Leipzig Calvinist storm

in 1592 for Calvinist writings At the end of the 1580s, under Elector Christian I (1560–1592) and Chancellor Nikolaus Krell (1550–1601), Lutheran orthodoxy, which had been developing since Luther's death, was pushed back in the Electorate of Saxony, and those inclined towards Calvinism gained influence. Leipzig in particular had become a centre of so-called covert Calvinism (crypto-Calvinism) due to the immigration of Dutch merchants. In February 1592, the state assembly 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 councillors refused to sign, which resulted in their dismissal from office. The persecution of Calvinism went so far that in December 1592 the tower sphere of the St. Nicholas Church, which had been renovated in 1591, was examined, because Calvinist writings were suspected in it, but none were found. In Leipzig, religious tensions were mixed with social ones, as the immigrant rich merchants were mostly Calvinist-minded. == The uprising ==

On 14 May 1593, in the house of the merchant Adolph Weinhaus, who was suspected of being a Calvinist, there was a fierce dispute between the Lutheran Orthodox theologian Samuel Huber (1547–1624) from Wittenberg and Calvinist-minded attendees about the correct interpretation of the Bible, in which the Wittenberg resident was "badly treated". On May 19, leaflets appeared in the city, according to the text written by students, calling for the destruction of the Weinhaus house. Protective measures requested by Weinhaus from the city council were only half-hearted. Weinhaus was able to fend off a first attack on the same evening with rifle shots. On May 20, an angry crowd, mainly journeymen and students, stormed the house and threw all the household goods into the street. Weinhaus had been able to flee in the meantime. The houses of other wealthy Calvinist suspects were also attacked. Only now, when the revolt threatened to become uncontrollable, did the city council call on the citizens who were well-disposed towards it to put down the uprising. Together with the city mercenaries, they put an end to the goings-on, but only after the council had assured the expulsion of certain Calvinist citizens (possibly economic competitors). == Aftermath ==

in Leipzig on 1 June 1593 The next day, two governors were appointed by an administrator of the state government, who had to organize the severe punishment of the perpetrators. In St. Thomas's Church, a warning sermon was held against possible repetitions. About forty people had been arrested after the riots. Nineteen of them were tortured. Eventually, four of them were sentenced to death by the sword. The execution took place on 1 June 1593 on Leipzig's market square. The four death row inmates were the furrier's journeyman Ambrosius Bartsch, called Fürst, a carpenter's journeyman as well as a day labourer and a bricklayer. Students, who were the co-initiators, were not punished ==References==