Mathias Kneißl

Mathias Kneißl (4 August 1875 – 21 February 1902), also known as Robber Kneissl (German: Räuber Kneißl, Austro-Bavarian: Raiba Kneißl) was a German outlaw, poacher and popular antihero in Bavarian folklore, especially in the district of Dachau when the Kingdom of Bavaria was part of the German Empire. He is most well known for his face-offs with local policemen, who were already widely considered to be corrupt and who were further disliked for being Franconians who could not speak the local Upper Bavarian dialect. Kneißl became a local folk hero after repeatedly escaping and humiliating the police. According to German forensic scientist Mark Benecke, Kneißl never saw himself as a Robin Hood figure and was, in reality, "just a man who went astray with no way of getting back."

Early life Mathias Kneißl was born on 4 August 1875 in Unterweikertshofen, Dachau, Bavaria, as the eldest of six children of a poor innkeeper. In 1886 his parents purchased a mill in Sulzemoos which ended up being in "a strategically remote location", and was often used as a secret meeting place for local criminals.

Career Kneißl began poaching with his brothers at an early age. At age 16 he was imprisoned for the first time after members of his family were suspected of cattle raiding. His father was arrested for plundering the pilgrimage shrine of Herrgottsruh at Friedberg in 1892 and died soon after while in police custody in the town of Dachau. Soon after, Kneißl's mother was also arrested and imprisoned for poaching and her sons began to skip school to go poaching.

After serving his sentence, Mathias was released in February 1899 and worked as a carpenter in Nußdorf am Inn. After six months he was fired because his colleagues refused to work with him any longer. Due to his bad reputation, he was unable to find another job.

For two years, Kneißl was pursued by the police. After his accomplices were arrested, he continued committing armed robberies on his own. An attempt to arrest him occurred on 30 November 1900 in Irchenbrunn, Altomünster. After a shootout, two policemen were critically injured and later died. Three months later, in March 1901, Kneißl was captured at Egenhofen by 60 policemen. After another gunfight, Kneißl was seriously injured by a bullet in the abdomen.

Trial Between 14 and 19 November 1901 Kneißl was placed on trial at Augsburg. He was charged with two murders, attempted murder, as well as armed robbery and extortion. At his trial, which was followed by the media with great attention, Kneißl said, "As my bad luck would have it I had to go to the same school right up to my 17th year, just because Pastor Endl could not stand me and kept harassing me. Many of my friends left school long before I learned as much as the others. For the final exams, I was the only one told to do a calculation on the blackboard. I didn't want to do it. I don't accept unfairness. I will not bow even if it kills me."

Three German films are based on his life story: Mathias Kneissl by Reinhard Hauff (1971), The Proud and Sad Life of Mathias Kneissl by Oliver Herbrich (1980) and by Marcus H. Rosenmüller (2008).