Modern era

Religious conflict

Mozart was born in Salzburg, capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, a former ecclesiastical principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation

Main article: Salzburg Protestants

On 31 October 1731, the 214th anniversary of the 95 Theses, Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian signed an Edict of Expulsion, the Emigrationspatent, directing all Protestant citizens to recant their non-Catholic beliefs. 21,475 citizens refused to recant their beliefs and were expelled from Salzburg. Most of them accepted an offer by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, traveling the length and breadth of Germany to their new homes in East Prussia.^[8] The rest settled in other Protestant states in Europe and the British colonies in America.

Illuminism

In 1772-1803, under archbishop Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, Salzburg was a centre of late Illuminism.

Electorate of Salzburg

In 1803, the archbishopric was secularised by Emperor Napoleon; he transferred the territory to Ferdinando III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as the Electorate of Salzburg.

Austrian annexation of Salzburg

In 1805, Salzburg was annexed to the Austrian Empire, along with the Berchtesgaden Provostry.

Salzburg under Bavarian rule

In 1809, the territory of Salzburg was transferred to the Kingdom of Bavaria after Austria's defeat at Wagram.

Division of Salzburg and annexation by Austria and Bavaria

After the Congress of Vienna with the Treaty of Munich (1816), Salzburg was definitively returned to Austria, but without Rupertigau and Berchtesgaden, which remained with Bavaria. Salzburg was integrated into the Salzach province and Salzburgerland was ruled from Linz.^[9]
In 1850, Salzburg's status was restored as the capital of the Duchy of Salzburg, a crownland of the Austrian Empire. The city became part of Austria-Hungary in 1866 as the capital of a crownland into the Austrian Empire. The nostalgia of the Romantic Era led to increased tourism. In 1892, a funicular was installed to facilitate tourism to the fortress of Hohensalzburg^[10]

Salzburg in 1914

20th century

First republic

Following World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; Salzburg, as the capital of one of the Austro-Hungarian territories, became part of the new German Austria. In 1918, it represented the residual German-speaking territories of the Austrian heartlands. This was replaced by the First Austrian Republic in 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles.

Annexation by the Third Reich

Young Austrians at celebrations just after the Anschluss

The Anschluss (the occupation and annexation of Austria, including Salzburg, into the Third Reich) took place the 12 March 1938, one day before a scheduled referendum about Austria's independence. German troops moved into the city. Political opponents, Jewish citizens and other minorities were subsequently arrested and deported to concentration camps. The synagogue was destroyed. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, several POW camps for prisoners from the Soviet Union and other enemy nations were organized in the city.
During the Nazi occupation, a Roma camp was built in Salzburg-Maxglan. It was an Arbeitserziehungslager (work 'education' camp), which provided slave labour to local industry. It also operated as a Zwischenlager (transit camp), holding Roma before their deportation to German extermination camps or ghettos in German-occupied territories in eastern Europe.^[11]

World War II

Allied bombing destroyed 7,600 houses and killed 550 inhabitants. 15 strikes destroyed 46 percent of the city's buildings, especially those around Salzburg train station. Although the town's bridges and the dome of the cathedral were destroyed, much of its Baroque architecture remained intact. As a result, it is one of the few remaining examples of a town of its style. American troops entered Salzburg on 5 May 1945.
In the city of Salzburg, there were several DP Camps following World War II. Among these were Riedenburg, Camp Herzl (Franz-Josefs-Kaserne), Camp Mülln, Bet Bialik, Bet Trumpeldor, and New Palestine. Salzburg was the centre of the American-occupied area in Austria.

Present day

After World War II, Salzburg became the capital city of the State of Salzburg (Land Salzburg). On 27 January 2006, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, all 35 churches of Salzburg rang their bells after 8:00 p.m. (local time) to celebrate the occasion. Major celebrations took place throughout the year.