Thomas Leopold (born 1693 near

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish language, Danish ''Christianstad'') is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has ...

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

, died 1771 in

Kungälv Kungälv () (old no, Konghelle) is a city and the seat of Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 22,768 inhabitants in 2010. In 2021, the main Kungälv - Ytterby - Kareby conurbation had a combined population approachin ...

) was one of the prophets and martyrs of the Swedish

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

movement during the 18th century. Leopold's father Sigfrid had immigrated from Germany, and his mother was the daughter of an immigrant Scotsman. At 35 years of age, during studies in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

, Sweden, Leopold was imprisoned for his radical

profession of faith A profession of faith is a personal and public statement of a belief or faith. Judaism Among the Jews, the profession of faith takes the form of '' Shema Israel'' (שמע ישראל in Hebrew), ''Shema Israel Hachem Elokenu, Hachem Ekhad''; is ...

and remained a prisoner for 42 years, 32 years of which was in

Bohus Fortress Bohus Fortress (also known as ''Baahus'' or ''Båhus'', originally: ''Bágahús'') lies along the old Norwegian–Swedish border in Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden, north east from Hisingen where the Göta river splits into two branches ( north of ...

, where he died, aged 77. Sometimes he was visited at the castle by

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

priests, who told him he could be freed immediately, if only he denounced his Radical-Pietistic beliefs. He always answered calmly that he had promised Jesus to be faithful until the end. Leopold's prison cell is still preserved and can be visited at the fortress during summer.

See also