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Witch Trials In Germany
The witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire, composed of the areas of present-day Germany, Switzerland and Austria, were the most extensive in Europe and in the world, both to the extent of the witch 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 an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trier Hexentanzplatz 1594
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the 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 Moselle wine region. Founded by the Celts in the late 4th century BC as ''Treuorum'' and conquered 300 years later by the Romans, who renamed it ''Augusta Treverorum'' ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest 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 Trier also had great significa ... [...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] |
Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carried out by the state, but others include non-state organizations. Torture has been carried out since ancient times. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western countries abolished the official use of torture in the judicial system, but torture continued to be used throughout the world. A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. Since the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non-scarring or psychological methods to provide deniability. Torturers are enabled by organizations that facilitate and encourage their behavior. Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolour. Vaud is the third largest canton of the country by population and fourth by size. It is located in Romandy, the French-speaking western part of the country; and borders the canton of Neuchâtel to the north, the cantons of Fribourg and Bern to the east, the canton of Valais to the south, the canton of Geneva to the south-west and France to the west. The geography of the canton includes all three natural regions of Switzerland: the Jura Mountains, the Swiss Plateau and the (Swiss) Alps. It also includes some of the largest lakes of the country: Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel. It is a major tourist destination, renowned for its landscapes and gastronomy. The largest city is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valais Witch Trials
The Valais witch trials consisted of a witch-hunt and a series of witch trials which took place in the Valais (the House of Savoy and the prince-bishopric of Sion), today part of Switzerland, beginning in 1428. The Valais witch-hunt is the first of the systematic campaigns which would become much more widespread in the decades to come, initiating the period of witch trials in Europe. The persecutions started in French-speaking Lower Valais (House of Savoy and prince-bishopric of Sion) and spread to German-speaking Upper Valais and to nearby valleys in the Western Alps. They subsided after six to eight years (c. 1434/6), but the phenomenon spread further afield from here, to Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchatel, and beyond. __TOC__ History Although occasional burning of witches ('' hexen'') is recorded in Switzerland since the beginning of the 15th century, the Valais trials of 1428 are the first event in which the accusation of sorcery leads to systematic persecution with hundreds o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stedelen
Stedelen (dead c. 1400) was a man who was accused of being a witch in Boltigen, Switzerland between 1397 and 1406. Background After the harvest had failed at his village, Stedelen was accused of using black magic to destroy the crops, killing cattle and also sacrificing a black rooster on the Sabbath at a crossroad and placing a lizard under the doorway of a local church. Peter von Greyerz, the judge of Simmental between 1398–1406, was a firm believer in witchcraft, which he believed had been introduced in Simmental by a noble man called Scavius in 1375, who claimed he could transform himself to a mouse (as recorded in Johannes Nider's seminal work ''Formicarius''). Scavius was slaughtered by his enemies, but he had a student, Hoppo, who, according to Greyerz, had been the tutor of Stedelen. There are no records about Hoppo, but Stedelen from Boltigen had allegedly been made an expert on magic by Hoppo, and supposedly learned to steal manure, hay and such from others' fields ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Anna Schwegelin
Anna Maria Schwegelin or ''Schwägelin'' (1729–1781) was an alleged German (Bavarian) witch, long considered the last person to be convicted for witchcraft in Germany. Life Anna Maria Schwegelin was born in poverty in the area near Kempten im Allgäu and served as a maid. In 1751, a Protestant was employed as a coachman, and converted to the Catholic faith. Schwegelin tried to prevent this. It is also said that she abandoned her Catholic faith in order to marry a Protestant, but that the marriage plans were broken off. In 1769, she injured her leg, and in 1770, she was put in the poor house. Suspicions of her (and the coachman's) involvement in Satanism led to an arrest; she reportedly freely confessed having made a pact with the Devil. She was judged guilty and sentenced to be executed on 11 April 1775. By July 1775, however, the case seems to have been forgotten, and Schwegelin remained in jail, where she died of natural causes in 1781. It was long believed that this sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endingen Am Kaiserstuhl
Endingen may refer to: *Endingen am Kaiserstuhl, Germany *Endingen, part of Jakobsdorf municipality in Vorpommern-Rügen, Germany *Endingen, Switzerland Endingen ( Swiss German: ) is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. In the 18th and 19th century, Endingen was one of few villages in which Swiss Jews were permitted to settle. Old buildings in Endin ... in the canton of Aargau {{geodis ... [...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 * Anna Maria Schwegelin Anna Maria Schwegelin or ''Schwägelin'' (1729–1781) was an alleged German (Bavarian) witch, long considered the last person to be convicted for witchcraft in Germany. Life Anna Maria Schwegelin was born in poverty in the area n ... [...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 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 Unterzell in the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in 1699, where she made herself known for her great piety and was appointed 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 Benedictine confessor that she was a satanist and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
