December 19th - still six days to go

Saints of the day:

Peter, Dorothy

Noon at eleven

During the terrible winter of 1809, the enemy was marching towards St. Gallen in Styria. He had already reached the foot of the Spitzberg when he had to stop. Because of ice and snow and despite huge efforts, pulling the cannons to the top was impossible. The enemy then decided that, unless he could reach the summit by noon, he would back out.

Meanwhile, The news of the troops advancing had spread. The population of St. Gallen, alarmed, gathered in the church to pray and avoid danger. The bells suddenly began to ring even though it was only eleven. The enemy nevertheless assumed that the chimes were ringing twelve noon and immediately reversed. This is how St. Gallen eschewed the attack. Up until World War I, the bell chimes customarily rang at eleven, in recollection of this event.

(source: Admont und das Gesäuse in Geschichte und Sage)

Birthdays:

Leonid Breshnev
seven of our friends - eight of our ancestors

From our family history:

91 years ago died the architect and historian Heinrich von Geymüller. He studied the Renaissance architecture and was one of the first to realize an in-depth study of the architectural structure of St. Peter in Rome. He is a cousin of our great-grandfather Heinrich von Kriegshaber.