Christophoruskirche

Bad Gastein, Salzburg

The history: 1500-1550 - Flourishing of gold mining in the Gastein Valley and the spread of Reformation ideas into the Gastein Valley 16th/17th century - Protestantism in the Gastein Valley, fluctuating between temporary tolerance and suppression by the Salzburg archbishops 1615 - first expulsion of 629 Protestants from the Gastein Valley 1731/32 - Expulsion of Protestants by Prince-Archbishop Leopold Anton Freiherr von Firmian: 668 Protestants leave the Gastein Valley, 480 of whom find a new home in East Prussia 1781 - Tolerance Edict of Joseph II - in the Gastein Valley, no one confesses to the Protestant faith from 1864 - Protestant church services during the summer season for Protestant spa guests in Bad Gastein 1868 - 1872 - Construction of the "Christophoruskapelle" under the patronage of Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia in Bad Gastein June 25, 1960 - Inauguration of the "Heilskirche" and granting of the status of an independent parish to the Evangelicals in Gastein