The Tailor King

John of Leiden began his career as a simple tailor but rose to become the leader of the Münster Rebellion. In 1534, he and his followers seized the German city of Münster, declaring it the "New Jerusalem." He claimed to receive direct revelations from God and soon proclaimed himself the King of the World. Under his bizarre rule, all property was shared, and he legalized polygamy, taking sixteen wives for himself while punishing any dissenters with immediate execution.

The Iron Cages

His reign was short - lived and characterized by extreme famine and chaos. When the city was finally retaken by the Bishop of Münster, John was captured and subjected to a horrific public execution. His body, along with two other leaders, was placed in iron cages and hung from the steeple of St. Lambert's Church. Although the bodies were removed fifty years later, the original cages still hang there today as a grim reminder of the strange "King" who turned a city into a cult.