Aalten Marksmen’s Guild

Marksmen’s guilds, or civic guards, were established in the Middle Ages as local militias intended to guarantee the order and safety of citizens. In 1815, a law was passed stipulating that three percent of men between the ages of 18 and 50 were liable for service in the civic guard. In 1827, this was changed to two percent of men between the ages of 25 and 34.

In 1901, the civic guards were officially disbanded and replaced by a Landwehr (reserve army), which consisted of conscripts and volunteers. Later, voluntary marksmen’s guilds were established in many places, which anyone could join.

In 1906, the marksmen’s guild in Aalten was instrumental in the establishment of the Community Hall. In the decades that followed, we were unable to find any mentions of the Aalten marksmen’s guild in the Delpher online newspaper archive. It was not until the early 1950s that we found several mentions again, regarding the St. Helena Marksmen’s Guild.

However, in 1957, a report also appeared regarding the establishment of a marksmen’s guild by the NV Community Hall in Aalten, which was to be named ‘De Eendracht’. Exactly how this fits together remains unclear to us for the time being.

In September 1973, a ‘Volksfeest Committee’ was established, formed by the merger of the Community Hall, the Marksmen’s Guild, and the Fair Committee. This later became the ‘Aalten Volksfeest Foundation’.

This page includes several photos and newspaper articles of and about the Aalten marksmen’s guilds that we have collected over recent years. We hope to receive more information in order to write a more complete history of the Aalten marksmen’s guilds in the future.