The kidnapping of Eberhard Im Thurn – and its after-effects until today
It was the year 1693. The chroniclers don’t tell about anything unusual happening. Obviously, the people of Buesingen were happy with their reeve. And Vogt Eberhard Im Thurn would have been happy, too, if it hadn’t been for the religious education. Like in Schaffhausen, the reformation had been introduced to Buesingen in 1529, too, and the reformed vicars of Schaffhausen took care of believers’ souls in Buesingen.

But obviously not good enough, because Eberhard Im Thurn wasn’t satisfied with it and threatened the then priest Konrad Getzer that he would contact the Catholic bishop in Constance if the religious education wouldn’t improve. Konrad Getzer informed the council in Schaffhausen about this threat, and the council who was totally enraged about it.

Family members of Eberhard Im Thurn, who weren’t well meaning took advantage of this disgruntlement. On April 10th, 1663, six of them drove to Buesingen by coach, kidnapped Eberhard, took him to Schaffhausen and held him prisoner in a private mansion. Few days later they passed the kidnapped on to the authorities in Schaffhausen, who put him in the dungeon.
This was a momentuous mistake that changed a religious/family plot into a plot of state political dimensions.

Argument with Austria

The Nellenburg government in Stockach defended their tenure holder in front of the mayor and council in Schaffhausen: The kidnapping of Eberhard Im Thurn was an unjustified action toward the sovereignty of Austria, which wasn’t annihilated through the pledge of 1651. Eberhard Im Thurn were to to be released immediately.
When Schaffhausen didn’t agree to that demand but reacted with excuses, in 1694 Austria began with reprisals by laying embargos on the export of corn or by putting high duty on it. Although the state of Schaffhausen was urged also by its allied confederates to give in, it remained stubborn.
Even worse – a court procedure was initiated against Eberhard Im Thurn and he only escaped death by the

Eberhard wird aus der Haft entlassen.
Szene aus dem Festspiel Eberhard Imthurn.

Originalunterschrift von Eberhard Im Thurn aus einem Brief an seinen Schwager im Jahr 1689.
sword by the smallest majority of votes, but he was sentenced to life in prison.
Because of this, Austria put more pressure on Schaffhausen. It annected the Schaffhausen waterfalls in it’s territory which stood for nearly 1/3 of all the income of the city and confiscated ships and even private property of Schaffhausen citizens. On February 15th 1697 Austria cancelled the pledges for all the Nellenburg villages around Schaffhausen, paid back 20 000 Gulden pledge and even moved troups near the border to Schaffhausen. Only then did the Schaffhausers give in. They set Eberhard Im Thurn free after he had spent 6 years in jail. The same relatives who kidnapped him in 1663 had to carry him back to Buesingen in front of the Junkerhaus on a sedan.