Between 1346 and 1356, the Great Plague claimed an estimated 25 million lives - a third of the European population at the time.
In 1350, near the little town of Bismark, apparently a cross suddenly fell from heaven, so a church was built on the spot. Every year, there was a great pilgrimage and crowds of pilgrims visited to "Bismarke" around the middle of the 14th century to receive protection and healing from a miraculous cross. This of course, brought in lots of money for the church.