Anabaptists, Hutterites and Habans in Austria

Reinhold Eichinger, Josep F. Enzenberger

Like a wildfire the Anabaptist movement swept through Europe during the Protestant Reformation. The "Third Branch of the Reformation" involved thousands who lived in our cities and streets. Countless numbers suffered martyrdom, among whom was the theologian Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier. In 1528 he was burned alive in Vienna. 

One noteworthy group was the Hutterites, named after their founder Jakob Hutter. Approximately 50,000 Hutterites live today in colonies and speak an old Austrian German dialect. Their 500-year-old legacy can be traced from Tyrol and Lower Austria to the prairies of North America. 

The Anabaptist Museum recalls this forgotten chapter of Austrian history and culture. In the Museumsdorf Niedersulz, the biography of the Anabaptists is exhibited in a unique way, from its 16th Century roots up to the evangelical churches of the present.