The persecution of the Protestants

Displacement to Siebenbürgen

In the 16th century the teachings of Martin Luther spread like wildfire throughout Central Europe. And also find fertile ground in the Salzkammergut. Above all the miners are open to the new teachings.

And when Emperor Rudolf II tries to suppress Protestantism again at the end of the 16th century, the people in the Hallstatt region resist bitterly. All bridges are destroyed, the evaporation pans in which valuable salt is produced are emptied and all shipping and timber transport blocked.

But the Archbishop in Salzburg’s troops brutally overthrow the revolt. The ringleaders are sentenced to death, their houses burned. Hallstatt’s privileges are taken away for several years as a punishment.

But that is not all the Evangelical community in Hallstatt has to face. In 1734 further soldiers appear. 300 Protestants from Hallstatt, Bad Ischl and Bad Goisern are taken away in a cloak-and-dagger operation and forced to emigrate to Romania.