Anna Margaretha Schmidt

Anna Margaretha Schmidt (* 1684 in Wenden (Sauerland) ; † February 24, 1696 in Olpe ) was the last victim of the witch hunt in Olpe. She was executed at the age of twelve.

Witch trials in Olpe

For the period from 1587 to 1697, at least 45 witch trials can be traced in the judicial district of Olpe, 23 people were executed, 13 women and ten men. According to Raimund Burghaus, there were at least 54 trials with 32 victims, 15 of them men. The witch trial files have not been preserved. The height of the persecution was in the years 1629-1630, when twelve people were led to the stake.

Several people were indicted in Olpe in 1587 and 1588, the outcome of the trial is unclear. In the diaries of Drosten Kaspar von Fürstenberg it says on November 3rd: "The judge from Olpe comes to me because of the sorceresses Urgicht ". 1590, the Olpe turned in November because of sorcery stuff to the Drosten . Several women were charged and imprisoned, the outcome of the trial has not been recorded.

In 1591 the diaries of Drosten Kaspar von Fürstenberg talked about "Olpic magic things" and about Judge Banner's resistance. July 29th: "Mayor and Council to Olpe come to me and ask the advice of the court administrator, who does not want to continue because of magic matters." Banner resigned from his judicial office. The Olper witch trials were only continued under a new judge, but with tragic consequences for the Banner family. On April 14, 1592, Philipp Banner's wife was drafted [arrested] for sorcery. Nothing is known about the further procedure.

In 1629 twelve people, seven women and five men, were burned for sorcery in Olpe / Wenden. This emerges from a letter from Kaspar Reinhard from Olpe to the Lords of Hatzfeld zu Wildenburg . Reinartz was a witch hunter who sentenced 500 people to death. An assassination attempt was carried out on him in Balve .

Witch trial against Anna Margaretha Schmidt

On January 25, 1695, the eleven year old Anna Margaretha Schmidt from Wenden in Olpe stated that she could do magic. She insisted and gave the names of almost all the neighbors who could do magic too. In court she was charged with sorcery because sorcery carried the death penalty. The Olper judges found the matter strange, after all, Anna Margaretha was still very young. They brought the child into the family of the sexton of St. Martinus and passed the files on to Landdrost and Rät zu Arnsberg . What should happen to a child who always talked about magic? But the laws were clear: if Anna said herself that she could do magic, she had to be convicted.

Finally , on August 17, 1695 , the highest court of the electoral state of Cologne , the Hofrat in Bonn , requested the files on Anna Margaretha Schmidt along with the reasons for the judgment. On September 20, 1695, the judge in Olpe sent his files with the reasons for the decision of the Arnsberg councilors to the court councilor. On December 29, 1695, the Councilor gave the order to carry out the sentence and repeated this order on January 27, 1696, to carry out the death penalty immediately as soon as the girl had reached the required age to save unnecessary costs. The judges pardoned her to die by the sword. As soon as she was twelve years old, she was of criminal age. She was executed by the sword on February 24, 1696 on the Bratzkopf and buried under the gallows.

From the church books it can be seen that she was the youngest of a large crowd, that is, the child of old parents. It is suggested that she was possibly mentally retarded and kept repeating the same sentence that got her so much attention. It remains strange that all of her incriminated neighbors were acquitted. Only Frau Lyse [Liese] Voss was advised to calm her down ... without prejudice to her honor ... to leave the country and look for accommodation elsewhere.

The witch trial files have not been preserved, but discussions about the costs of the witch trial took up a large part of the files of the court councilor in Bonn. On May 25, 1697 it was determined that the court chamber had to cover the costs of court fees, messenger wages, maintenance and watch fees for clergymen. The demands for daily allowances from the court officials, judges, clerks and lay judges were rejected because those involved were not solvent. In June 1697, Hermann Limpen from Olpe received compensation of 108 Reichstalers (reduced to 91 Reichstaler) for the food of the executed Anna Margaretha Schmidt. The size of the amount indicates a long imprisonment.

Sources and literature

Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olpe country , in: Olpe in history and present, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, pp. 49–56
Raimund Burghaus: Witch hunt in the Olper Land in the 2nd half of the 16th century . Lecture from April 25, 2002, p. 263 f
Rainer Decker : The persecution of witches in the Duchy of Westphalia , in: Witches - Jurisdiction in the Electoral Cologne Sauerland , Ed. Schieferbergbau-Heimatmuseum Schmallenberg-Holthausen, 1984, pp. 214-218
Hartmut Hegeler : Hexendenkmäler in Westfalen und Lippe , Unna 2013, pp. 89-92, ISBN 978-3-940266-07-1
G. Kemper: The last witch , in: Olpe Stadt und Land , p. 39
Klemens Stracke: When the pyre blazed , voices from the Olpe district, 72nd and 73rd episodes, 1968
Walter Wahle: Heimatstimmen Olpe , 1971, 83, pp. 76–82

Individual evidence

↑ Rainer Decker : The persecution of witches in the Duchy of Westphalia , in: Witches - Jurisdiction in the Electoral Cologne Sauerland , Ed. Schieferbergbau-Heimatmuseum Schmallenberg-Holthausen, 1984, pp. 214-218.
↑ Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, pp. 49–56.
↑ Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, p. 49.
^ Raimund Burghaus: Witch persecution in Olper Land in the 2nd half of the 16th century . Lecture from April 25, 2002, p. 263 f.
↑ G. Kemper: The last witch , in: Olpe Stadt und Land , p. 39.
^ Walter Wahle: Heimatstimmen Olpe , 1971, 83, p. 76.
↑ Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, p. 55.

personal data
SURNAME	Schmidt, Anna Margaretha
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	last victim of the witch hunt in Olpe
DATE OF BIRTH	1684
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wenden (Sauerland)
DATE OF DEATH	February 24, 1696
Place of death	Olpe

[1] Rainer Decker : The persecution of witches in the Duchy of Westphalia , in: Witches - Jurisdiction in the Electoral Cologne Sauerland , Ed. Schieferbergbau-Heimatmuseum Schmallenberg-Holthausen, 1984, pp. 214-218.

[2] Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, pp. 49–56.

[3] Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, p. 49.

[4] Raimund Burghaus: Witch persecution in Olper Land in the 2nd half of the 16th century . Lecture from April 25, 2002, p. 263 f.

[5] G. Kemper: The last witch , in: Olpe Stadt und Land , p. 39.

[6] Walter Wahle: Heimatstimmen Olpe , 1971, 83, p. 76.

[7] Raimund Burghaus: Data on the history of the witch hunt in the Olper Land , in: Olpe in Geschichte und Gegenwart, annual gift of the Heimatverein für Olpe und Umgebung eV, (1) 1993, p. 55.