The Landlers or Transylvanian Landlers () are an ethnic German sub-group which has been living on the territory of today's Romania, more specifically in southern

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(mostly corresponding to present-day

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

) since the 18th century onwards. Their ancestors were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

(more specifically

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

), who were expelled and settled from Salzkammergut area,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

near Hermannstadt (present-day

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

) from 1734 to 1756 under

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Charles VI and Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

in the process of the Josephine colonization (). This was done so given the fact that the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

needed to be

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

by excellence and the Landlers refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. They speak the Transylvanian Landler dialect () which is a southern German dialect. During the 18th century, 4,000 Austrian Protestants were expelled to Transylvania. They are part of the Romanian Germans.

Background

The areas from which the ancestors of the modern Transylvanian Landlers stemmed were

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states 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, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

(),

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

(), and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

(). Since Transylvania had been depopulated by the Turkish wars and the plague, the 634 expelled

ns were given vacant farms to work. Some of the Landlers who were deported from

in 1755 joined the

Hutterites Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16 ...

in Transylvania. Transylvania was also a very tolerant country in the past with respect to other religions or confessions as well as a prosperous land in natural resources, hence the Landlers founded the needed impetus and environment to thrive in, just like the Transylvanian Saxons did before them (see Siebenbürgenlied). In total, 4,000 Protestant Austrians were expelled and settled in southern Transylvania during the Modern Age. The Transylvanian Landlers' German dialect is still maintained and is spoken by both those who moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as well as the few Landlers left behind in their former villages of Neppendorf (), Großau (), and Großpold (). As in the case of other German-speaking ethnic groups in Romania, the Landler are politically represented by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR). A prominent member of the Transylvanian Landler community is Martin Bottesch who formerly served as the president of the County Council of Sibiu County between 2004 and 2012.

Gallery

File:HPIM1724.JPG, The Evangelical Lutheran fortified church in Turnișor (), belonging to the local Transylvanian Landler community File:Grosspold.jpg, Apoldu de Sus/Großpold File:RO SB Apoldu de Sus 7.jpg, Apoldu de Sus/Großpold File:ApoldudeSusSB (2).JPG, Apoldu de Sus/Großpold File:Cristian village, Sibiu County - the citadel church2.JPG, Cristian/Großau File:Bad Goisern Landlermuseum - Großpold Tracht.jpg, Landler museum in

Bad Goisern Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good *Error, Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect *Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored tr ...

with Landler costumes from Großpold/Apoldu de Sus

References

External links

*
The Siebenbürger Landler ethnic group
*

{{Authority control Landler Hungarian people of Austrian descent Romanian people of Austrian descent Landler Landler History of Upper Austria Protestantism in Romania 18th century in Transylvania

Background

Gallery

See also

Further reading

References

Further reading

External links