Religious uprisings in Poznan (1845)

Religious riots in Poznan - religious riots that took place in Poznań on 28-29 July 1845.

The immediate cause of the uprising was the arrival of Jan Czerski, a controversial Protestant preacher, who founded his own religious community in Piła. He was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in February 1845. Against the visit of the clergyman in Poznan, the local Catholic spiritual authority protested strongly. Some of the city's population was severely troubled by its arrival. When he appeared in the Old Town on 28th July, a crowd of criminalized women threw stones at him, and on Water Street, one of the shoemakers fired a firearm. This resulted in the arrival of further crowds and the emergence of a hostile conflagration. The police tried to dispel the aggressive demonstration, resulting in a battle with the watchmen of the order, led by the youth. Only the intervention of the military unit temporarily reassured the situation. Czerski managed to shelter in the house of an unknown Protestant clergyman. On July 29 morning he preached in the church of the Holy Cross on the causeway. At the same time, a procession of several thousand Catholics set out from the cathedral. Conducted by Archbishop Leon Przyłuski. Czerski managed to get to the post office, from where he left for Saw. This was not the end of the riots - on the Water Street, the crowd attacked the Czerski escort, leading to another wave of riots. From the Swords arrived a second army branch and there was a battle for stones and bayonets. The rages continued until the evening and spontaneously subsided. No one was killed, several people were injured.

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