Witch trials in Flörsheim

The persecution of witches in Flörsheim is documented for the period from 1595 to 1630. At least 71 people were killed.

Witch trials in the area of the Electorate of Mainz

Burning of three witches in Derneburg, 1555, leaflet, 16th century

The majority of the witch trials in the area of the Electorate of Mainz fell during the terms of office of the four Archbishops and Electors of Mainz , Wolfgang von Dalberg (r. 1582–1601), Johann Adam von Bicken (1601–1604), Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg (1604–1626) and Georg Friedrich von Greiffenclau zu Vollrads (1626–1629).

From 1594 onwards there were four waves of massive witch persecution in Mainz , around 1595, 1603, 1615 and 1627, with many hundreds of trials and witch burnings, with a hysterical increase in the fear of witches, especially under Johann Adam von Bicken and Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg. The latter brought a system into the witch trials in 1612 by having all courts served an investigation order with 18 general and 98 special questions. In total, more than 2000 death sentences were passed in the course of the witch persecution in the ore monastery of Mainz , making the ore monastery one of the most persecuting territories in the empire . The witch trials, which were also used as a means of the Counter-Reformation , served a social discipline on a larger scale, which would not have been possible with other means on this scale and in such a short time. The willingness to take action against suspected witches grew among the population.

Witch trials in Flörsheim

In Flörsheim , Weilbach and Wicker , over 71 women, men and children fell victim to the witch craze between 1595 and 1630. Several are said to have been executed on the Hexenberg in Flörsheim. Johann Traberger, public notary and procurator (lawyer) of the electoral court in Mainz , wrote an extract from the Flörsheimer Hexischen Inquisitionprotokoll .

After the first trials, the community of Flörsheim asked the Mainz cathedral chapter for permission "that the other indicated witch women may be arrested and punished." It was a bad time for the people: The population suffered from the climatic consequences of the Little Ice Age with long and severe conditions Winters and cold, wet summers. Bad harvests, rising prices and famine were the result. You looked for scapegoats - and you found them. Hysterical witch hunts began everywhere. Defendants were convicted in the witch trials on charges of damaging spells that they caused cold rain or hail with fatal consequences for food production. The years 1615–1618 are the main focus of the Flörsheim witch hunt. In the execution records it is often noted that the accused were accused of having decided to spoil the wine and fruits of the field during the witches' sabbath.

Victims of the witch trials in Flörsheim

The fate of three young people who were burned as witches is representative of the people executed in Flörsheim: Johann Schad, Margreth Schad and Ela Schad , executed on July 6, 1617 for alleged witchcraft . The trials also brought a lot of social suffering for the bereaved. They had to live on in the place with the stigma of being family members or children of a witch. In Flörsheim these were z. B .:

Magdalena, Melchior Stephan's wife from Flörsheim († August 17, 1628). She left three children: Henrich (four years), Juliane (three years) and Margarethe (under one year).
Anna, Mrs. Jacob Schleudts from Flörsheim († August 17, 1628). She left two daughters when she was executed, aged four years and eight months.
Maria Mülichin, wife of Jo (hann) is Haudt from Flörsheim († September 20, 1629). When she was cremated, the children Barbara and Anna were four and three years old, and the two-month-old Catharina died a month after her mother was cremated.

Debt for Flörsheim through witch trials

In 1615, the witch trials for Flörsheim already cost 6,225 guilders. In order to cover the expenses of the inquisition ordered to exterminate and punish the broken vice of sorcery and witchcraft , the community applied for a loan of 2,000 guilders at St. Klara Monastery in Mainz in 1618 . The community raised more funds but was unable to make any repayments. Around 1648, when the persecution of witches in the electorate was stopped, the debt totaled 9,973 guilders, including interest even 12,220 guilders. Flörsheimer common land had been pledged. In 1661 the congregation asked the Mainz cathedral chapter for help with an acceptable settlement. 100 years later the city still had to bear the burden of debt.

Memorial plaque witch trials Flörsheim 2013

Commemoration

On September 16, 2013, three taller memorial plaques were erected on the old "Hexenberg" in Flörsheim above the Obermühle. The memorial plaques bear the names of the 71 documented people from Flörsheim, Wicker and Weilbach who, as supposed witches and wizards , had to lose their lives between 1595 and 1630 or were denounced, arrested and tortured and had to leave their homeland .

literature

Peter Becker: Apollonia, 2002.
Horst Heinrich Gebhard: Witch trials in the Electorate of Mainz in the 17th century. Aschaffenburg 1989.
Franz Luschberger: witch trials between Main and Taunus, protocol of the revelations and atrocities. Hochheim am Main 1991, pages 96-103.
Ludolf Pelizaeus: working group witch trials in Kurmainz, witch trials in Kurmainz, punishment of the hideous vice of magic, multimedia CD, series: Dieburger Kleine Schriften. Edited by the Archaeological Folklore Working Group Dieburg e. V. - Association for City and Local History Research, 64823 Groß-Umstadt, 2004.
Herbert Pohl: Faith in witches and the persecution of witches in the Electorate of Mainz, contributions to the witch question in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Historical regional studies, 32, Stuttgart, 1988.