1890 Solothurn

Actual 45 mm size by Hugues Bovy, Genf / H. Jenni / Walther Vigier, Solothurn

Obverse.

Inscription.

"Herz Und Hand Dem Vaterland" - "Heart and hand to the Fatherland"

Reverse.

Behold the blazon crest of Solothurn, nestled within the bosom of the stylized shield of the Confederacy, cradled by six generations of sharpshooter armaments of yore and present, including the crossbow, arquebus, matchlock, and flintlock muskets, and the noble carbine rifles.

Proudly displayed, the standard banner of the Cross, ensconced within the circular embrace of the victor's garland, woven from laurel and sturdy oaken branches, symbolizing triumph and valor through the ages.

Background.

The Solothurn supporters of the Reformed denomination, worship was prohibited in the city of Solothurn in 1532, after a conflict over the election of Niklaus von Wengi had broken the bishop. This eventually led to a rebellion of the Reformed movement in November 1533. They entrenched themselves in the suburb of Solothurn, where they hoped for help from Bern.

The Catholic Solothurners had the intention to end this uprising by forcibly, by the suburbs would be destroyed by cannon fire from the other bank of the Aare. After the first cannon shot, Niklaus von Wengi stood in front of the mouth of the ready-to-fire second cannon and called out in the following words not to shoot fellow-citizens.

Niklaus von Wengi the Younger became known as the "hero of the Solothurn Reformation," who, as a Catholic mayor, prevented a religious war in the Canton of Solothurn through valiant intervention. 

If Wengi successfully defied an armed conflict, he always represented the Catholic position and in the ensuing negotiations negotiated without concessions to the Reformed movement for the restoration of the ecclesiastical unity of the canton and city of Solothurn.

In memory of, Niklaus von Wengi, through his valiant intervention adverted a civil armed conflict in the city of Solothurn.