Klaas Annink (18 June 1710 – 13 September 1775), better known as Huttenkloas, was a Dutch murderer and suspected serial killer in

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Records of his life frequently mention that he was born in

Bentelo Bentelo (Low German: ''Beantel'') is a farming village in the Dutch municipality Hof van Twente. Overview It was first mentioned in 1188 as Benlo. The etymology is unclear. Bentelo started to develop after World War II. The Catholic church was ...

. He was reputedly responsible, together with his wife Aarne Spanjers and his son, Jannes, for numerous robberies and murders in the region in and around Hengevelde. In 1774, a merchant from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

investigated and found convincing evidence that Annink was responsible for the disappearance and murder of one of his family members. Huttenkloas was then arrested and held for 114 days in a specially-made chair.
Following a controversial trial, he and his wife were sentenced to death and executed. The seat in which Klaas Annink sat, known as the "Chair of Huttenkloas", is still on display in the Ancient Chamber room in the Palthehuis Museum in

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

. Klaas Annink's infamous nickname, Huttenkloas, has not been forgotten, having been adopted by a local brewery. The company Hengelose Huttenkloas B.V. has outlets in Twente,

Salland Salland (; Low Saxon: ''Sallaand'') is a historical dominion in the west and north of the present Dutch province of Overijssel. Nowadays Salland is usually used to indicate a region corresponding to the part of the former dominion more or less to ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

Achterhoek The Achterhoek (; ) is a cultural region and COROP area in the Eastern Netherlands. Its name (meaning "rear-corner") is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the easternmost part of the province of Gelderland and therefore in the e ...

, selling Huttenkloas beer. Also, in 2009, the Dutch accordion player and singer Alexander Schoemaker released a CD about Twente's legends, including the ballad ''de ballade van Hutnkloas''.

References

1710 births 1775 deaths 18th-century Dutch criminals Dutch people convicted of robbery People from Hof van Twente {{Crime-bio-stub People executed by the Netherlands Executed suspected serial killers

See also

References