Upper Austria, Peasants' Revolt in the Machlandviertel, 1636




In the Hausruckviertel, part of Upper Austria, after 1626 communities of crypto-Lutherans continued to exist, despite of the efforts of the Counterreformation during the Bavarian administration 1620-1628, which had caused the Upper Austrian Peasants War 1625-1626.
As late as 1632, Lutherant migrant preacher Jakob Greimbl had caused the Hausruckviertel Peasants' Revolt, inspired by the hope to restore Lutheranism in Upper Austria with the aid of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus.
Another Lutheran migrant preacher, Martin Eichinger (Aichinger) called Laimbauer appeared in spring 1635 in the Machlandviertel, collected a force of followers (whom he promised restoration of Lutheranism) and in 1636 regular Habsburg forces fought the rebels; Laimbauer and his followers were victorious in a first engagement at Neumarkt May 8th 1636. Laimbauer's force of c. 400 peasants now faced 1000 armed soldiers; the former were defeated and massacred near Mauthausen, Laimbauer tortured to death in Linz June 20th 1636.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		Autoritet og Familie i Øvre Østerrike, by Tor Førde, in Norwegian
Geschichte der Stadt Linz, from D.M. Punzenberger, in German
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE Franz Wilflingseder, Martin Laimbauer und die Unruhen im Machlandviertel 1632 bis 1636; in Mitteilungen des Oberösterreichischen Landesarchivs 6, 1959; in German



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on March 18th 2004, last revised on April 2nd 2006

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