Leopold Anton von Firmian
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Archbishopric of Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire | |
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| Nationality | Bavarian |
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Leopold Anton Eleutherius Freiherr von Firmian (11 March 1679 – 22 October 1744) was
Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg
from 1727 until his death.
Early life
He was born in
Johann Ernst von Thun
was Bishop of Seckau from 1679 until 1687 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1687 to 1709.
Leopold Anton von Firmian was the uncle of Cardinal
Mitridate, Re di Ponto
in Milan circa 1770.
Ecclesiastical career
Firmian had prepared for an ecclesiastical career, received his
Bishop of Seckau in 1724. On 4 October 1727 he was elected Archbishop of Salzburg. He had Schloss Klessheim finished and Schloss Leopoldskron
erected as his private residence.
Firmian saw it as his goal to give the Catholic Church its "old power and glory". Accordingly, he tried to convert the Protestant minority living in the archbishopric (especially in
95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Firmian signed an Edict of Expulsion of Protestants[1] declaring that all Protestants in the archbishopric had to recant their non-Catholic beliefs or be banished within days. To enforce his order Firmian brought over 6000 Austrian soldiers to Salzburg. Surprisingly, over twenty thousand of his subjects professed Protestant beliefs and were exiled. Most of those who survived their flight were received by King Frederick William I of Prussia and settled around Gumbinnen in East Prussia. Others found refuge in Hanover, the Netherlands, and the British colony of Georgia. The expulsion drew vehement protests from the Protestant body in the Reichstag and the Protestant countries of Europe.[2]
After the expulsion of the Protestants, Firmian divided the Salzburg territory into four mission areas: Augustinian, Capuchin, Benedictine and Franciscan.
Firmian completed construction on Schloss Klessheim, he had the Kapitelschwemme and Marstallschwemme redesigned, and constructed the Schloss Leopoldskron for his nephew Franz Laktanz Firmian.
Archbishop Firmian is buried at the crypt of Salzburg Cathedral while his heart rests under the floor of his 'dearly beloved' Schloss Leopoldskron chapel.[3]
References
- ^ "Emigrationspatent". Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ISBN 0-8014-2777-0.
- ^ "Prince Archbishop Leopold von Firmian | Constructor Schloss Leopoldskron Salzburg". www.schloss-leopoldskron.com. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
External links
- "Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1990). "Firmian, Leopold Anton Freiherr von". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 2. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 36–38. ISBN 3-88309-032-8.
- Edict of Expulsion of Protestants (in German)
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