The Münster Rebellion: When a Doomsday Cult Conquered a City

In 1534, radical Anabaptist preachers convinced the citizens of Münster, Germany that their city would become the "New Jerusalem" where Christ would return to earth. Within months, they had expelled all non-believers, seized all private property, burned all books except the Bible, made polygamy mandatory, and declared their leader Jan van Leiden the new "King David" ruling God's kingdom on earth.

What started as religious reform exploded into absolute chaos. Jan of Leiden instituted brutal laws - adultery, blasphemy, and complaining were punishable by public execution. He took 16 wives (beheading one himself in the town square for disobedience) while his followers starved. Women outnumbered men 3-to-1, so all women were forced to marry or face death. Anyone  ...