Benedikt Fontana

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (August 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Benedikt Fontana (Vogt)]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Benedikt Fontana (Vogt)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Benedikt Fontana
Memorial to Benedikt Fontana in Riom
Native name	Benedetg Fontana
Born	c. 1450 Salouf, League of God's House
Died	22 May 1499(1499-05-22) (aged 48–49) Val Müstair, Three Leagues
Allegiance	Free State of the Three Leagues

Benedikt Fontana (c. 1450 – 22 May 1499) was a Romansh bailiff and minister who allegedly died a heroic death during the Battle of Calven in 1499, in present-day Grisons, Switzerland.

As a captain in the Three Leagues during the Swabian War, Fontana achieved fame fighting in the Battle of Calven against the Holy Roman Empire. While troops were under the command of Dietrich Freuler from the Swiss Confederacy, Freuler hesitated during an attack and Fontana is said to have assumed control and fought valiantly while shouting "We are Grisons, today or never!".^[1] Fontana was mortally wounded during the battle but the Swiss troops defeated the Empire's troops despite being outnumbered 2:1.

According to local legend, Fontana's sword was later thrown into the headwaters of a creek in his hometown of Salouf and has never been found. Fontana remains a legendary figure in Romansh culture to this day, and in 1903 a statue was erected to Fontana in the cantonal capital of Chur.^[1]