Case file · Witch trials
Veronika of Desenice, tried as a witch
Veronika of Desenice, secret wife of Count Frederick II of Celje, was put on trial for witchcraft in 1425 by her father-in-law, acquitted, and then reportedly drowned in a bath on his orders.
1425 CE · 46.21, 15.82 · status: disputed
The account
Count Hermann II of Celje opposed the marriage of his son to a lesser noblewoman. Croatian legend places her imprisonment and death at Veliki Tabor castle, where a skull walled into the chapel is said to be hers and her cries are said to be heard on stormy nights.
The sceptical view
Sources differ on where she died, Ojstrica in Slovenia or Veliki Tabor in Croatia, and the haunting is local legend.