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The Peasants' War in Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreichischer Bauernkrieg) was a
rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
led by farmers in 1626 whose goal was to free
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
from Bavarian rule. The motive (found in the of 1625) was an escalation of the Bavarian Electorate's attempt to press the country into the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
faith at the time of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...
.


History

In the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, Upper Austria was pledged to the Bavarian Electorate by the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. The new ruler assumed ''
cuius regio, eius religio () is a Latin phrase which literally means "whose realm, their religion" – meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. This legal principle marked a major development in the collective (if not individual ...
'' (the religion of the ruler dictated the religion of the ruled) and tried to convert the lands to the Catholic faith. In May 1625, the
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
priest of the Frankenburg am Hausruck parish was replaced by a Catholic priest sent from Bavaria. After an armed uprising, the new priest was forced to flee from the castle. However, the men feared the reaction from Bavaria and surrendered three days later. Adam von Herberstorff, the Bavarian steward of Upper Austria, called all of the men from the region to the Haushamerfeld near Frankenburg to hold the assizes. The 36 men who had led the revolt were among the 5,000 gathered. The court sentenced the men to death, but allowed half of them to go free. Two men would step forward, and one would hang while the other would go. A roll of the dice determined their fate. The steward had thought that the harsh sentence would frighten the peasants, but it only served to increase dissent and give sympathy to the rebels. Over the next year, the peasants secretly prepared for war by recruiting a man from every farmer's house, supplying them with weapons, and teaching them tactics. They intended to attack on the
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...
, but war had broken out two weeks earlier, when Bavarian soldiers tried to steal a horse in
Lembach im Mühlkreis Lembach im Mühlkreis is a municipality in the district of Rohrbach in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Aust ...
. In response, a number of peasants on a pilgrimage near Lembach quickly assembled to slaughter the Bavarian garrison of 25 men. The group continued to collect more recruits on their way to
Peuerbach Peuerbach is a town in Austria, in Grieskirchen (district) in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. On the 6th November 2016 there was a vote on whether Peuerbach would be merged with the neighbouring municipalities of Bruck-Waasen and Steeg ...
, where they faced Herberstorff and his men. Even before the full size of the peasant army was assembled in Peuerbach, a number of companies attacked them and were quickly defeated. The new commissioners of the region were elected summarily on the battlefield. The 5,000-strong peasant army went on to besiege Eferding,
Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the ...
,
Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys o ...
, and
Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3r ...
, finally arriving at
Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
, which did not surrender despite being defended by only 150 Bavarian soldiers. During the siege of Linz, the rebel leader, Stefan Fadinger, was shot. He died on July 5, two weeks after the fatal gunshot. It took months for Bavaria to send troops under Pappenheim's command to relieve the town at the end of August. Steyr was won back on September 26, and Wels on September 27. The war went on until the onset of winter, leaving the countryside destroyed. The farmers were now required to feed the 12,000 Bavarian soldiers who were spending winter in the country. Most of the leaders of the revolt were decapitated over the following months.


Reception

Upper Austria had been rebellious for centuries, with 62 known uprisings between 1356 and 1849, 14 of which occurred in the 16th century. However, the Peasants' War of 1626 was the costliest in terms of human life and damage to livestock and property. The war caused
Martin Aichinger Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...
to lose his farm and begin roaming the country. He eventually became a religious leader who led a popular revolt against aristocratic rule. His revolutionary ideas frightened the rulers so much that they tried to arrest him, leading to another series of uprisings that ended in the
Battle on the Frankenberg A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(German ) in 1636. All of Aichinger's followers were slaughtered during the battle, including the remaining women and children who had been in hiding.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peasants' War in Upper Austria 1626 in Austria Peasant revolts Wars involving Austria Wars involving Bavaria Conflicts in 1626 17th-century rebellions Thirty Years' War