Alois Seyfried (1856–1930) was an executioner active in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. He was born in

Brunn am Gebirge Brunn am Gebirge (Central Bavarian: ''Brunn aum Gebiage'') is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. History Excavations from the Neolithic period show that the area was already inhabited 6000 BC and Brunn maki ...

on 27 May 1856 to Franz and Caroline Seyfried (née Herger).Birth and Death Records, Parish o
Brunn am Gebirge
/ref> On 1 August 1886, he was appointed temporary executioner (''provisorischer Scharfrichter'') for Bosnia, which was then under Austro-Hungarian occupation in accordance with the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. On 1 February 1897, Seyfried became the permanent State Executioner for Bosnia.Archives of Yugoslavia, AJ, 63, F-50-1922 After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Bosnia became a part of the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia). Seyfried remained in the service of the new government until his retirement in 1922. Upon his retirement, he stayed in Sarajevo until 1930,Vojislav Bogičević, "Zločinac koji je objesio trojicu učesnika Sarajevskog atentata", ''Oslobođenje'' (Sarajevo), 24 February 1952, p. 7. when he left for his hometown in Austria, where he died on 9 October 1938. Seyfried’s two brothers – Jozef (b. 1854) and Rudi (1852–1892) – also worked as executioners in Austria-Hungary. All three had inherited their trade from the Viennese hangman Heinrich Willenbacher, who was either their uncle or Rudolf’s father-in-law. Alois once claimed to have been apprenticed to the Viennese executioner Joseph Lang before leaving for Bosnia. Seyfried was married and had at least one son. According to a news report, his wife was a

snake charmer Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerou ...

.''Leibacher Zeitung'', 9 January 1900, p. 46. His son was an amateur painter. Alois himself played the

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

and composed musical pieces. His favourite composers were

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. In his 36-year-long career, Seyfried may have executed more than 50 people, many of them during World War I. The last person whom he executed was Alija Alijagić, who was hanged in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

on 8 March 1922 for the assassination of Interior Minister

Milorad Drašković Milorad Drašković ( sr-cyr, Милорад Драшковић; 10 April 1873 – 21 July 1921) was a Serbian politician who was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Death On 21 July 1921 Alija Alijagi� ...

the previous year.

References

External links

www.smrtnakazna.rs
An article about Alois Seyfried, with facsimiles of archival documents. {{DEFAULTSORT:Seyfried, Alois 1856 births 1938 deaths Executioners People from Austria-Hungary Yugoslav people