Imperial Visit to Meran and Enfeoffment at Castle Tyrol

Tyrol.

Regarding the stay of Their Majesties in Meran and the memorable ceremony at Castle Tyrol, the following precise details have reached us:

Meran, 22 August. On the 20th of this month, towards noon, the town of Meran was favored with the honor of welcoming its beloved, most serene ruling couple within its walls during their journey through Tyrol. Mortar fire from the heights and the festive peal of all bells announced the imperial arrival, soon drowned out by the heartfelt cheers of the densely crowded populace. At the Passer bridge, Their Majesties graciously granted the people's request to unharness the horses from the imperial coach and allow themselves to be drawn by several locals to their quarters. There, Their Majesties were reverently received by His Imperial Highness the most serene Archduke Johann, the Imperial-Royal President of the Court Chamber Count von Wilczek acting as deputy of the provincial governor, the Prince-Bishop of Trent, and the Imperial-Royal District Captain. A company of the Imperial-Royal Infantry Regiment Gollner was stationed as a guard of honor, and three companies of marksmen from Meran, Lana, and Passeier—distinguished alike by their tall, robust physique, disciplined bearing, and traditional dress—formed a cordon around the square and subsequently paraded before Their Majesties. Guard duties at the gate and within were shared jointly by the military and the marksmen. Shortly after arrival, His Majesty the Emperor granted audience to the clergy, the district court, and the municipal magistracy, before proceeding to dinner.

In the afternoon, His Majesty the Emperor traveled to Castle Tyrol for a ceremony of unique character that forms a significant chapter in the history of the land, meaningfully linking the future to a great past. A detachment of provincial riflemen led the procession, followed by His Majesty, His Imperial Highness, and the sovereign retinue on horseback. Detachments of marksmen were stationed along the road, the bells of all nearby towers rang out, mortar salvos echoed from the heights, and young and old in holiday attire pressed forward everywhere to glimpse their beloved sovereign, filling the air with joyful acclamations. The ancestral seat of Castle Tyrol was occupied by a company from Passeier in accordance with the ancient privilege granted to them by Duchess Margarete as a reward for their proven loyalty and allegiance; at the inner gates stood the proprietors of the Schildhöfe *) bearing halberds. In the largest chamber of the castle a throne had been erected, upon which His Majesty deigned to take his seat and cover his head; the proprietors of the Schildhöfe assembled opposite the throne, before them the relatives of the late Andreas von Hofer, while around them and in the anteroom crowded a great number of inhabitants of Passeier and gathered spectators. Count von Wilczek, deputy of the provincial governor and Burgrave of Tyrol, then stepped beside the throne and delivered the following address:

“Men of Passeier!”

“His Majesty our most gracious Emperor and Sovereign, in recognition of your steadfast loyalty and devotion, has permitted you to assemble here today at this ancestral imperial seat and, according to the ancient privilege granted to your forefathers of old, to undertake its castle watch.”

“At the same time, His Majesty has deigned to charge me with the sovereign command to announce to you that it is His imperial will to bequeath to posterity an honorable memory of your leader Andreas Hofer, who earned high merit in service of the Imperial House and his fatherland. To this end, His Majesty has purchased the estate left behind by him in Passeier, converting it into a sovereign fief and determining that it shall perpetually bear the name ‘von Hofers Sandhof’ and that its owner shall always carry the surname Hofer. A grandson of Andreas von Hofer, son of Johann von Hofer, shall be first enfeoffed therewith; and as His Majesty, upon the humble supplication of the present Johann von Hofer, decided that his minor son Andrä von Hofer be the first recipient of this fief, His Majesty has furthermore decreed, in view of the first holder's minority, that Andrä Erb, son-in-law of Andreas von Hofer, be appointed as feoffee on his behalf, receiving the fief according to feudal law upon taking the feudal oath before the local feudal chamber. In honoring the memory of your upright and faithful leader and offering proof of His paternal benevolence and grace, His Majesty expects that you will demonstrate your ancestral loyalty and attachment to Him and His House on every future occasion, remaining what your fathers were. His Majesty remains graciously inclined toward you.”

After Count Wilczek had delivered this address, the Imperial-Royal District Captain on the Etsch, Count Klemens von Brandis, stepped forward before His Majesty and delivered the following speech of gratitude on behalf of the inhabitants of Passeier:

“Most Serene, Most Mighty Emperor,

King and Sovereign!”

“May Your Majesty graciously permit me, on behalf of the grandson of Andreas von Hofer just appointed first holder of the fief and of the people to whom he belongs, to lay at Your feet our deeply felt gratitude for so distinguished a mark of sovereign favor and grace.”

“The Tyroleans have always regarded it as a duty both sacred and dear to sacrifice life and property for their Imperial House, and they feel all the more deeply the grace of their Monarch, who derives from that which they render out of duty the occasion for the most generous recognition and reward. The paternal favor of our late Monarch had already endowed the survivors of Andreas Hofer with imperial munificence, having moreover interred his remains in the Court Church and erected near the statues of Your imperial ancestors a monument that represents one of the finest ornaments of art in the province. Yet all this did not exhaust the gracious intentions of Your Majesty: at the homeland of that faithful defender of his sovereign, a new monument shall now arise through its transformation into a princely fief perpetuating his name, enduring through centuries to proclaim the loyalty of the land and the appreciation of the Monarch, while its first conferral in this castle by Your Majesty in person will be handed down from generation to generation in joyous popular tradition.”

“May God grant Your Majesty a long and prosperous reign; should His inscrutable decrees nonetheless reserve trials for Your Majesty, You will forever find in Tyrol, and above all in that valley to which its sovereigns of old entrusted the custody of their ancestral seat, the steadfast and faithful shield of Your throne.”

His Majesty deigned to express his emotion at the sentiments of loyalty and attachment of his good people in Tyrol, renewed in this place as everywhere, and all present broke out into loud cheers. His Majesty received the presentation of the grandchildren of Andreas von Hofer, the eldest of whom, Anna Erb, presented a bouquet of alpine flowers; subsequently, two yeomen, Blasius Trogmann of Mais and Mathäus Ladurner of Algund, who had received the medium gold medal of honor for their merits at the act of homage, were presented to His Majesty. His Majesty lingered for a time to admire the splendid view from the castle before returning to Meran.

Her Majesty the Empress had meanwhile visited the convent of the English Ladies and an institution of the Sisters of Charity in the hospital of Meran, newly established by benefactors in honor of the imperial visit.

In the evening, the town and several surrounding heights were illuminated brilliantly and with great taste, a double row of colored lanterns along the banks of the Passer being particularly distinguished by their magical effect.

Thus concluded a day that, in unpretentious forms, displayed renewed the powerful bond first woven by the benevolent heir of Duchess Margarete in 1363, strengthened by Friedrich who was great in misfortune, animated by the chivalrous Emperor Max, and sustained by the long succession of his heirs, until in the struggles of our era it achieved a peak rarely equaled in history.

On the morning of the 21st, at 9 o'clock, Their Majesties departed the town of Meran and continued their journey to Mals.

*) Eleven farms in Passeier, named: Saltaus, Rennwies, Granstein, Kahlbauer, Gereith, Baumkirch, Steinhaus, Gomion, Happerg, Bucheneck, and Erbion; they are registered separately in the provincial register and are said to have obtained this privilege because their former owners formed the castle guard of Duchess Margarete.