Case file · Witch trials
The drowning of Krystyna Ceynowa
On 4 August 1836 villagers at Chałupy on the Hel peninsula subjected Krystyna Ceynowa, a widow accused of witchcraft, to a 'swimming test' in the sea, and killed her.
1836 CE · 54.77, 18.51 · status: official
The account
A local healer had named her as the cause of a fisherman's illness. When she floated, the crowd took it as proof of guilt and drowned or stabbed her. The Prussian authorities prosecuted the ringleaders. The case shows witch belief surviving in Kashubia long after witch trials had ended.