On the night of April 28-29, 1873, riots broke out in Metzgergasse and the adjacent streets in Wiesbaden, which the police were unable to control. Only the 11th Artillery Regiment stationed in Wiesbaden succeeded in clearing the street during the night and arresting 25 "rioters".

This was preceded by rumors of impending bread price hikes (which actually happened a few weeks later) and anonymous death threats against bread manufacturers and innkeepers in Metzgergasse. After a few arrests, the situation escalated: more and more people, including women and children, gathered here, ignoring and mocking police instructions, brawls broke out and stones and chair legs were thrown at the police.

The background to the excesses, which also developed in other German cities during this period (for example against increased butter or beer prices), was dissatisfaction in the face of repeated price increases, especially for basic foodstuffs, which hit the poorer sections of the population hard. In general, prices fluctuated regularly and the cost of living rose sharply during these years, while wages stagnated. Food and weight counterfeiting seemed to be the order of the day.

The vast majority of Wiesbaden's inhabitants had only moved from surrounding rural communities in recent years and decades - Wiesbaden experienced a dramatic increase in population during this time - and the mass of disenfranchised inhabitants had to cope with unstable and meagre living conditions. Here lay the roots of a - not only latent - high propensity to violence.