Peasant Revolt in Austria

The 1620s were characterized by long and cold winters, late springs and cold and wet summers, leading to crop-failure and sharp increases in grain prices. Into this atmosphere of enhanced tension broke a climatic event of unusual severity. In 1626, during the last week of May, in the middle of the vegetation period, winter returned. The temperature fell so that lakes and rivers froze and trees shed their leaves. The unexpected return of winter caused panic and anxiety among the peasants who could not remember ever experiencing such destruction of their fields. This event, combined with the brutal persecution of Protestants, led the mainly Protestant peasants of Upper Austria, pledged to Bavaria, to revolt. The peasants were defeated after heavy fighting, and in 1628 the country passed into the hands of the emperor again.