Seesaw (Soest)

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Depiction of the seesaw penalty from the Nequam book

The Soester seesaw was a device used to punish garden thieves and field thieves. It was used in the city from the 14th to, in a modified form, into the 18th century (1780).

Use and construction

It was a kind of staircase that toppled like a seesaw as soon as the maleficant crossed the pivot. Since the seesaw was located directly on the bank of the large pond , the person to be punished fell into the water as soon as he lost his balance by tilting the seesaw. The thirteenth miniature of the Nequam book depicts this honorary punishment very vividly: The shaved head candidate, known as Lambertus Sanikelenhovet , flies, thrown up by the stick servants , over the “big pond” and will soon have to escape to the bank under the mockery of the audience . The first documented mention of the Great Pond in Soest as “Grote Dyke” can be found at the bottom left of the illustration.

The seesaw as part of the shooting festival of the Soest citizen shooting

Today's seesaw at the "Big Pond"

The Soest Bürgererschützenfest takes place on the first Saturday after Midsummer (June 24th). The following Tuesday is traditionally followed by “bobbing into the big pond”, in 2013 on June 25th. Here, well-known Soest citizens and a rifle brother are rocked into the pond.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Wolfgang Schild: The history of jurisdiction. Verlag Georg DW Callwey, Munich 1980. (License for: Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 1997 p. 196.)
  2. ↑ Special archive material. ( Memento from April 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: soest.de accessed on September 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ warranty information Hubertus Schwartz : The street name of the city of Soest. As of April 1, 1966, Soest 1966.

Web links

Commons : Soester Wippe  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files