Hum Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 GENEVA (AP) ? A Swiss court has wiped out an annual debt that farmers have had to pay the Catholic Church to atone for a crime 655 years ago. Swiss public broadcaster RTS says a court in the northeastern canton (state) of Glarus ruled that the current farm owner no longer has to pay 70 Swiss francs ($76) each year because Swiss mortgage reforms in the mid-19th century made the practice invalid. The broadcaster reported Tuesday the court sided with the landowner in a dispute with the church after he refused to make the annual payment for oil and candles. The payments had been a tradition since 1357, when a man named Konrad Mueller killed a man named Heinrich Stucki. To atone, Mueller promised to always pay to keep an eternal lamp lit. source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSoft Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 and it took 655 years to bring this to court? Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exotoxic Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I wonder if they actually kept the lamp lit for all those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Sound like 'tribute' money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japlabot Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Assuming this is a family farm passed down from generations, what an ass. It's not very expensive, and I'm your family (still alive) would have got much more than that in inheritance that has been passed down from your ancestors. The tradition is already 655 years old, this could be an attraction that it has been running this long, you could have made it go on for 1000s of years but it stopped because of you, and doing disgrace to your ancestor to whom you owe your life to or you wouldn't exist. Edit - sounds like it was a family farm passed down the generations. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/Court_releases_man_from_655-year_church_debt.html?cid=34676472 What an ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted January 10, 2013 Member Share Posted January 10, 2013 It's about time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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