Susanna Edelhäuser

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Susanna Edelhäuser (* 1634 in Friedberg ; † March 31, 1665 in Friedberg ) was a victim of the witch hunts in Friedberg.

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

Life

Susanna Edelhäuser was the oldest of ten children of the Protestant master locksmith Hans Edelhäuser and his wife Katharina, née. Nut. They lived at the Mainzer Tor in Friedberg. Susanna was baptized on September 21, 1634, about a year after her parents married. There is no record of a later marriage of Susanna, but she had a daughter named Catharina, who was baptized on December 17, 1664 and died as an infant on October 28, 1665.

Witch trial against Susanna Edelhäuser

In 1664 Barbara Camberger from Anspach in the Taunus was accused of witchcraft in Friedberg . She had been married twice. The widow earned her living as a servant. In an "embarrassing inquisitional trial" lasting five months, Barbara Camberger initially denied all points of the indictment on October 5, 1663. After seven weeks in prison, her Suffering Day began on October 26th. Under torture , she confessed to the charge of sorcery and named, among others, Katharina Edelhäuser and her daughter Susanna as alleged allies of the devil. Katharina Edelhäuser ("Schlossers Kettergen") and daughter Susanna were arrested on the basis of their allegations. Katharina remained in prison for two years for "magic" and was finally acquitted on January 8, 1666. The Giessen lawyers had not even advised torture in their case.

The first part of the minutes of the trial against her daughter Susanna are not completely preserved, but only begin with the torture. Under the torture she reported several "fellow witches", 16 women and 15 men. She did not mention any of those previously executed, including her mother, who was arrested at the same time.

The main charges against her were fornication and the illegitimate child. This was followed by the usual questions about the baptism of the devil, magic spells and the witch's sabbath . Your defender showed no particular commitment. She was sentenced to death by the sword and the body was to be cremated. The execution ceremony is described in detail.

On March 31, 1665, she was the last Friedberg woman to be executed in a witch trial.

Commemoration

On behalf of the twelve victims of the Friedberg witch hunt, Susanna Edelhäuser was honored with a street name in 1995.

literature

  • Reinhold Neeb: Witches, Torture, Stake: The persecution of witches and the belief in witches in old Upper Hesse , Brühl 1991, p. 75.
  • Martina Ruhl: The phenomenon of witch persecution, illustrated by the case of Barbara C. from Friedberg , Münster (Hochschulschriften 8), 1990 (trial files from the years 1663–1666).
  • Christian Waas: A witch trial from the good old days , in: Preussische Jahrbücher, Volume 132, Issue 1, pp. 37–74.
  • Ferdinand Dreher: A witch trial from the good old days . In: Friedberger Geschichtsblätter, contributions to the history of Friedberg and the Wetterau. Book II. History and Antiquity Association Friedberg (Hesse), 1910, p. 173 ff.
  • Adelheid Rehbaum-Keller: Scapegoat: Witch. Exclusion and Extermination Yesterday - and Today? Schmitz Verlag, Gießen, 1994, p. 49.
  • Hartmut Hegeler : Hexendenkmäler in Hessen , Unna 2013, pp. 41–43, ISBN 978-3-940266-15-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reinhold Neeb: Witches, Torture, Stake: Witch persecution and witch belief in old Upper Hesse , Brühl 1991, p. 75.
  2. ↑ Wetterauer Zeitung No. 111, May 13, 1995, p. 25.
personal data
SURNAME Edelhäuser, Susanna
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Victims of the witch hunts in Friedberg
DATE OF BIRTH baptized September 21, 1634
PLACE OF BIRTH Friedberg
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1665
Place of death Friedberg