The Caged Men of Munster

The Munster Rebellion of 1534, when a group of fanatics gained control of the city, is not very well known. Even the tourist office in the town seemed a bit uncertain about it, even though everyone in the town knew about the cages on St Lambert's church.

Basically, these Anabaptist fanatics were the Taleban of their day, mistreating women, stealing from everyone, attacking - or planning to attack - those around them, and in the end they got what they deserved. After all, a man who would drag his own wife (one of sixteen!) into the market square and personally chop of her head richly deserved to be put in a cage.

I first heard about the Radical Reformation at college, where I learned how both Protestants and Catholics sent troops to root the Anabaptists out of Munster. It was only when I was researching something else entirely that I came across the information that the cages were still there! After that I simply had to go and have a look - and through the magic of the internet, you too can have a look, without the trouble of travelling to Munster.

I should congratulate the city authorities, for I found free parking within a short distance of the city centre, for which I was very grateful.

If you want to know more about the rebellion you can consult Wikipedia for a badly written but accurate account of the rebellion.