Witch hunt in Geseke

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The witch hunt in Geseke in North Rhine-Westphalia extended from 1604 to 1712. In three process chains from 1618/19, 1670/71 and 1691 there were a total of 54 indictments. 32 people were executed (14 women, 16 men and children). Three people died during the trial; the outcome of nine trials is unclear.

history

1618/19

Case files have only been preserved for processes 1618/19. After the residents of the village had suffered from conflagrations and crop damage several times, the first wave of lawsuits began in 1618 against the vagabond Adelheit Runte (called Dockes). She was arrested on suspicion of arson. In the process, she accused six other women of sorcery, including notable women. The judge Hermann Mattenkloidt and the city council hesitated to take action against these accused. When the judgment against Nobility Runte was read out on June 13, 1618, public tumult arose. The citizens feared that the judge and the city council wanted to protect members of the upper class. In an excited demonstration, the residents demanded the arrest, torture and execution of all women named as witches. The excitement among the citizens became so great that the mayor and the council arrested six more women on June 28, 1618 before Adelheit Runte was executed, including Margarethe Deitlef (known as Schomacher). The towers and gatehouses of the city fortifications were used to place the prisoners in solitary confinement. There were two guards who also had to feed their prisoners. To regulate the cost of about nine groschen per day, judges and lay judges in the prisoners' houses prepared a list of assets.

The landlady Margarethe, widow of Peter Deitlef, had gotten into the talk many years before the events. She was accused of inciting worm disease on horses from another family. She was also accused of attempting poisoning with beer against her own (married) son.

The wave of lawsuits only ended when Barbara Hesse, a member of one of the city's most respected families, was drawn into the persecution. It is reported that the two pastors in the city had a great influence on the course of the trial and incited people daily in their sermons. The investigation is conducted so casually because respected people are involved.

1670 and 1691

In 1670 and 1691 at least 19 people were executed in Geseke.

In 1669 and 1670, numerous city fires and an epidemic of dysentery broke out, killing a total of 300 people. Then a wave of witch persecution broke out, which the vicar of the city church Gottfried Taxis described.

The last verifiable process chain took place in 1691 after four arson attacks had occurred within 14 days. 15 people were arrested who, in addition to planning the arson, were accused of the witchcraft rite. Most of the accused were tied to the ladder, subdued (that is, drugged and suffocated) and thrown onto the fire with the ladder. The last verifiable death sentence was pronounced in 1708.

memory

Witch sculpture at the fountain on the market square in Geseke

In 1989, through the commitment of the “Brunnenverein Geseke eV”, a fountain was built on the town's market square, reminding of different episodes of the town's history. Somewhat hidden, it shows a witch at a stake . In the explanatory text of the fountain brochure, reference is made to the name of the city of Geseke as Hexengeseke . The name "probably comes from the fact that it was believed that the evil spirits would hide in the numerous springs in the city and in the fields during the day."

Sources and literature

  • Soldan-Heppe: History of the witch trials , revised. and ed. By Max Bauer, Komet Verlag Frechen, original edition 1911 Munich, Volume II, p. 113
  • Rainer Decker: The witch hunts in the Duchy of Westphalia. P. 351 f.
  • Walter Wahle: witch trials in Geseke. In: Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke eV (Hrsg.): We still have a thousand things to do ... 75 years Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke. Geseke 2000, pp. 95-112.
  • Petra Herrmann: The witch town of Geseke - from myth to marketing. Diploma thesis in cultural studies, Geseke, 2005, p. 21.
  • Hartmut Hegeler : Witch monuments in Westphalia and Lippe. Unna 2013, ISBN 978-3-940266-07-1 , pp. 37-40.
  • H. Hinteler: The Geseker market fountain, pictures from the history of the city , published by the Sparkasse Geseke, Geseke 1991.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Petra Herrmann: The Witch City Geseke -From myth to commercialization. Diploma thesis in cultural studies, Geseke 2005, p. 28.
  2. ^ Walter Wahle: witch trials in Geseke. In: Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke eV (Hrsg.): We still have a thousand things to do ... 75 years Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke. Geseke 2000, pp. 95-112.
  3. ↑ Petra Herrmann: The witch town of Geseke - From myth to marketing. Diploma thesis in cultural studies, Geseke 2005, p. 21. (in the Geseke City Archives)
  4. ^ Rainer Decker: The witch hunts in the Duchy of Westphalia. P. 351 f .; Walter Wahle: witch trials in Geseke. In: Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke eV (Hrsg.): We still have a thousand things to do ... 75 years Verein für Heimatkunde Geseke. Geseke 2000, p. 96.
  5. ^ Rainer Decker: The witch hunts in the Duchy of Westphalia. P. 353 f.
  6. ^ Walter Wahle: witch trials in Geseke. P. 105.