According to legends, it all started in the 14th century in Bytom. The preacher of the St. Mary's Church, Nicholas from Pyskowice, delivered a sermon commissioned by the parish priest Peter of Koźle, which outraged the townspeople. It was likely about moral issues or money (he often rebuked the faithful for not supporting the church enough – according to the website bytom.beuthen.prv.pl, he demanded repairs to the church doors to protect the sanctuary from dogs and pigs). What happened next?
The clergyman delivered an offensive sermon. The townspeople decided to take revenge
Offended council members summoned the parish priest to explain the matter. Interestingly, the priest, fearing for his life, went to the town hall with a monstrance (a liturgical vessel used to hold the host), which allowed him to return to the church unharmed. However, he didn't know that henchmen had been sent after him, who abducted him along with Nicholas. A gathering was held, during which the clergymen were found guilty of the offensive sermon and sentenced to death by drowning in a pond near St. Margaret's Hill. The sentence was carried out in September 1367 or 1369.
A curse was placed on Bytom. The Pope was asked to lift it
It’s possible that the harsh punishment was linked to the fact that the clergy, especially priest Peter, were involved in a conflict with the townspeople that arose after the division of the town between the Dukes of Oleśnica and Cieszyn. A similar version of events is presented by a content creator named @martyna.wdrodze on TikTok. The townspeople, siding with Oleśnica, rebelled against the priests from Cieszyn and expelled them from the town, prompting the Bishop of Kraków to curse Bytom.
"The city, whenever it rises from a fall, will fall into ruin twice as hard," explains the TikToker. She added that there are records indicating that Pope Clement XI lifted the curse in the 14th century. As recently as 2007, a letter was sent to the Archbishop of Katowice, asking him to contact Pope Benedict XVI about the matter.
We can also read about the punishment from the Bishop of Kraków in the Chronicles of Jan Długosz. As zyciebytomskie.pl reports, the chronicler wrote that after the townspeople admitted to the murder, the bishop deprived them of "all honors, dignity, and offices," and stripped their sons and grandsons of the right to "receive priestly orders and obtain church benefices." Additionally, both the city and neighboring parishes were placed under a church interdict. After all this, the townspeople had to petition the Pope for two years to lift the punishment. They succeeded after paying a large sum to the Holy See.
