The Cages in the Church Tower

A little over 500 years ago, Martin Luther called for reforms in the Catholic Church. When the Pope and the bishops refused to follow him, a new church emerged, calling itself Protestant. Many people turned away from the Catholic faith and followed Luther and his teachings.

He also gained many followers in the city of Münster, and by 1533 all the members of the powerful city council belonged to the new church. But other preachers besides Luther also came forward and spread their teachings.

A group called the Anabaptists formed in Münster. Its leaders, Jan Mathys and Jan van Leiden, taught that only adults should be baptized. They believed that Jesus would soon return to Earth and demanded the abolition of private property. Everything was to be shared by everyone.

In February 1534, Mathys became the new chairman of the Münster city council. He immediately began putting his ideas into practice. Adults were baptised, and anyone who did not follow his teachings had to leave the city. Men were allowed to marry several women at the same time. He had old documents burned and pictures and statues in churches destroyed.

But the Catholic bishop Franz von Waldeck fought against the Anabaptists. His soldiers surrounded the city with a siege. Mathys died during an attempted escape at Easter 1534. His successor was Jan van Leiden, who proclaimed himself King John I and is said to have had a total of 16 wives.

The siege lasted a year and a half, and the city suffered severe hardship. On 24 June 1535, it was finally captured by the bishop’s troops. Some Anabaptists managed to escape, but the main leaders, Jan van Leiden, Bernd Krechting and Bernd Knipperdolling, were taken prisoner.

In January 1536, they were put on trial. They were tortured and executed. Their bodies were then placed in iron cages and hung at St. Lambert’s Church on Prinzipalmarkt. Every citizen was meant to see how dangerous it was to rebel against the authorities. The bodies of the executed men were not buried. They were left in the cages until nothing remained of them. Their iron cages still hang from the church tower today.

Find out:

1. Who founded the Protestant Church?

2. Which religious movement took shape in the city of Münster?

3. Where does this name come from?

4. What were the leaders of this movement called?

5. What rules on marriage did these leaders advocate?

6. What ideas did they have about personal property?

7. Who opposed this movement?

8. When was Münster occupied by this man's troops?

9. What happened to the Anabaptist leaders?

10. What objects still remind us of the grisly events today?

The Prinzipalmarkt in Münster with St Lambert’s Church

Image: Hamsterkiste

Jan van Leiden at the baptism of a girl

Image: Painting by Johann Ulrich Bähr

Images: Hamsterkiste (2), public domain (2)