A Schützenverein (German for "marksmen's club") is a local voluntary association found in German-speaking countries revolving around shooting as a sport, often target shooting to Olympic rules or with historic weapons. Although originating as a town militia , a Schützenverein has no military aspects and in many cases often has a more social than sporting purpose.
23-549: These associations originated in late medieval autonomous towns as a form of citizens' militia principally to defend the town. Germany has over 15,000 Schützenvereine , with most of them affiliated to the " Deutscher Schützenbund " (German Marksmen's Federation, DSB) umbrella organization. The DSB was founded in 1861 in Gotha and revived in 1951 in Frankfurt am Main following World War II . The DSB's 1,500,000 members makes it
46-676: A borough (or burgh ) was distinguished from the countryside by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws . Common privileges involved trade (marketplace, the storing of goods, etc.) and the establishment of guilds . Some of these privileges were permanent and could imply that the town obtained the right to be called a borough , hence the term "borough rights" ( German : Stadtrecht ; Dutch : stadsrechten ). Some degree of self-government , representation by diet , and tax-relief could also be granted. Multiple tiers existed; for example, in Sweden ,
69-458: A German town law charter were based on pre-existing settlements, while others were constructed anew by colonists. Many towns were formed in conjunction with the settlement of nearby rural communities, but the towns' urban rights were jealously guarded. Initially German town law was applied only to ethnic Germans, but gradually in most localities all town-dwellers were regarded as citizens, regardless of ethnic origin. Lübeck law spread rapidly among
92-754: A designated landmark since 2001. German settlers in Australia also formed Schützenvereine, notably in South Australia where Australian German associations run the Schützenfest in Adelaide . German town law The German town law ( German : Deutsches Stadtrecht ) or German municipal concerns ( Deutsches Städtewesen ) was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I . The Magdeburg law became
115-605: A major event. The popularity of these facilities began to decline in America around 1917, when anti-German sentiment from World War I restricted the activities of German-Americans and led to the prohibition of the public speaking of the German language in the United States . Many businesses and organizations translated their German names or dissolved. The American Schützenvereine were dealt another serious blow in 1919 when
138-488: A town charter, even though they had existed as a settlement beforehand. German town law was frequently applied during the Ostsiedlung of Central and Eastern Europe by German colonists beginning in the early 13th century. Because many areas were considered underpopulated or underdeveloped, local rulers offered urban privileges to peasants from German lands to induce them to immigrate eastward. Some towns which received
161-628: Is a local Polish variant of the Magdeburg rights, modelled after the town rights of Środa Śląska in Lower Silesia , granted in 1235 by Polish ruler Henry the Bearded of the Piast dynasty . The purpose of creating the Środa law was to conform the so-called German law to the interests of Polish authority. Major cities chartered with Środa law were Kalisz , Legnica and Radom . Resulting from
184-541: The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1 January 1900 were single articles concerning family and inheritance laws. The cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Berlin are currently administered under Landesrechte , or laws of the federal states of Germany . Many towns granted German city rights had already existed for some time, but the granting of town law codified the legal status of the settlement. Many European localities date their foundation to their reception of
207-573: The Partitions of Poland , Magdeburg law continued to be used in western Imperial Russia until the 1830s. Town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditions of the self-administration of Roman cities. Judicially,
230-824: The State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and along the lower Vistula in Eastern Pomerania, and in the Duchy of Masovia . Other variants included Brandenburg, Litoměřice, and Olomouc law. Litoměřice law and codes based on that of Nuremberg , such as Old Prague and Cheb law, were introduced into Bohemia during the reign of King Wenceslaus I , while German colonists introduced Brünn (Brno) and Olmütz (Olomouc) law in Moravia . South German law, broadly referring to
253-585: The " Prohibition Act " outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, the consumption of which was casually mixed with shooting activities. Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, New Jersey and Schuetzen Park in Davenport, Iowa recall the tradition. The former Deutsch-Amerikanische Schützen Gesellschaft building stands at 12 St. Mark's Place in New York City's East Village, and has been
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#1732779680868276-609: The 14th century. In the 15th century, many towns in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were chartered with the Środa town law used in much of Poland, although this was done through the duplication of Polish administrative methods instead of German colonization. In the 16th century Muscovy granted or reaffirmed Magdeburg rights to various towns along the Dnieper acquired from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After
299-408: The United States by German-Americans and acted as a social club for their communities. Each club had a range for target shooting and often also a bar. Larger clubs could have extensive facilities such as an inn, dance hall, music pavilion, zoo, bowling alley, roller coaster, refreshment stands, athletic field, picnic grounds, and other amusements. It was common for tens of thousands of people to attend
322-686: The codes of Nuremberg and Vienna , was used in Bavaria , Austria , and Slovenia , and was introduced into the Kingdom of Hungary during the rule of King Béla IV . Jihlava law was a variant used frequently by mining communities in Bohemia, Moravia, the mountains of Upper Hungary , and Transylvania . Other town laws were only suitable for or were modified to fit local conditions, such as Głubczyce , Görlitz , Goslar, Lüneburg, Lwówek Śląski , Nysa , Spiš, and Székesfehérvár laws. The Środa/Neumarkt law
345-520: The east ( Magdeburg rights ), and either Nuremberg or Vienna in the south. The granting of German city rights modelled after an established town to a new town regarded the original model as a Rechtsvorort , or roughly a legal sponsor of the newly chartered town. For instance, Magdeburg became the sponsor of towns using Magdeburg Rights, and its lay judges could rule in ambiguous legal cases in towns using such rights. Certain city rights became known under different names, although they originally came from
368-697: The inspiration for regional town charters not only in Germany, but also in Central and Eastern Europe who modified it during the Middle Ages . The German town law (based on the Magdeburg rights) was used in the founding of many German cities, towns, and villages beginning in the 13th century. As Germans began establishing towns throughout northern Europe as early as the 10th century, they often received town privileges granting them autonomy from local secular or religious rulers. Such privileges often included
391-896: The maritime settlements along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and was used in northern Mecklenburg , Western Pomerania , and parts of Pomerelia and Warmia . It formed the basis of Riga law in Riga , used for some towns in the lands of the Livonian Order in Livonia , Estonia , and Courland . Magdeburg law was popular around the March of Meissen and Upper Saxony and was the source of several variants, including Neumarkt law ( Środa Śląska ) in Poland, used extensively in central and southern Poland, and Kulm law (Chełmno law), used in
414-604: The older towns' laws, along with local autonomy and jurisdiction, gave way to landed territorial rulers. With the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, almost all of the 51 reichsfrei cities of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised by the territorial princes; the remaining imperial free cities of Frankfurt , Bremen , Hamburg , and Lübeck became sovereign city-states . The only remnants of medieval town rights (statutes) included in
437-557: The reign of King Casimir III of Poland , numerous towns were chartered with Środa town law throughout the Kingdom of Poland in the 14th century, especially in Masovia , Galicia , and Volhynia . By 1477, 132 towns and thousands of villages in Poland were granted Środa law. Many Transylvanian Saxon settlements in Transylvania, especially in the regions of Altland , Burzenland , and Nösnerland , received South German town law in
460-480: The right to self-governance, economic autonomy, criminal courts, and militia . Town laws were more or less entirely copied from neighboring towns, such as the Westphalian towns of Soest , Dortmund , Minden , and Münster . As Germans began settling eastward, the colonists modelled their town laws on the pre-existing 12th century laws of Cologne in the west, Lübeck in the north ( Lübeck law ), Magdeburg in
483-517: The same source; the name of some city variants designates the Rechtsvorort they became famous from, not necessarily that that specific style of rights originated from the Rechtsvorort . As territorial borders changed through the passage of time, changes to German city rights were inevitable. During the course of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, the town laws of many places were modified with aspects of Roman law by legal experts. Ultimately,
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#1732779680868506-577: The third largest sports organisation in Germany. Other organisations for sport shooting in Germany include the Bund Deutscher Sportschützen , "Bund der Militär- und Polizeischützen" and the "Deutsche Schießsport Union". These focus more on the sport and offer a wider variety of shooting styles and competition types than the DSB, particularly in the field of large-bore firearms. Each Schützenverein organizes shooting events, including at
529-565: The very least an annual Schützenfest . Weapons used may include air rifles , air pistols, small bore weapons and crossbows . The concept of the Schützenverein is not unique to Germany. Many other European countries have similar traditions, such as France , Belgium , the Netherlands , Austria , Italy and Poland . In these countries, the organisations are also known as Shooting Guilds . Schuetzenvereins were founded in
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