Maria Pauer (October 1734/36 – 1750 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

), was an alleged Austrian witch. She was the last person to be executed for witchcraft in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Maria Pauer was a maid in the St. Catherine suburb in

Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005. History During the Middle Ages, ...

. In January 1749, she had run an errand for her employer to another house, and afterwards, the house was tormented by poltergeist phenomena. This led to her arrest. The conditions in prison made her apathetic and weak. She was interrogated with 527 questions in two months. Anna Maria Zötlin and Liesel Gusterer were also arrested and executed in 1749.

Torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

was used, and in September 1750, she confessed her guilt. She was sentenced to death and decapitated and burned on October 6, 1750.

References

Statement of regret of archbishop Dr. Alois Kothgasser, Salzburg, regarding the judicial murder of Maria Pauer, June 18, 2009 (in German) * Neumeyer, August Friedrich: Der Mühldorfer Hexenprozess 1749/50, Mühldorf 1992 * Byloff, Fritz: Die letzten Zaubereiprozesse in Mühldorf und Landshut. In: Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte (ZBLG), Jg. 1938, S. 427–444 * Nagl, Heinz: Der Zauberer-Jackl-Prozess. Hexenprozesse im Erzstift Salzburg 1675–1690. In: Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Salzburger Landeskunde, Teil I, Jg. 1972/73, S. 385–541 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauer, Maria People executed for witchcraft 1734 births Executed Austrian women 1750 deaths 18th-century Austrian people Executed Austrian people People executed in the Holy Roman Empire by decapitation 18th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire Witch trials in Austria