Calvinist storm
As Calvinists storm of tumultuous climax of theological discussion of the Orthodox will Lutherans with the Calvinists in Leipzig in May 1593 refers, in which the houses of wealthy Calvinist-minded merchants were stormed and looted.
prehistory
Under Elector Christian I (1560–1592) and Chancellor Nikolaus Krell (1550–1601), the Lutheran orthodoxy that had developed since Luther's death was pushed back in Saxony at the end of the 1580s , and those who favored Calvinism gained influence. Leipzig in particular had become a center of the so-called hidden Calvinism ( cryptocalvinism ) through the immigration of Dutch merchants . 1589 Lutheran-Orthodox Leipzig University professor and pastor who was Thomas Church Nikolaus Selnecker by the Calvinists (1530-1592) Christoph Gundermann replaced (1549 to 1622). Calvinists also held other influential offices.
The situation changed with the death of Christian I in 1591 and the disempowerment and later (1601) execution of Krell. Under the influence of the elector's widow, Sophie von Brandenburg (1568–1622), and the guardianship of Duke Wilhelm I of Saxony-Weimar (1562–1602) (for the still underage Christian II (1583–1611)) was the old order was consequently restored. As early as December 15, 1591, Pastor Gundermann was arrested as a Calvinist and transferred to the Pleißenburg . In February 1592 the state parliament decided to remove all Calvinists from administrations, courts, schools and churches.
In Leipzig all persons suspected of Calvinism had to appear at the town hall and sign their renunciation of Calvinism. Four councilors refused to sign, which resulted in their dismissal from office. The persecution of Calvinism went so far that in December 1592 the spire of the Nikolaikirche, which was renovated in 1591, was examined because Calvinist scriptures were suspected but none were found. In Leipzig, religious tensions were mixed with social tensions, as the wealthy immigrant merchants were mostly Calvinistic.
The event
On May 14, 1593, in the house of the merchant Adolph Weinhaus on Naschmarkt, suspected of being a Calvinist , a violent dispute broke out between the Wittenberg Lutheran Orthodox theologian Samuel Huber (1547–1624) and Calvinist-minded people about the correct interpretation of the Bible, with the Wittenberger being "ill was played along ". On May 19, leaflets appeared in the city, according to the text written by students who called for the demolition of the Weinhausschen house. Protective measures requested by Weinhaus from the city council were only half-hearted. Weinhaus was able to repel a first attack that evening with rifle shots. On May 20, an angry crowd, mostly craftsmen and students, stormed the house and threw all household items on the street. Weinhaus had meanwhile been able to flee. The houses of other wealthy merchants suspected of being Calvinist were also attacked.
Only now, when the revolt threatened to become uncontrollable, did the city council call on its benevolent citizens to put down the uprising. These put an end to the hustle and bustle together with the city mercenaries, but only when the council had assured the expulsion of certain Calvinist citizens (possibly economic competitors).
consequences
The next day, two governors were appointed by an administrator of the state government to organize the severe punishment of the perpetrators. A warning sermon against possible repetitions was given in the Thomaskirche. About forty people were arrested after the riot. Nineteen of them came under the torture. Eventually four of them were sentenced to death by the sword. The execution took place on June 1, 1593 on the Leipzig market square.
The four death row inmates were the furrier journeyman Ambrosius Bartsch, called Fürst, a carpenter journeyman as well as a day laborer and a bricklayer. Students, who were the co-initiators, met no punishment and also no wealthy citizens of Leipzig, among whom were presumably to be found the spiritual arsonists who fought their competitive struggles under the religious pretext. The promised expulsion of Calvinist citizens was only partially implemented.
There was no rest. Four weeks after the public execution was a south of the city located Vorwerk put the Peter Roth under the pretext of fire, where he concealed Calvinists. After the reconstruction, the property was called Brandvorwerk .
literature
- Karl Czok : The so-called Calvinist storm in Leipzig in 1593 . In: Dresdner Hefte . tape 29 . Dresden 1992, p. 33–42 ( digitally [accessed May 12, 2017]).
- Horst Riedel, Thomas Nabert (ed.): Stadtlexikon Leipzig from A to Z . 1st edition. Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-936508-03-8 , pp. 85/86 .
- Peter Schwarz: Millennial Leipzig. From the beginning to the end of the 18th century . 1st edition. tape 1 . Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2014, ISBN 978-3-945027-04-2 , pp. 283-288 .
- Wolfgang Hocquél : The Calvinist Storm in Leipzig 1593 . In: Leipziger Blätter . tape 70 . Passage-Verlag, Leipzig 2017, p. 4-8 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Lange, Albert Regge: History of the dressers, furriers and cap makers in Germany . German Clothing Workers Association (Ed.), Berlin 1930, p. 65.