The Church in Austria
The first missionaries arrived in Austria in 1865 but were banished later that year. Despite early difficulties, the Church gradually grew, and the first branch was formed in 1902. After World War II, the Church grew quickly in Austria, and in 2021 the construction of the Vienna Austria Temple was announced.
History of the Church in Austria
Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Austria for the preaching of the gospel in 1865, but only a handful of Austrians joined the Church in the nineteenth century. The first lasting group in Austria began with the baptism of Johann Huber from Haag am Hausruck in 1900. Like the early Christians, early Saints in Austria endured religious prejudice and political tumult after embracing the gospel message.
Early Austrian Saints kept the faith and nurtured some of the first converts from other regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before its disintegration at the end of World War I. In 1920, members remaining in Austria were organized into the Vienna District; these Saints kept the faith through an international economic depression, annexation by Nazi Germany, and the violence of World War II. The Church grew rapidly in the postwar years, from roughly 200 members during the war to more than 2,500 by the end of the 1960s. Austria’s first stake was organized in Vienna in 1980. A second stake was organized in Salzburg in 1997. By 2015, there were over 4,500 Latter-day Saints in Austria contributing to the communities and reaching out to others in acts of service.
Stories of Faith
More Areas of the Church
Notes
- Hirschmann, Michael, ed. “An Unusual Mission, 1914–1921.” Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
- Minert, Roger P. Against the Wall: Johann Huber and the First Mormons in Austria. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.
- Minert, Roger P. Under the Gun: West German and Austrian Latter-day Saints in World War II. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2011.
- Neuenschwander, Dennis B. “Reflections on Establishing the Gospel in Eastern Europe.” Liahona, Oct. 1998, 38–48.
- Stahle, Shaun D. “The Church in Austria: Sounds of Gospel Ring in Salzburg.” Church News, Mar. 15, 1997, thechurchnews.com.
- Stättner, Kurt, and Karen Thomas Arnesen. “Johann Wondra—Setting the Stage in Vienna.” Ensign, Aug. 1985, 46–49.
- Taylor, Scott. “Vienna Mission Set Stage for LDS Growth.” Deseret News, Sept. 9, 2010, deseret.com.
- Wondra, Johann. “Art: A Possibility for Love.” In Steven P. Sondrup, ed., Arts and Inspiration: Mormon Perspectives. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1980, 143–53.