The teachings of Martin Luther

The spread of Evangelicalism

At the beginning of the 16th century the German Augustinian monk Martin Luther denounces the selling of indulgences by the Catholic Church. This is the practice of making gifts of money to the Church to buy yourself freedom from your sins. Luther composes 95 theses which, according to legend, he nails to the main portal of the castle church at Wittenberg in 1517, starting the Reformation.

The new teachings soon spread to Hallstatt, where they are quickly embraced by the needy population. Even Catholic priests change sides and there are mass riots. By around the middle of the 16th century, Hallstatt is already in Evangelical hands, without a single Catholic priest.

But the Evangelical community is not a happy one for long. When Emperor Maximilian II, friend to the Protestants, dies in 1516, his son Rudolf comes to power. And Rudolf is a fervent follower of the Catholic teachings. Find out what happens next in Detail 2: “The persecution of the Protestants”.