St Lambert's Church

St Lambert's Church (Lambertikirche) dates mainly from the late 14th and early 15th centuries and is notable for its unusual octagonal tower, a Westphalian Gothic peculiarity. The church was the centre of the 1534–35 Anabaptist uprising — the radical Protestant sect took it over, removed the altars, melted down the artwork, and installed their own regime in the city. After the city was retaken by the prince-bishop's forces, the Anabaptist leaders were tortured and executed in the market square outside.

The three iron cages hanging from the tower are the most arresting detail — visible from the street and still striking more than 480 years after they were put up. The church interior has good late-Gothic vaulting and is free to enter. The Roggenmarkt immediately north of the church is a pleasant square with cafés and a small weekly market.

things to do sight
A story
Three iron cages have hung from St Lambert's tower since 1536. They once contained the corpses of John of Leiden and two of his fellow Anabaptist leaders, executed after their radical theocratic kingdom of Münster was crushed. The Anabaptists had controlled the city for 18 months, imposed communal property, polygamy, and iconoclasm, and declared Münster the New Jerusalem. The cages — and the bodies — were left hanging as a warning. The bones are long gone but the cages remain.

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