Case file · Witch trials

Barbara Zdunk, burned at Reszel

Barbara Zdunk was burned at the stake at Reszel in Prussian Warmia on 21 August 1811, often called the last woman executed for witchcraft in Europe.

1811 CE · 54.05, 21.15 · status: official

The account

She was convicted of setting a fire that destroyed much of the town in 1807; local people believed she had done it by sorcery. The Prussian courts tried her for arson, but the burning and the popular charge of witchcraft make the case a late echo of the witch trials.

The sceptical view

Legally the conviction was for arson, not witchcraft, so whether she counts as a witch-trial victim depends on definitions.

Connections in the atlas

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Barbara Zdunk
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