Thomas Leopold

Thomas Leopold was one of the prophets and martyrs of the Swedish Pietist movement during the 18th century. He would spend 42 years in prison for rejecting the Swedish state church.

Biography

Thomas Leopold was born 15 December in Skåne. Leopold's father Sigfrid had immigrated from Germany, and his mother was the daughter of an immigrant Scotsman.
In 1728 when Leopold was 35 and studying in Lund, he was imprisoned for his radical profession of faith, rejecting the state church. He would remain a prisoner for the next 42 years. Leopold was imprisoned first at Bohus Fortress, then at Kalmar Castle. In 1741, Leopold was transferred to Danviken hospital. At Danviken, Leopold reportedly was able to develop a small congregation of followers, to the consternation of his jailers.
In 1746, Leopold was returned to Bohus Fortress where he would ultimately spend the next 25 years of his imprisonment, largely in solitary confinement. He would die there, on 21 February 1771 at age 77.
Sometimes he was visited at the castle by Lutheran priests, who told him he could be freed immediately, if only he denounced his Radical-Pietistic beliefs. He always answered calmly that he had promised Jesus to be faithful until the end.
Today, Leopold's prison cell can be visited at Bohus fortress, where an exhibition and film about his life can be viewed.