Museum Rysläuferhuus

In 1993, only a fragment of the "Schmid" house was spared from demolition: during the demolition, previously unknown wall paintings were discovered by history buffs under several layers of panelling in a parlour. The main scene of the mural painting is dated 1534. The richness of this wall painting is unique for this early period. A demolition stop was imposed for the two rooms built in the middle of the 15th century.

 

In the following years, the foundation made an effort to preserve the "Schmid" parlors, which had been snatched from demolition, in a meaningful way. Only the preservation of the two remaining rooms as a whole made sense for the foundation. It took until the autumn of 1998 for the solution implemented today to be found at the Landsgemeindehoschet.

 

What could still be saved has been saved.

 

Today, the two parlours are part of the Rysläuferhuus small museum, which is run by the gukum association.

 

The murals in the Rysläuferhuus are unique in their richness. The central element is the greeting of a uniformed soldier by a woman. The paintings can be dated to the 16th century on the basis of the clothing. On a swivel above the woman is probably the number "1534". In the following century, this depiction is often found in the same form on peasant discs. The depicted clothing and the tendril paintings suggest that the painter comes from the Lake Constance region.

 

The rice run and the 16th century Until the 19th century, crop failures due to bad weather often triggered famines. In the Glarus region and other pre-Alpine areas, the agriculturally productive area was very small anyway. Due to the specialization in livestock farming, the company was also dependent on grain imports. For young men, temporary emigration as mercenaries offered a welcome remedy. The authorities organised and controlled the mercenary service, they granted the right to recruit men of war and their representatives were also active as mercenary contractors themselves. In the 16th century, the state of Glarus and individual Glarus residents also received so-called pensions for these services, mainly from the French king. The Confederates regarded military service as a temporary emigration, lasting only the summer, and therefore tended to take part in short campaigns. Then they returned home and lived during the winter on wages and the spoils of war. The "Swiss", as the mercenaries from the Swiss Confederation were collectively called, were considered the best soldiers of their time. From the 13th century onwards, they did military service in the empire and in Italy, and later throughout Europe.

 

"Ryslauf" (rice run) is a contemporary name for this war trade. On the mural in the Ryläuferhuus, a man can be seen wearing tight-fitting trousers in the Glarus class colours: black, white and red. So it could be a Glarus official, or someone who received such trousers as a gift from the state, as happened in the 16th century.

 

This is how the museum with the two late medieval parlours got its name: Rysläuferhuus.