The Firmian Era
Appointed Archbishop in 1729, Leopold Anton von Firmian remains one of Salzburg’s most controversial figures. In 1731, he expelled more than 22,000 Protestants in a brutal campaign to strengthen his political standing within the Catholic Church.
Thousands died during their exile, and the region lost a generation of skilled laborers. The economic damage and public outcry that followed severely tarnished Firmian’s reputation. The commission of Schloss Leopoldskron in 1736 was, in part, an attempt to restore his family’s social prestige.
The Heart of the Schloss
The name “Leopoldskron” combines Firmian’s first name with “Mezzocorona,” the birthplace of his nephew and heir, Count Laktanz von Firmian. The estate once spanned to the Untersberg.
In 1744, a deed designated the property as inalienable family land, to be passed down undivided. Firmian died that same year—his body interred in Salzburg Cathedral and his heart laid to rest beneath the Chapel of the Schloss he called “beloved.”
Deed and Devotion
In 1744, Archbishop Leopold von Firmian ensured the estate would pass to his nephew, Count Laktanz von Firmian, through a deed declaring it inalienable family property.
While Firmian’s body was laid to rest in Salzburg Cathedral, his heart was buried beneath the floor of the Schloss Chapel—a lasting gesture of attachment to the home he built in search of redemption and legacy.
Art, Mozart, and the Fall of a Legacy
Count Laktanz von Firmian was both patron and artist, filling the Schloss with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, Dürer, and Titian. He supported Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who often visited and likely played music within these rooms.
After Laktanz died in 1786, his successors sold off much of the collection. The Schloss fell into decline, changing hands frequently until King Ludwig I of Bavaria revived its social prominence, hosting royalty—including Sisi and Emperor Franz Joseph—in its Marble Hall.