Salzburg honours Protestants expelled for their faith

Salzburg has unveiled a memorial plaque for more than 20,000 Protestants expelled from the region in 1731, ORF reports. The plaque is mounted beneath the cathedral arches in the city centre, a Catholic heartland where peaceful coexistence between Catholic and Protestant communities is now taken for granted.

On October 31, 1731, Prince-Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian ordered all Protestants to leave. Those with property were given three months; those without it had just eight days. Many lost their homes and livelihoods, and some had to leave young children behind, said Linde Végh of the Salzbund association.

Most of the expelled people came from the Pinzgau and Pongau regions, and the majority set out for East Prussia. Their departure reduced Salzburg’s population by one-sixth. About 1,700 farms were left empty, and owners received only a fraction of their property’s value, according to the report.

Evangelical pastor Margit Geley said the expulsion reflected Firmian’s determination to rule a wholly Catholic land. The loss of workers, skills and economic strength caused lasting damage to Salzburg, she said. Historian Wolfgang Neuper of the Salzburg State Archives said many of the vacant farms were later resettled, particularly in the Pongau.

The state archives hold emigration lists from 1731 and 1732. Descendants of those expelled consult the records to research their family histories, Neuper said. The new plaque is intended to make this chapter of Salzburg’s history more visible.