Transylvanian Landler

Detail of a church window in Hermannstadt dedicated to the memory of the Austrian Protestants.

The Landler or Transylvanian Landler (German: Siebenbürger Landler) were Protestants, who were deported from the Salzkammergut Region of Austria to Transylvania near Hermannstadt (Sibiu) from 1734 to 1737 under Emperor Charles VI.

Since Transylvania had been depopulated by the Turkish wars and the plague, the 634 expelled Upper Austrians were given vacant farms to work. In 1770, under Empress Maria Theresa, around 3,000 more Upper Austrians found a home in the same territory with what were essentially worse conditions attached.

The Landler's German dialect is still maintained and is spoken by both those who moved to Germany, as well as the few Landler left behind in their former villages of Neppendorf, Großau, and Großpold.

Like the other German-speaking ethnic groups in Romania, the Landler are represented politically by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (DFDR).

See also

• Transylvanian Saxons

References

• Erich Buchinger: Die "Landler" in Siebenbürgen. R. Oldenburg Verlag, München, 1980
• Martin Bottesch, Franz Grieshofer, Wilfried Schabus: Die Siebenbürgischen Landler. Eine Spurensicherung., Böhlau-Verlag, Wien, 2002; ISBN 3-205-99415-9
• Dieter Knall: Aus der Heimat gedrängt – Letzte Zwangsumsiedlungen steirischer Protestanten nach Siebenbürgen unter Maria Theresia, Selbstverl. d. Histor. Landeskommission für Steiermark, Graz; 2002; 343 S.; ISBN 3-901251-25-1
• Landler, Vergessene altösterreichische Tracht in Siebenbürgen von Lore-Lotte Hassfurther (Hrsg.)

External links

• (German) The Siebenbürger Landler ethnic group
• (German) The Landler in Siebenbürgen