One saw "among other things a peasant maid from Spinges, who stood on the Freithof wall with her underwear tied together and her hair flying, pushing down the storming enemies with a fork". Thus begins the multi-faceted story of a controversial heroine who has been exploited in many ways. Their appearance is said to have contributed significantly to the victory of the Tyroleans against Napoleon in 1797. For decades she was only known as the girl from Spinges, until the name Katharina Lanz suddenly appeared in 1870. Even today she is considered a Tyrolean heroine. The book analyzes the construction of this symbolic figure, which is repeatedly shaped by religious, national and gender-specific meanings, in regional and international contexts.