The Good Old Days

During my travels around the Internet I came across this picture of St Lambert's Church in Munster, Germany. At first it doesn't seem to be anything special but there is something strange in the steeple above the clock.

Zoom in a bit and you can see three metal cages hanging there. What could they have been used for?

Blimey! The cages look to be just big enough to hold a human being. Surely they weren't used for that purpose.

Yes, they are cages for humans...

Back in the 1530s the Anabaptists took control of the town of Munster but they were immediately besieged by the Catholics and eventually the bishop was able to raise an army to retake the town.

The three leading Anabaptists were tortured to death in front of the church and their bodies were place in the cages and hauled into position on the steeple.

They've been there ever since!

The bodies of the three men rotted away and their bones were removed fifty years later but the Catholics decided to leave the cages where they were as a nice little reminder for any passing heretic - don't mess with us because we will hunt you down.

The tower was originally topped with a dome but in 1881 it was demolished and replaced with the steeple we see today. The cages were taken down during the rebuilding but in 1888 the peace-loving Catholics demanded their return - because how else are you going to frighten the heretics unless you can show them the instruments of torture.

They are still there today - and nicely polished too by the look of it.