affairs.
He is unpopular among conservatives, particularly for enforcing the Josephine reforms and conducting investigations against those who opposed the reforms.
The legal and religious reforms made by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, had caused outrage across Austria, continuing on after the death of Emperor Joseph II in 1790.
The reforms include limiting the authority Rome has over the Catholic Church within the Holy Roman Empire.
When war broke out between Austria and France, around the time of the French Revolution, Indermauer had closed immigration to Vorarlberg from areas that had been affected by revolution and placed a ban on exported goods.
This had angered merchants working in textile production and seasonal workers from Vorarlberg who worked in France during the summer months.
On August 8, 1796, French troops had approached near the Austrian border and Indermauer had been given terms by Austrian military officials to hand over Vorarlberg without a battle.
Indermauer had been told to leave for Tyrol, escaping in the early morning on August 9, 1796, by carriage with Weber, mayor of Bregenz, and Oberamstrat Franzin.
They arrived in Bludenz and took refuge in the Convent of Saint Peter, a Dominican monastic community, after being met with an angry mob upon arrival.
The evening of his arrival to the Convent of St. Peter, hundreds of peasants from Bürs and Montafon, led by a baker named Franz Josef Tschofen, storm the monastery and capture Indermauer, Weber, and Franzin.
An attempt to rescue them is made by Father Bonaventura, the confessor of the nuns at the monastery, but he is unsuccessful.
Indermauer, Weber, and Franzin are tortured for hours before being murdered by members of the mob.
Franzin is stabbed to death with swords and Weber is dragged by his feet to the courtyard and shot.
Indermauer is accused of treason for deserting his post and is dragged by his hair to the courtyard and shot.
They are then undressed and their valuables divided among the mob.
Tschofen will later be imprisoned for thirty years for the murders and thirteen others involved will be sentenced to eight years in prison.