Item: i96491

Authentic Coin of:

Austria - Salzburg
Leopold Anton von Firmian - Prince-Archbishop: 22 December 1727 - 22 October 1744
1731 Silver Batzen (4 Kreuzer) 21mm (1.76 grams)
Reference: KM# 336 (1731)
4, Archbishop's hat above 2 ornated shields, left the arms of Salzburg, right the Bishop's arms.
SALZB: LAND MINZ ·1731·, Four-line inscription.

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Leopold Anton Eleutherius Freiherr von Firmian (11 March 1679 – 22 October 1744) was Bishop of Lavant 1718–24, Bishop of Seckau 1724–27 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1727 until his death.

He was born in Munich, on his father's side to the dynasty of Freiherren (Barons) von Firmian descending from Sigmundskron (Formigar) Castle in Tyrol, by virtue of being the son of Countess Maria Viktoria von Thun and the Imperial envoy, Baron Franz Wilhelm von Firmian. His maternal uncle Count Johann Ernst von Thun was Bishop of Seckau from 1679 until 1687 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1687 to 1709.

Leopold Anton von Firmian was the uncle of Cardinal Leopold Ernst von Firmian, also prince-bishop of Passau. His nephew, Karl Joseph von Firmian, the Austrian plenipotentiary minister in Milan, was renowned as a patron of the arts, including poets such as Giuseppe Parini, musicians such as Johann Ernst Eberlin and painters such as Giambettino Cignaroli. While Leopold Anton was an early patron of Leopold Mozart, his nephew, Count Karl von Firmian appears to have been one of the patrons of Amadeus Mozart's opera Mitridate, Re di Ponto in Milan circa 1770.

Firmian had prepared for an ecclesiastical career, received his ordination in Rome in 1707 and became provost of the Salzburg chapter in 1713. Pope Clement XI appointed him Bishop of Lavant in 1718, Pope Benedict XIII also made him Bishop of Seckau in 1724. On 4 October 1727 he was elected Archbishop of Salzburg. He had Schloss Klessheim finished and Schloss Leopoldskron erected as his private residence.

Firmian saw it as his goal to give the Catholic Church its "old power and glory". Accordingly, he tried to convert the Protestant minority living in the archbishopric (especially in Pongau) to the Catholic faith - he had Jesuits preach in the village squares, all villagers had to appear at threat of severe penalties. On 31 October 1731, the 214th anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Firmian signed an Edict of Expulsion of Protestants declaring that all Protestants in the archbishopric had to recant their non-Catholic beliefs or be banished within days. To enforce his order Firmian brought over 6000 Austrian soldiers to Salzburg. Surprisingly, over twenty thousand of his subjects professed Protestant beliefs and were exiled. Most of those who survived their flight were received by King Frederick William I of Prussia and settled around Gumbinnen in East Prussia. Others found refuge in Hanover, the Netherlands, and the British colony of Georgia. The expulsion drew vehement protests from the Protestant body in the Reichstag and the Protestant countries of Europe. For Salzburg, the expulsion had catastrophic economic consequences. After the expulsion of the Protestants, Firmian divided the Salzburg territory into four mission areas: Augustinian, Capuchin, Benedictine and Franciscan.

Firmian completed construction on Schloss Klessheim, he had the Kapitelschwemme and Marstallschwemme redesigned, and constructed the Schloss Leopoldskron for his nephew Franz Laktanz Firmian.

Archbishop Firmian is buried at the crypt of Salzburg Cathedral.

Salzburg, literally "Salt Fortress"; Bavarian: Soizbuag, is the capital city of the State of Salzburg and fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.

The town is located on the site of the former Roman settlement of Iuvavum. Salzburg was founded as an episcopal see in 696 and became a seat of the archbishop in 798. Its main sources of income were salt extraction and trade and, at times, gold mining. The fortress of Hohensalzburg, one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe, dates from the 11th century. In the 17th century, Salzburg became a centre of the Counter-Reformation, where monasteries and numerous Baroque churches were built.

Salzburg's historic centre (German: Altstadt) is thus renowned for its Baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, with 27 churches. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The city has three universities and a large population of students. Tourists also visit Salzburg to tour the historic centre and the scenic Alpine surroundings. Salzburg was the birthplace of the 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Because of its history, culture, and attractions, Salzburg has been labeled Austria's "most inspiring city."

Austria, officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.5 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,879 square kilometres (32,386 sq mi). Austria's terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and Austrian German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.

The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. From the time of the Reformation, many Northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. The Thirty Years War, the influence of the Kingdom of Sweden and Kingdom of France, the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Napoleonic invasions all weakened the power of the Emperor in the North of Germany, but in the South, and in non-German areas of the Empire, the Emperor and Catholicism maintained control. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria was able to retain its position as one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. Following Napoleon's defeat, Prussia emerged as Austria's chief competitor for rule of a larger Germany. Austria's defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary. After the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Austria was left out of the formation of a new German Empire, although in the following decades its politics, and its foreign policy, increasingly converged with those of the Prussian-led Empire. During the 1914 July Crisis that followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Germany guided Austria in issuing the ultimatum to Serbia that led to the declaration of World War I.

After the collapse of the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire in 1918 at the end of World War I, Austria adopted and used the name the Republic of German-Austria (Deutschösterreich, later Österreich) in an attempt for union with Germany, but was forbidden due to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919). The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919. In the 1938 Anschluss, Austria was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies and Austria's former democratic constitution was restored. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral.

Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $52,216 (2014 est.). The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, and is a founder of the OECD. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro in 1999.