Anna Persauter

Anna Persauter , nee Anna Kempter , (born September 29, 1624 in Saulgau ; † March 26, 1672 ibid) was a victim of the witch hunts in Saulgau.

Life

The family lived in simple circumstances. Leo Persauter had a "House and Thunglege" in the 1st district. The family was “of little standing” - it is recorded in the chronicle. Leo Persauter was temporarily employed by the city as a "witch keeper". In the minutes of her second trial, the mother is said to have tolerated a lover in the house. That was well known. In the council minutes of later years, the name Persauter appears frequently when the council had to rule on cases of theft and cases of defamation and defamation.

Anna had been a midwife for three years , which was a suspicious profession. Defamation and resentment were the order of the day. Midwives have been accused of harming, hexing or even killing women who have recently given birth and newborns.

She married Leo Persauter from Betzenweiler on June 24, 1646 , with whom she had nine children. She was a midwife .

Witch trial

The beheading of Leonora Galigaï on the Place de Grève

There are two Saulgau witch trials, the complete protocols of which are available. In both cases it concerns the same defendant Anna Persauter. Rumors and secret testimony led to the first indictment against her on May 18, 1666. Surprisingly, the trial only ended with the accused being banished to her home because Anna Persauter survived the torture without a confession.

In 1672 there was a second indictment through denunciation. The main indicators of the prosecution were rumors and defamation. A "witch" executed in Buchau accused Anna Persauter of being her teacher in a witch trial. Shortly afterwards there was a fire disaster in the lower suburb: four houses and some barns fell victim to a large conflagration. The protocol notes that the whole city, both clergy and lay people, were of the unanimous opinion that this fire could not have a natural cause, but was the work of the witches. Anna Persauter was arrested on the same day on February 17, 1672.

Witnesses incriminated her in secret interrogations because of inexplicable cases of illness. During interrogation, Anna Persauter rejected all allegations. Then she was tortured for days. Finally, under torture, she confessed to the devil's pact , the flight of witches , participation in witches ' dances ( Witches' Sabbath ), magic spells to humans and cattle and making the weather. She was also accused of having survived the torture at the first trial in 1666, and only the devil could have been involved. Her last concern was with her children. She asked the court: "And asks her khinder alone to be ordered."

The trial ended with a death sentence. Anna Persauter died on March 26, 1672 by beheading; her body was cremated. Her daughter Ursula Persauter was also executed as a "witch" on the same day as her mother at the age of 22.

swell

• Complete process files in the Saulgau city archive (both relating to Anna Persauter):
• Inquisitionis protocol on Leo Persauter's wife, named Annam, Actum Aufm Rathhauß on May 18, 1666
• Files from May 18 to June 13, 1666 and February 17 to March 26, 1672

literature

• Franz Josef Klaus: Heimatbuch der Stadt Saulgau , Bad Saulgau 2nd edition 1996, p. 98ff.
• Georg Hämmerle: From the history of the city of Saulgau , Bad Saulgau 1986, p. 192ff.