Drei Irrlichter / Three Will-o’-the-Wisps

The three cages hanging from the tower of the Lambertikirche have always been a special sort of public memorial: In 1536, after 15 months of siege and the recapture of the city, Bishop Franz von Waldeck used the cages to display the martyred bodies of Jan van Leyden, Berndt Knipperdolling, and Heinrich Krechting. The three Anabaptist leaders had tried to establish a social revolution in Münster. However, because of the pressures caused by the siege, hunger, and inner conflicts, it instead led to a reign of terror that was driven by religious mania.
In each of the three cages, Lothar Baumgarten installed a bare light bulb that would light up at the start of dusk to remind people of these three “lost souls.” It is a contemporary reference to a historic example of power and madness. Although the event is centuries old, we have still learned nothing from it today.

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