Stralsund church break

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The extensive destruction of church and monastery furnishings in Stralsund in the spring of 1525 as a result of the spread of the Reformation against the background of social and societal conflicts is called Stralsund Kirchenbruch or Stralsund Kirchensturm . As a result, it turned out that the majority of Stralsund residents had turned to the Protestant faith. Stralsund became a Protestant town even before the Reformation was introduced in the Duchy of Pomerania in 1534 .

history

Around 1520 a circle of supporters of the Reformation formed in Treptow an der Rega . After the coadjutor of the diocese of Cammin, Erasmus von Manteuffel , had caused Duke Bogislaw X. to make the Edict of Worms known, the Treptow supporters of the Reformation had to fear coercive measures. Most of them left Treptow and carried the Reformation ideas to other Pomeranian cities. Among others, Johann Kureke, Georg von Ueckermünde and Christian Ketelhot went to Stralsund, where they were very popular for their sermons. As in other cities, in Stralsund the social and economic conflicts between church and citizenship had come to a head. The ecclesiastical property, largely exempt from public taxes, competed with the city with its economic power. The spiritual support was repeatedly criticized. Because of the accumulation of ecclesiastical offices in one hand, the owners were often unable to perform the associated duties. They had to appoint representatives who, however, could not carry out the pastoral care satisfactorily. Especially the indulgences and their abuse aroused displeasure. Arcimboldus and Johann Tetzel in Stralsund, for example, sold letters of indulgence with which buyers were exempted from fasting during Lent . Appeal against such Praktikten were with the ban shows were excluded which makes people from any community. In Stralsund, the archdeacon Zutfeld Wardenberg in particular had made many enemies by encroaching on the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of both the city and the citizens and finally had to leave the city.

Another conflict existed between the rich patrician families who ruled the city's administration and the up-and-coming craftsmen who wanted to take part in the city's administration, which led to unrest in Stralsund as in other Hanseatic cities. In Stralsund, there was also the fact that council members were involved in lengthy legal disputes. The Danish-Hanseatic War and the decline of the Hanseatic League also impaired economic conditions. While the craftsmen turned to the new faith, many council families clung to the Catholic faith, as they feared that a change would also lose their influence. In the week of Pentecost in 1524 there was a riot, as a result of which the Stralsund council was set up by a committee of 48 to monitor the council and, in particular, to control the financial administration.

With the economic and social conflicts, the ecclesiastical ones also grew. Both parties slandered and reviled one another, especially during Lent. Reformation supporters were prohibited from preaching. There were violent attacks, especially on old-believing preachers who opposed the reformers. Finally, on April 10, 1525, the conflict culminated in an outbreak of violence. This Monday after Palm Sunday the poor and beggars were called to the St. Nicholas Church for lunch . Those poor who received support from the city were to be mustered by members of the council in order to expel the strangers who were burdening the city. There were also numerous servants, maidservants and journeymen in the church who were off on Monday . Because of the large and restless crowd, both private and guild people feared that their images of saints, relics and other valuable items stored in lockers in the church could be looted. When some took their belongings to safety, it was misunderstood by others. Finally there was an uproar that spread to the whole Nikolaiviertel. While some tried to salvage their property, others began to destroy and loot altars, epitaphs , corpse stones, coats of arms and images of saints. After that, the crowd moved to the St. John's Monastery and, after breaking the door, continued the destruction and looting. The Brigitten and Katharinenkloster were also devastated. In addition to numerous works of art, books and old manuscripts fell victim to the destruction. Christian Ketelhot tried in vain to stop the crowd. The monks and canons had fled or were in hiding. The authorities did not intervene until late in the evening. It was feared that the mob could turn to the town houses during the night. The city provided around 800 to 900 armed citizens who cordoned off the streets and occupied churches and monasteries. However, the night remained calm. After these riots, the citizens again submitted to the orders of the council.

Soon six ringleaders were arrested. The city ordered all stolen goods to be delivered to the town hall by Wednesday. Many looters actually brought back the treasures they had stolen. A large crowd gathered in front of the town hall. Armed Catholics had appeared and threatened the Reformation supporters. Finally, Ladewig Vischer asked the people to choose between the two opposing sides. It turned out that a clear majority sided with the Reformation supporters. They then forced a reshuffle of the council and had Roloff Möller from their ranks as mayor and eight other representatives as councilors. The new city council and the 48 committee met and decided that in future in Stralsund, Luther's teaching would be authoritative.

The council had a list drawn up of the remaining inventory of churches and monasteries. Soon, no more Catholic services were held. The evangelical preachers were assigned to the individual churches. Johannes Aepinus , who headed the school of the Johanniskloster, wrote church and school regulations , which were adopted and published by the council and the 48 on November 5, 1525. With this order, which is one of the oldest church orders in northern Germany, Stralsund declared itself a Protestant city.

Church breaks in this form only occurred in a few German cities, in addition to Stralsund and its surroundings, for example, in Wittenberg . Some rescued objects were shown in an exhibition in Stralsund's Katharinenkloster in 2017.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Joachim Wächter : The Reformation in Pomerania. In: Contributions to the history of Western Pomerania. The Demminer Colloquia 1985–1994. Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 1997, ISBN 3-931185-11-7 . Pp. 181-183.
  2. ↑ Hans Branig : History of Pomerania. Part I: From the emergence of the modern state to the loss of state independence 1300–1648. Böhlau, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-412-07189-7 , p. 86f.
  3. ^ Theodor Pyl :  Wardenberg, Zutfeld . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 41, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, p. 166 f.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Hellmuth Heyden : Church history of Pomerania. Volume 1: From the beginnings of Christianity to the time of the Reformation. Fischer & Schmidt, Stettin 1937, p. 292f.
  5. ^ A b Hans Branig : History of Pomerania. Part I: From the emergence of the modern state to the loss of state independence 1300–1648. Böhlau, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-412-07189-7 , p. 88f.
  6. ^ Frank: Johann Knipstro. A picture of life from the history of the Pomeranian Reformation. In: 4th program of the Pyritz high school. Pyritz 1863, p. 10f. ( Google Books )
  7. ^ Bernd Ramm: Stralsund - city history. Goruma.de, accessed on October 30, 2019 .
  8. ^ The Reformation in Stralsund: Exhibition in the Katharinenkloster. Stralsund Museum, April 24, 2017, accessed October 30, 2019 .