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History meets future

1809-2009: in memory of Andreas Hofer

Andreas Hofer for us South Tyrolean is both folk-hero, martyr and freedom fighter.

For who doesn’t know who he was: 1809, so the legend says, he has banish single handedly Napoleons troops from Tyrol and conceded so freedom and a by then unknown feeling of belonging to our country, which is still alive even today.

But the historical character of Andreas Hofer isn’t the same as the legends want to tell us. Hofer was in fact a farmer, host, drover and father, as commandant of the Tyrolean groups he was quite honestly overstrained and his participation at the victory was only marginal.

But the legend was load by the cowardly betrayal through Franz Raffl and the execution of Hofer in the city of Mantua. There, so the legend says, Hofer told to the French soldiers after they shoot to him for the first time, but didn’t hit him: "Hey, French guys, you shoot so bad!"

What is reality, what is only legend? On the occasion of the 200th anniversary institutions and cultural interested people want to get engaged more with the history and with the historical awareness. Andreas Hofer has doubtless create home. In his livetime for example falls the vow of faithfullness to the sacred heart of Jesus Christ and to Tyrol. Even today the South Tyrolean make big mountain fires every first weekend in June to renew the vow. Andreas Hofer and his comprehension of a united Tyrol is very actual: it is according to the imagination of a regional dived Europe.

The program of the Andreas Hofer anniversary 2009 is arranged by the regions Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino and it is affected by cultural diversity with many views back and many views in the future. It is addressed to every cultural group and language-family and wants to connect young and old.
On the website www.1809-2009.eu you will find a lot of further information about the anniversary.