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Witch Trials In Germany
In the Holy Roman Empire, composed of the areas of the present day Germany, the witch trials were the most extensive in Europe and in the world, both to the extent of the trials as such as well as to the number of executions. The witchcraft persecutions differed widely between the regions, and was most intense in the territories of the Catholic Prince Bishops in Southwestern Germany. The witch trials of the Catholic Prince Bishops of South West Germany were arguably the biggest in the world. Witch trials did occur in Protestant Germany as well, but were fewer and less extensive in comparison with Catholic Germany. The witch trials of Catholic Austria and Protestant Switzerland were both severe. Legal situation Witchcraft was formally categorized as a crime in the Holy Roman Empire in the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina in 1532. The Holy Roman Empire consisted of a number of autonomous states, both Protestant and Catholic who all had their own laws and regulations, and the wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trier Hexentanzplatz 1594
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Mosel (wine region), Moselle wine region. Founded by the Ancient Romans, Romans in the late 1st century BC as ''Augusta Treverorum'' ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest cathedral, seat of a bishop north of the Alps. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the archbishop-elector of Trier was an important prince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to the Rhine. The archbishop-elector of Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electorate Of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria () was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger branch of the family which also ruled the Electoral Palatinate. The head of the elder branch was one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, but Bavaria was excluded from the electoral dignity. In 1621, Frederick V, Elector Palatine was put under the imperial ban for his role in the Bohemian Revolt against Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the electoral dignity and territory of the Upper Palatinate was conferred upon his loyal cousin, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. Although the Peace of Westphalia would create a new electoral title for Frederick V's son, with the exception of a brief period during the War of the Spanish Succession, Maximilian's descendants would continue to h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Anna Schwegelin
Anna Maria Schwegelin (also: ''Schwägele, Schwegele, Schwägelin''; January 23, 1729, in Lachen – February 7, 1781, in prison custody in Kempten) was a maid alleged German (Bavarian) witch, long considered the last person to be convicted of witchcraft in the Holy Roman Empire, now modern-day Germany. Life Born in 1729, Anna Maria Schwegelin grew up in poverty in Lachen and served as a maid. In 1751, Schwegelin, a Catholic met a Protestant coachman from Memmingerberg while working temporarily at a country estate. According to her own statements he promised her marriage if she would convert to Protestantism. She seems to have been willing to abandon her Catholic faith and may have fully converted; however, the marriage plans were later broken off by the coachman. After this incident she reportedly was convinced that she had made a pact with the devil, later claiming he had made an appearance to her twice. At the first meeting, in an open field, she claimed that she resisted tempt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endingen Am Kaiserstuhl
Endingen (Low Alemannic: ''Ändinge am Kaiserstuehl'') is a small German town located in southwest Germany, at the border with France. It lies at the northern border of a former volcano area called Kaiserstuhl. The population of Endingen is about 9,000. Geography Geographic location The town of Endingen with the winegrowing villages Amoltern, Kiechlinsbergen and Königschaffhausen is located in the north of the Kaiserstuhl. The highest point of the community is lying in the south of the city core, the Katharinenberg, on top of which stands a chapel. With 492.4 m above sea level it is the third highest peak of the Kaiserstuhl. Climate The city is located in one of the warmest areas of Germany, the Kaiserstuhl. The Mediterranean climate is reflected in the quality of the wines grown. The climate in this area is close to a Mediterranean microclimate, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. However, more year-round rain occurs than in the Rhine plateau because of the closenes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Schnidenwind
Anna Schnidenwind (née ''Trutt''; 1688 in Wyhl – 24 April 1751 in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl) was one of the last people in Germany and in Europe confirmed to have been executed in public for witchcraft. It was for the devastating fire of Wyhl on 7 March 1751 which became the trigger of the witch trial. The fire destroyed most of the village. The 63-year-old peasant was accused of having caused arson through a Devil's pact. Schnidenwind was judged guilty and sentenced to death. She was burned on 24 April 1751 in Endingen in Breisgau, after strangulation. The region was in those times part of Anterior Austria. It is quite sure, that the government in Vienna did not know about the case. See also * Anna Göldi * Barbara Zdunk Barbara Zdunk (1769 – 21 August 1811) was an ethnically Polish alleged arsonist accused of witchcraft. Zdunk lived in the town of Rößel, in what was then East Prussia, and is now Reszel in Poland. She is considered by many to have been the la ... * An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Renata Saenger Von Mossau
Maria Renata Singer or Saenger von Mossau (1680 – June 1749) was a Bavarians, Bavarian nun executed for heresy, witchcraft, apostasy and satanism, one of the last people executed for these charges in Germany and Europe. Life Maria was inducted in the convent of Zell am Main, Unterzell in the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in 1699, where she made herself known for her great piety and was appointed Prioress, Sub Prioress in 1740. In 1746, one of the nuns, Cecilia, became afflicted with convulsions and claimed to be possessed by demons and poltergeists. The attacks spread through the convent and soon several nuns suffered from hysteric attacks. One of them died, after which Renata was pointed out as a satanist and a magician. The church then conducted an exorcism at the convent, during which the nuns rolled on the ground and "howled and snapped like mad cats." During a search in Renata's room, poisons, ointments, and strange robes were found. Renata confessed to a Order of Saint Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helene Curtens
Helena (Hellene Mechthildis) Curtens (1722 in Gerresheim – 19 August 1738 in Gerresheim) was an alleged German witch. She was one of the last people executed for sorcery in Germany and the last person executed for this crime within the Rhine area. Her case is one of the most known cases in Europe, as she was long thought to be the last person executed for this crime in Germany. Curtens was arrested after reports about observations of the ghost of a 14-year-old girl. She was exposed to torture, during which she pointed out her neighbour Agnes Olmans. Olmans was the daughter of a woman called Zaubergreth, who was rumoured to have been a witch. They were accused of having intercourse with demons. Olmans denied the charges and demanded to be exposed to the ordeal of water. This was denied to her, as this method was no longer used in the area. Both Curtens and Olmans were judged guilty of sorcery and sentenced to be executed. They were executed by burning 19 August 1738. Curtens a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff
Dorothee Elisabeth Tretschlaff (1686 – in Gerswalde, – 14 February 1701) was a 15 year old German girl condemned by and executed after a Witch trial. She was the last person to have been executed for witchcraft in the state of Brandenburg. Her case attracted much attention, and was the subject of a great deal of contemporary debate. Tretschlaff was employed as a maid. She confessed that she had made a pact with the Devil, and that he visited her regularly for intercourse in her bed in the shape of a fly. The Devil supposedly paid Dorothee for her favors. The case against her was based on this alleged intercourse. Tretschlaff was found guilty of witchcraft and executed by decapitation. The sentence was criticized both before and after it was made. Later the same year, King Frederick I of Prussia ordered an investigation to inquire into whether the process had been correct. Tretschlaff was found to be depressed and suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electorate Of Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the fifth-largest German state by area and the tenth-most populous, with 2.5 million residents. Potsdam is the state capital and largest city. Other major towns are Cottbus, Brandenburg an der Havel and Frankfurt (Oder). Brandenburg surrounds the national capital and city-state of Berlin. Together they form the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, the third-largest metropolitan area in Germany. There was an unsuccessful attempt to unify both states in 1996, however the states still cooperate on many matters. Brandenburg originated in the Northern March in the 900s AD, from areas conquered from the Wends. It later became the Margraviate of Brandenburg, a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the House of H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamberg Witch Trials
The Bamberg witch trials of 1627–1632, which took place in the self-governing Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg in the Holy Roman Empire in present-day Germany, is one of the biggest mass trials and mass executions ever seen in Europe, and one of the biggest witch trials in history. Over an extended period around 1,000 people were executed after being accused of witchcraft in Bamberg, about 900 of whom were executed in 1626–1632. People of all ages, sexes and classes, all of whom were burned at the stake, sometimes after having been beheaded, sometimes alive. The witch trials took place during the ongoing religious Thirty Years' War between Protestants and Catholics, in an area on the religious border between Catholic and Protestant territories, and were conducted by a Catholic Prince Bishop intent on introducing the Counter-Reformation in his territory. The Bamberg witch trials are among the largest Witch trials in the Early Modern period: it was one of the four large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellwangen Witch Trials
The Ellwangen witch trial took place in the Catholic Prince Bishopric of Ellwangen between 1611 and 1618. It was preceded by a first witch trial in 1588. The first witch trial led to the death of 17/20 people, and the second led to the death of 430, making the number of deaths to about 450 in total. History The witch trial occurred in a religiously unstable area and was instigated by the initiative of the authorities. In April 1611, a woman was arrested accused of having blasphemed the communion. Under torture, she was pressed to admit witch craft and point out her accomplices. The alleged accomplices were arrested and, in turn, forced to confess and point out their accomplices. The prince Bishop formed a witch commission and changed the law, which made it easier to handle witch trials. By 1618, the witch trial had led to a demographic imbalance, an instable economy and a lack of trust on the legal system. An example of interrogation and sentencing records, 82 pages, can be found i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
