In der Maur
In der Maur (also written as In der Mauer, Indermaur, Indermauer) is an ancient Swiss family. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the family held positions of political and economic power as members of the bourgeoisie in Berneck, St. Gallen and as members of the lower nobility in Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße. The In der Maur von Berneck family were first granted a coat of arms in 1478, when Hermann In der Maur was appointed as the Ammann of the Abbot of St. Gallen of Berneck— a position the family continued to hold throughout the reigns of  the Prince-Abbots of the Abbey of Saint Gall within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family also served as Imperial tax collectors and as clerks of the Court of Berneck. The first member of the family to hold the position of Ammann in Berneck was Ulrich In der Maur in 1435. After Hans Indermaur von Berneck settled in Rheineck in 1590, the family were granted fiefdoms as vassals, and owned vineyards in the region. A coat of arms was granted to the In der Maur von Rheineck family in 1685, first used by Johann In der Maur. Members  of this branch also served as magistrates and clerks of the Courts of Rheineck. A branch of the family that settled in South Tyrol were granted coats of arms in 1479, 1491 and 1586. They were elevated to the lower nobility by Rudolf II in 1601 and were then known as von In der Maur auf Strehlburg und zu Freifeld, after their two principle estates in Tyrol: Ansitz Strehlburg and Ansitz Freienfeld. A descendant of this branch, Josef Sebastian Anton Indermauer von Freifeld zu Strelburg, was ennobled in the Kingdom of Bavaria by Maximilian I Joseph in 1813. Members of  the family have been leading figures in politics, law, and statesmanship including Carl von In der Maur, who served as Governor of Liechtenstein under Johann II, Ignaz Anton von Indermauer, who served as Landvögte of Vorarlberg, Gilbert von In der Maur, who was a Nazi official in Austria, and John Indermaur, who was a solicitor and legal writer in the United Kingdom. The family has also produced prominent artists including the Swiss painters and sculptors Robert Indermaur and Anna Indermaur, the Swiss actress Rebecca Indermaur, and the opera singers Rahel Indermaur and Edna Indermaur. History. The In der Maur family  originated in the Rhaetian Alps in Switzerland, descending from the Alemanni. The surname from the German language, translates to "in the wall", possibly referring to a fortress, defensive wall, or a geographic moor. The main branches of the family settled within the territory of the Holy Roman Empire that is now Eastern Switzerland, Southern Austria and Northern Italy. Berneck. During the Middle Ages the In der Maurs were granted the right to use heraldry. Hermann In der Maur (or Mur) was granted a coat of arms including a green shamrock clover leaf on a golden shield in 1478. As members  of the bourgeoisie, the In der Maurs were permitted to live in fortified stone houses, instead of wooden houses that were typical of the peasant class. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the In der Maurs held administrative roles in the government of Farniwang/Bernang (later called Berneck) as Landamänner (Ammann), or chief magistrates of the rural Landsgemeinde, and as clerks of the court (Gerichtsschreiber). They continued having political and economic influence in the region after the Abbey of Saint Gall gained control, having been granted privileges by the Prince-Abbots of St. Gallen. With these privileges, they held  the position of Ammann of the Abbot of St. Gall to Bernang. The In der Maurs also served as Imperial tax collectors (Landvogtammaenner) for Bernang on behalf of the Imperial Landvogt. Jakob Indermaur was Seckelmeister (treasury master) in 1699. Johann Indermaur was a court clerk in 1705. Hans Georg Indermaur served as a court clerk from 1805 to 1807. Ulrich In der Maur was appointed as Ammann in 1435. One of his descendants, Hermann In der Maur, was made Ammann in 1458. Another Hermann In der Maur was appointed as Ammann in 1493. Hans Indermaur was made Ammann in 1554 . Ulrich In der Maur became Ammann in 1614. Johannes Indermaur was made Ammann in 1719. Josef Indermaur zu Bernang became Ammann in 1741. In 1525, Berneck's population, facing political pressure, converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. By 1532, more than half of the residents had returned to their original religion. The In der Maurs of Berneck, who had adopted the religious reforms of Huldrych Zwingli during the Reformation and became Protestant, chose to remain in the Reformed faith. In 1609, the Ammann Ulrich Indermaur, along with Thomas Haingler and Georg Schegg as appointed committee members and official representatives of the  Court of Berneck, handled a property and inheritance dispute with Count Kaspar zu Hohenems. In 1610 Ulrich Indermaur was part of a group of government officials who made inspections with the local bailiff and Prince-Abbot's ordiners. In 1613, members of the Reichsvogt including Jakob Spengler, Joachim Rütlinger, Otmar Rheiner, Jakob Allgöwer, and Georg Gruber approved an exchange of land and crops between the Hospital in St. Gallen and Bartholome Wettach, another official and resident of Berneck. Ulrich Indermaur collected taxes on the property, including an annual interest of 1 pound, 9 shillings, 10 pfennings, and 2 chickens, as  well as a premium of 5 guilders, which went back to the hospital. On 24 February 1615, Ulrich Indermaur served as one of five delegates representing the farms of the Upper Rhine Valley. In 1612, the Lords of Zürich, supporting Protestantism, selected a local preacher named Heinrich Rauch to fill the post in Berneck. Rauch was presented to Prince-Abbot Müller by Baltus Torgler and the Ammann Heinrich Indermaur on behalf of the lords. This offended the Catholic Prince-Abbot, who believed filling the position was his right. He called upon his courtier, Isidor Metzler, a clergyman and doctor of  church law, to look into the violation against the Imperial Abbey. Metzler argued that the right to appoint priests and preachers in Berneck was granted solely to the Church in St. Gallen, and that the Abbot had the right to appoint clergy throughout the imperial territory without the approval or recommendations of the lords. After Rauch agreed to keep in line with Church teaching and to preach peace and unity in the community, he was allowed to make his vows to the Prince-Abbot and was granted a fiefdom. On 14 July 1614, the Ammann Ulrich Indermaur signed and presented  a request to Prince-Abbot Bernhard Müller on behalf of the priest Sebastian Roth of Berneck and the local Catholic Church to appoint the clergyman Georg Keizer, the former pastor of Flawil, to a local curatorship and allow him to preach at the early masses. The In der Maur family owned vineyards in the Rhine Valley. Konrad (Cunradten) Indermaur owned a vineyard that bordered the estate of the Franz family, and the Pfarrpfrund. Ulrich Indermaur owned a vineyard that bordered the vineyards of Hans Curer, Hans Böckhen, and Antoni Frei. A vineyard owned by Bartli Indermaur bordered that of Antoni  Frei and Otmar Noll's heirs, near Mühlebach. In 1615 the Ammann of Berneck, Ulrich Indermaur, owned a vineyard called Tannweg that bordered the estates of Rudolf Jäkli, Sebastuan Dierauer, and Kaspar Weber. Jakob Indermaur owned a vineyard that bordered the property of George Seiz and Ulrich Seitz. In 1620, Jakob Indermaur was one of 13 men ordered by the Court of Berneck to ensure streets, paths, and bridges were cleared and cleaned between the vineyards of the Junker Hans Kaspar Rugg von Tannegg, representing his cousin Magdalena Rugg, the Ammann Hans Kaufmann, and Lukas Studach von Altstätten. Kurtatsch an  der Weinstraße, Bavaria, and Liechtenstein. In 1396, Hans jn der Maewr ab Pennoen (Penon, a small hamlet near Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße) appears in a local deed issued in the Habsburg-ruled South Tyrol. In 1479, a branch of In der Maurs, who settled in Habsburg-ruled South Tyrol, were granted a coat of arms by Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire. On 23 October 1491 they were granted another coat of arms by Maximilian II. A third coat of arms was granted to six brothers and three male cousins of the family on 1 August 1586 in Innsbruck . On 6 March 1601 the In der Maurs in South Tyrol were elevated to the landed nobility by Rudolf II. Some members of the family were granted the rank of edler, the lowest rank in the titled nobility. On 23 June 1703 the In der Maurs of South Tyrol were made barons by Leopold I. The In der Maurs, as part of the Tyrolese lower nobility, owned a schloss and various Ansitze in Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße. In 1615 Caspar Indermaur funded the construction of the Catholic Chapel of St. Anna at Ansitz Strehlburg, one of the In der Maur  estates in Kurtatsch. Baron Caspar von Indermaur held the position of Ober Jägermeister (Master of the hunt). In 1779, Baron Johann Baptist von Indermaur is listed in "Des Hohen Erz-Stifts und Churfürstenthums Trier Hof-, Staats- und Stands-Kalender" as a court official in Trier. On 19 October 1813 in Munich, Josef Sebastian Anton Indermauer von Freifeld zu Strelburg was granted noble status as a briefadel in the Kingdom of Bavaria through letters patent from Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. Carl von In der Maur, of this line, twice served in the court of Johan II as the Governor of  Liechtenstein. He was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph in 1909 for his service in government. He was married to Auguste von Kogerer, the daughter of Austrian courtier Heinrich Ritter von Kogerer. Their son, Gilbert von In der Maur, was a member of the Austrian SS and was married to Countess Maria Gertrude Barbo von Waxenstein, the daughter of Count Josef Anton Barbo von Waxenstein. Rheineck. In 1590 Hans Indermaur, a tanner from Berneck, resettled in Rheineck. Indermaur's house was purchased in the 1700s by the municipality of Rheineck and was converted into an  orphanage. The building is now a historic landmark and the house's cellar, once used as a tannery, is now a performance venue. As vassals, the In der Maurs were granted fiefdoms and owned vineyards in Berneck and Rheineck. On 19 March 1655, a tanner named Jakob Indermaur von Rheineck was granted a fief near Reben am Schwerzenberg. He was granted another fief, in Strenglen, on 24 June 1689. The family were granted a second coat of arms in Rheineck, when Johann (Johannes) In der Maur was granted a coat of arms in 1685 depicting a golden lion wielding a  blade on a blue shield. Johannes Indermaur von Rheineck was given a fief in Pulberstampf on 1 June 1718. Niklaus Indermaur von Rheineck, the son of a former district governor, was granted a fief in Kugelwies on 4 March 1726 by Johann Jakob Ritter von Ackermann. Heinrich In der Maur was granted a fief in Strenglen on 10 March 1751. Zacharias Indermaur von Rheineck was granted a fiefdom in Pulverstampfe, near Weissgerberwalke, on 12 June 1763. In the 1800s, members of the family held government administrative positions as court clerks, scribes, and Bezirksammann (district magistrates). The Netherlands and United Kingdom . In the middle of the eighteenth century Paulus In der Maur of Berneck (1732–1805) moved from Switzerland to Schoonhoven, South Holland, the Netherlands, thus creating a Dutch branch of the family. His descendants later settled in Utrecht, Gouda, Rotterdam, and Dordrecht. This line included two prominent organ builders, Johann Frederik In der Maur (1790–1836) and Johannes Casper In der Maur (1817–1860). Paulus In der Maur's great-grandson, George In der Maur (1831–1889), moved to Batavia, Dutch East Indies (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia), where he married and had seven children. Christina Antoinette In der Maur (1866-1914), a daughter of  George In der Maur, married Johan de Lannoy, a descendent of Eustachius De Lannoy. Johannes In der Maur of Berneck (b. 1748), son of Herman In der Mauer von Berneck (b. 1719) and Anna Schreiberin, moved with his wife Margaretha Oberhausler from Switzerland to England. They had three children; Herman Indermaur (b. 1776), Anna Regula Indermaur (b. 1778), and Henry Indermaur (1788 –1848). The English In der Maur line continued with descendants settling in Middlesex and Somerset. In 1904, John Indermaur and Lancelot Indermaur were included in the "Royal Blue Book: Court and Parliamentary Guide", a directory published under the  patronage of the Edward VII that listed upper-class London residents. In 1936, M.J. Indermaur served as chairman of the Union Helvetia Club in London. In 1952, Minnie Rose Carpenter (b. 1919) of Gillingham, the wife of David George Indermaur, departed from Southampton with her daughters Barbara Catherine Indermaur (b. 1944) and Jean Elizabeth Indermaur (b. 1949) to join her husband in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 20th-century to 21st-century. The Austrian In der Maurs included the nobiliary particles "von" (descending from) and "zu" (resident at) in their surname as von In der Maur auf Strehlburg und zu Freienfeld, referencing  two of their principal estates, Strehlburg and Freienfeld, in South Tyrol. The use of nobiliary particles in the surname was maintained until the nobility was abolished in Austria in 1919 and the use of nobiliary particles in the surname became illegal in Austria. A restaurant in Rorschach, Zum goldenen Fass, was started by Johann Indermaur of Berneck in 1905 and is still owned and operated by the family. The family has owned the Maienhalde estate, a winery and vineyard in Berneck, for four generations. The In der Maurs owned a furniture manufacturing company and warehouse in Goldach for 105 years . In 2000 the family sold a kitchen business to Ruedi Kälin, Claude Strickler and Rolf Kurath, who incorporated it into the company ASTOR Küchen AG in Einsiedeln. In 2018, Katharina In Der Maur was presented as a debutante at the Vienna Opera Ball. Further reading. Veronika Gruber: Kurtatsch und sein Gebiet im Wandel der Zeit, Kurtatsch 1995 (German), online version: online