Europe has a diverse, multifaceted culture and a deep, intertwined history. In this blog post, I dive into the history of the forced replacement of protestants in Europe, preserving a culture and searching for the rightful home. It is a fascinating story of displacement and cultural preservation over generations.
The history of the protestant movement in Europe
It was over 500 years (1517) that Martin Luther, priest and theologian struck the Theses on the castle church in Wittenberg. The thesis includes a selection of 95 accusations towards the catholic religion. The protestant faith emerged and slowly distributed within Europe.
Also in the region of today called Salzkammergut the protestant faith was well accepted.
1555 the counter-reform started under the emperor Ferdinand II. The re-catholicization was pretty brutal with the execution of the protestant leaders. The next years the protestants were able to practice their religion in the background. Today you can actually visit some of their secret praying and worshipping places. In Bad Goisern for instance up the mountain towards the Kalmmountain you can find the Kalmooskirche.
In 1734 the transmigration started. Over the following years, over 600 people were transported with barges from Austria (the Salzkammergut region) to Transylvania. The barges were used for the salt, as the region was rich in mountain salt. ⅕ of the population of Bad Goisern, a small village in the middle of the alps, had to leave their homes because of their faith.
Why were the Protestants deported to Transylvana?
Transylvania was used as a bulwark towards the east. Back then there was already a German speaking population living in this area. The so-called Transylvanian Saxons. They also practiced the Protestant faith and had the right to self-determination. The Emperor had no right to make laws. Many Saxons were weakened by disease and many farms were empty. In order to repopulate the area the Emperor sent the protestants of Austria (back then the habsburger-dynastie) to Transylvania.
The Transylvanian Saxons have been living in Transylvania since the 12 century. They do not come from today’s German federal state Saxon but from Flanders, Luxembourg, Westfalian, Reinisch and Franconian regions.
Austrian protestants arrive in Transylvania
Given the circumstances, the first people from Austria had it ‘good’. Of course they had to leave their beloved home. Their possessions, if they had any, were sold by the state and the money was sent to them. They received a fram and were allowed to practice their beliefs freely. The Transylvanian Saxons were of course also sceptical and the new arrivals had to do a test on the protestant faith.
20 years later under the rule of Maria Theresia another wave of transmigration started. This time Austirans from Styria, Carinthia and “Landl ob der Enns” – the area around Gmunden/Vocklabruck – had to leave their homes. Unfortunately, this time they had to endure much worse transport conditions and didn’t have it as ‘easy’ as the first group of Protestants.
The villages where today’s Austrians settled were called Neppendorf (mostly people from Upper Austria), Grossau (mostly people from Styria), and Grosspold (mostly people from Carinthia). In Rumanian that’s Turnișor, Cristian and Apoldu de Sus.
The name “Landler“
The name Landler appeared from the last deported group “Landl ob der Enns”, where the people called came from the Upperaustria region.
Life at Transylvania for Landler
The life of the German speaking population in Transylvania followed a strict social order.
Education was compulsory from 1722, even earlier than when Empress Maria Theresa introduced it.
The Landler spoke their landler dialect but also learned Saxon German and vice versa. Additional languages that were spoken were Romanian, some also spoke Russian (after the 2nd world war) and Hungarian. The region was also shaped by its neighbouring cultures and countries to become today’s Romania.
The landler had their own traditions, customs as well as the traditional room furniture, and pastries. At the clothing for men the Saltworks uniform could still be seen. An important feature for women was the festive hood. A black fabric cap with colorful flowers on it.
Their traditional pastry was made out of puff pastry, the German names are Bunkel, Nussenstrudel, Krapferl and Hanklich. The latter had very slight variation depending on the village.
The German speaking population in Transylvania lived from farming. They had potatoes, maize, root, flax and hemp. Of course also livestock: water buffalo, cows, horses and pigs.
Live in Transylvania after the 2nd world war
The area around the 2nd world war wasn’t easy for the Landler.
In the 2nd world war Romania was initially fighting alongside German allies. The German speaking population had to fight for Germany and not Rumania. Shortly before the war ended Romania turned it back on Germany and aligned with the Soviets.
After the war, the German population who were fighting in the war with the Germans weren’t allowed to come back to their homes in Transylvania. The life of the Landler who stayed was getting harder. At this point the Soviet occupied Romania. The Russians saw the German-speaking population as a scapegoat and harassed the people. Although there were hard times the Landler got help from Austria, an association supported the people in Transylvania. Many reunite efforts were made to unite the German speaking people, who haven’t had the option to return to Transylvania, with their family members still in Transylvania.
The Soviet occupation made life very difficult for Landler
Under the Soviet occupation the Landler were expropriated and had to leave their farms. They moved into houses on the edge of the villages, lived in small spaces with lots of people. Life under communist rulers was not easy.
Many German speaking people left the country in the 70s. The majority moved to Germany or Austria after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989–1990. The Germans were granting them a free passport, due to their war guilt. In Austria however, the descendants of the Austrians who were displaced received refugee status.
After the Romanian revolution the German speaking population was allowed back on their farms. However life in Romania was still hard, the German population was exposed to looting, dishonesty and poverty.
The only option some saw was an escape. They didn’t want their children to grow up in these circumstances. It was also enough for a family whose ancestors come from Bad Goisern, in Upper Austria.
The lost homeland rediscovered: Settling in Bad Goisern
Mrs and Mr Reisenauer are one the few people that came to Austria. It was actually their son and a friend of his who took the risk and fled 1989 to Austria. This wasn’t easy back then, and if they were caught, they faced imprisonment or death.
But luckily the story ended well and both arrived in Bad Goisern. Their homeland, from where their ancestors were forced out, over 200 years ago! Later on Werner brought his parents to Bad Goisern. Getting the documents of Austria was not easy. But with the help and support of the mayor and governor they are now Austrian citizens.
Now the whole family of three generations lives under one roof. An important value that the culture has kept over the centuries, the closeness of family.
A visit to a Landler family in Bad Goisern, Austria
Mrs and Mr Reisenauer invited me to their home, offered me some of the traditional Landler pastry and coffee. Sepp Reisenauer is already over 90 years old and was eager to share his stories. The stories about his life in Neppendorf and the hardships of the past. He remembered when the people of the city dug out his potatoes on the field, with a smile on his face.
His and his wife’s dialect is something that I noticed right away. It is an old Bad Goisern dialect – that had been kept alive over the centuries far from its origin.
Both of their ancestors Mrs and Mr Reisenauer are from Bad Goisern, proudly they showed me the houses where they used to live.
All generations of the family are fully integrated into village life in Bad Goisern. The son who wanted a better life for his children achieved that goal. Not only that, but they were also able to settle in their rightful home.
If you want to learn more about the Landler you can visit the Landler museum in Bad Goisern.
The author of the blog
Lisi is an adventurous, mostly solo traveler from Austria. She likes to travel slowly, discover underrated countries/regions, and of course, learn about cultures. She has been traveling the world and creating travel content since 2016. With a degree in tourism management and a passion for travel and cultures, she wants to tell stories that inspire her readers and help them travel more consciously.
