Expulsion of Protestants from Salzburg by the Austrian Empire

In 1731, 20,000 Lutheran Protestants were expelled from Salzburg on the order of the Archbishop of Salzburg Leopold Anton Eleutherius Reichsfreiherr von Firmian (r. 1727‒44) in breach of the Peace of Westphalia established in 1648. 



Many Lutheran Protestants sought refuge in East Prussia at the invitation of Frederick William I of Prussia (r. 1713‒40) who was a Calvinist Protestant. The Lutheran Protestants moved to East Prussia in 26 groups (~800 each). Meanwhile, some of them moved to the Dutch Republic or territories ruled by the British Empire. 




In 1966, 235 years after the expulsion, Salzburg's Archbishop Andreas Rohracher expressed regret.

Related pages

 Inquisition
 Expulsion of Jews from Spain
 Conflict between Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church

References

Category:History of Austria
Category:History of Christianity
Category:Salzburg
Category:Catholicism
Category:Lutheranism
Category:18th century in Europe
Category:18th century in Germany
Category:Discrimination