Traveling to the Dutch city of Ouderwater, tourists not only want to admire the ancient architecture, but also visit the unique "Witch's Scales". In the 17th century, those accused of witchcraft went there in search of a fair trial and acquittal.
A witch trial by weighing. | Photo: amusingplanet.com
In the 1650s, theological student Nicholas Boremas, who visited the city of Ouderwater, described the procedure of "weighing witches" that surprised him. The accused was taken to the Weighing Chamber and put on huge wagons, which were usually used for bulky goods. If the weight was considered normal, then the person was issued a Certificate confirming his lifelong non-involvement in devilish intrigues.
Weighing Chamber in Oudervater. | Photo: amusingplanet.com
When, in the late Renaissance, there was widespread persecution and execution of witches in Europe, the situation was much better in the Netherlands than in other countries. For about 50 thousand people tortured by the Inquisition, only 200 victims accounted for Holland.
Previously, only denunciation was enough for a person to be accused of conspiracy with the devil. Many took advantage of this, trying to exterminate business competitors. If, for example, someone's chickens were carrying more eggs, or the neighboring brewery was doing more briskly, the envious neighbors saw this as the intrigues of the Evil One.
Illustration from The Poem of the Witches, Martin le Franca (1451). | Photo: scisne.net
But women got the most. Those accused of conspiracy with the devil were brutally tortured. Most often, women were thrown into the water. If the accused went to the bottom, then she was innocent, and if she tried to get to the surface, she was as if possessed by the devil.
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Weighing was another way to determine guilt. It was believed that a broom could withstand a witch weighing up to 50 kg. So very thin women had a hard time.
A late 19th century French engraving depicting the weighing ritual at Audevatere. | Photo: scisne.net
The Weighing Chamber in Oudervater (Heksenwaag) is renowned for the fact that every weighing there was carried out very honestly. In the 17th century, people from different countries were drawn there. In a chronicle dating back to 1624, a case was recorded when a woman accused of witchcraft presented a certificate of innocence from Audevater. She was acquitted.
Witch scales in the Dutch city of Oudewater. | Photo: amusingplanet.com
Local officials highly valued their reputation, so the scales always showed the correct result. Among other things, this procedure brought in considerable income and generously replenished the city's treasury. Indeed, in order to weigh in and receive a certificate, it was necessary to pay fees to the burgomaster, judges and numerous clerks.
EU witches according to the laws of the XVI-XVII centuries must not be less than 50 kg | Photo: amusingplanet.com
Today's tourists visiting the Heksenwaag House Museum are told a more romantic version of the origin of certificates. According to legend, in the middle of the 16th century, the Roman emperor Charles V stayed in Oudervater. Together with him they brought a girl who was weighed in another city and accused of witchcraft. Heksenwaag did not disappoint and showed the unfortunate correct weight. In gratitude, Charles V granted the Auderwater the right to issue Certificates of Innocence.
A certificate stating that the weighed is not a witch or witcher. | Photo: amusingplanet.com
No written confirmation of such a version has been found, but Charles V could well have stayed in Ouderwater, since in the 16th century it was a large shopping center, much more developed than Amsterdam.
