Abelke Bleken
Abelke Bleken († March 18, 1583 in Hamburg ) was a German woman who was burned on charges of witchcraft .
Hamburg city law from 1605
The sorcerers who harm human beings or cattle in body and soul by forbidden means, or who forgetfully abandon God and his holy word out of bad intent and make strange, highly annoying alliances with the evil enemy, will, after The Hamburg city law of 1605 states that it is possible to prove it forfeited, punished with fire or with the sword .
Trial and Execution
Abelke Bleken had to testify in court on the basis of several allegations made against her and made a confession under torture. She is the only woman in Hamburg whose responses made in court, the so-called Urgicht , are documented. The course of the trial and the charges indicate that such judgments against accused women were often based on similar previous conflicts. Mostly it was about incidents in the area of activities in which women looked after people and animals.
Abelke Bleken owned an estate which she sold to the Hamburg councilor Johann Huge. She was in contact with the Vogt Dirick Kleater from Ochsenwerder , who seized one of her kettles. Bleken asked the governor to return the pledged goods, which she refused. After Johann Huge's cattle died on the country estate and people in the Kleater family fell ill and a family member died, Abelke Bleken was accused of being responsible. They wanted to take revenge because of personal distress and therefore damage witchcraft committed, according to the indictment.
Abelke Bleken died as a convicted witch on March 18, 1583 death by fire.
Commemoration
On June 7, 2015, the Association of Women’s Garden in the presence of the second mayor of Hamburg, Ms. Katharina Fegebank , inaugurated a memorial stone in the Ohlsdorf cemetery for all those women who were victims of the early modern witch hunt in Hamburg.
The Abelke-Bleken-Ring in Ochsenwerder has been named after her since 2015 .
See also
literature
- Roswitha Rogge: Bleken, Abelke . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 1 . Christians, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-7672-1364-8 , pp. 48 .
- Rita Bake: Different Worlds I, 45 historical stations through the Kontorhausviertel . 20th station of bondage. Witch burnings. State Center for Political Education, Hamburg 2010. Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. School and Vocational Training Authority. Office for Further Education. Alsterdruck, 3rd updated edition 2010, p. 51. ISBN 978-3-929728-27-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rita Bake: Various Worlds I, 45 historical stations through the Kontorhausviertel . 20th station of bondage. Witch burnings. State Center for Political Education, Hamburg 2010. Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. School and Vocational Training Authority. Office for Further Education. Alsterdruck, 3rd updated edition 2010, p. 51. ( Memento from May 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) ISBN 978-3-929728-27-9
- ↑ Rita Bake: A new memorial stone in the women's garden . In: OHLSDORF - magazine for mourning culture
- ↑ Fegebank dedicates stone in memory of burned witches
- ↑ Memorial stone for Abelke Bleken
- ↑ Speech on the occasion of the inauguration of Hamburg's first memorial stone for the women accused of being witches and burned in Hamburg
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bleken, Abelke |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German woman, burned on charges of witchcraft |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15th century or 16th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 18, 1583 |
| Place of death | Hamburg |