Navigation
In other projects
Learn more
Core topics
Bahá’í Faith
Central Figures
Teachings
Practices

Austria

From Bahaipedia
 Austria
International Bahá’í Youth School in Salzburg, 1971.
Location of Austria
National AssemblyAustria
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 8,922,082
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 2,063
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Assembly 1926, Vienna 
 -  National Assembly 1922, with Germany
1959, Independent 
Official Website http://www.at.bahai.org/
Related media
Categories: Austria • People

Austria is a country in Central Europe. Its official language is German and Christianity is the predominant religion.

Historically the area was part of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages and became its own Empire in the early 19th Century. In 1867 the Empire of Austria-Hungary was formed however following the end of the First World War Austria became an independent Republic in 1919. It was incorporated into Nazi Germany in 1938 until becoming a Republic again, following the Second World War, in 1945.

The Bahá’í Faith was present in Austria from the 1910s and a community became firmly established in the 1950s. The Bahá’í community of Austria remains active to the present day participating in social and economic development on a small scale.

History[edit]

Perhaps the earliest presence of the Faith in Austria was when Alma Knobloch visited the country in 1907 to proclaim the religion.[2] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Head of the religion, visited Vienna while in Europe in April 1913,[3] and there is now a plaque in Vienna commemorating His visit to the city.[4] During the visit He resided in the Grand Hotel, spoke at a Theosophist meeting, met with the Persian Minister in Austria, and met with Persians living in the city.[5]

In the late 1910's Franz Pöllinger, an Austrian who had become a Bahá’í in Germany, returned to the country settling in Vienna where he began teaching the religion.[6] In 1922 a National Spiritual Assembly for Germany and Austria was established and by 1925 there were small Bahá’í communities in Graz and Vienna,[7] with a Local Spiritual Assembly being established in Vienna in 1926.[8] Martha Root visited Austria in 1929 during a teaching tour and she attended the opening of an Esperanto Museum during which she met the President of Austria.[9]

In 1936 a Bahá’í Youth Committee for Germany and Austria was established,[10] however in July, 1937, the Nazi regime ordered the dissolution of Bahá’í administrative institutions and Bahá’í meetings and teaching of the religion were forbidden in Austria.[11] Restrictions were lifted at the end of the Second World War and in 1945 the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria was re-established and a Bahá’í community became active again in Vienna.[12] In 1948 the Bahá’í communities of Germany and Austria began a formal Five Year Plan to coordinate Bahá’í efforts to expand the religion in the countries at the suggestion of Shoghi Effendi.[13]

As of 1954 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Vienna had been re-established and there were small communities in Tyrol, Linz, and Salzburg,[14] with Salzburg establishing a Local Spiritual Assembly in 1957.[15] The community continued to grow and in 1959 Austria was able to establish its independent National Spiritual Assembly.[16] There were six Local Spiritual Assemblies and a Bahá’í Group in the country by 1963,[17] and eight Local Spiritual Assemblies by 1968.[18]

In the late 1960's the Austrian Bahá’ís began to focus on proclaiming the Faith to all levels of Austrian society and increased the use of direct teaching methods. From 1970 to 1973 an Austrian Bahá’í singing group called the Dawn-Breakers toured the country, appeared on television three times, and their music received radio play.[19] From 1971 to 1973 the Bahá’í community of Austria doubled in size and in 1975 a Bahá’í theatre group named Comet formed with the Dawn-Breakers singing group and Comet going on to successfully proclaim the Faith across Europe through artistic performances.[20] After the Iranian Revolution broke out in 1979 and the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria provided assistance in caring for and supporting Iranian Bahá’í refugees who were able to reside in Austria while finalizing efforts to emigrate mainly to the United States.[21]

In 1983 the Bahá’ís of Austria commemorated the seventieth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit to the country by republishing a play about Tahirih written by Maria von Meymayer,[22] and in 1984 a Bahá’í delegation was granted an audience with the President of Austria.[23] In 1987 the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria was granted specific responsibilities related to opening the Eastern Bloc to the Faith.[24] In 1988 Rúḥíyyih Khánum visited Vienna to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit.[25]

In 1990 the first Bahá’í International Roma Summer School was held in Vienna and a Romani Bahá’í established a Roma Club in Burgenland to support Romani people in the area.[26] In the late 1990's the Bahá’í community of Baden established a family focused event which lead to collaboration with the municipal authorities, a Catholic parish, two schools and local newspapers, and regular youth events under the title Act Now began to be held to facilitate youth consultations on community service.[27] In 1999 the Bahá’í Faith was formally recognized by the government of Austria.[28]

In 2001 the Bahá’í inspired non-governmental organization GLOBart began facilitating workshops in schools focused on linking arts and sciences.[29] In 2005 the Austrian Bahá’ís held a three day celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of their Bahá’í centre which was attended by several religious and government officials.[30]

In 2018 the Bahá’ís of Vienna established a group called Language Café which provided weekly sessions for people of diverse backgrounds to develop language skills together.[31] In 2022 a play which explored similarities between Táhirih and Marianne Hainisch, the founder of Austria's women's movement, was written and performed by the Austrian Bahá’í community as part of an initiative by the Austrian Ministry of Art and Culture.[32]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Seena Fazel, The Baha'i Faith in Europe, 2020, published at Baha'i Library Online, p 3
  3. ↑ Seena Fazel, The Baha'i Faith in Europe, 2020, published at Baha'i Library Online, p 4
  4. ↑ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=209921
  5. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 73. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 701. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1926). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 1 (1925-1926), Pg(s) 102. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 702. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1930). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 3 (1928-1930), Pg(s) 45. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1939). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 7 (1936-1938), Pg(s) 473. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1939). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 7 (1936-1938), Pg(s) 85. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 10 (1944-1946), Pg(s) 552. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 12 (1950-1954), Pg(s) 67. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 12 (1950-1954), Pg(s) 771. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 399. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1959). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 342, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 957. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 163. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 278. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 287. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 173. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 192. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 170. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 350. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 77. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 357. View as PDF.
  27. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 88. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 112. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2003). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 30 (2001-2002), Pg(s) 95. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2007). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 34 (2005-2006), Pg(s) 63. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1634/
  32. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1623/
Retrieved from "https://bahaipedia.org/index.php?title=Austria&oldid=142379"
Powered by MediaWiki