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| Schönenbergstrasse 26, 8816 Hirzel, Schweiz |
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| Information |
Orts- und Anna-Göldi Museum
This museum in Mollis, Switzerland contains a permanent exhibit dealing with Anna Göldi, the last woman executed for witchcraft in Europe. The museum sits a short distance from the place where Anna once lived.
Anna Göldi
Born in Sennwald, Switzerland, her last name is sometimes written as Goeldi or Göldin. Anna served as a housemaid for many years for a number of employers. It has become apparent, thanks to the research of journalist Walter Hauser, that Göldi had a history of committing adultery with the wealthy married men of the households in which she was employed. There is evidence that she may have born a child in secret from a fling with one employer, a Dr. Melchior Zwicky.
In 1782, Göldi came under the employment of the Tschudi family. Once again there is evidence that she may have conducted an affair with the head of the household, Dr. Johann Jacob Tschudi. She lodged a complaint with local religious authorities about the doctor making sexual advances toward her. However, there is also evidence that she may have been once again pregnant with her employer's child. Though, it is possible that this time Göldi may have been the victim of rape.
Johann Tschudi in turn made claims that Göldi was a witch who was afflicting his daughter, Annemiggeli, with evil magic. He claimed that the young girl vomited pins and had severe convulsions that were the result of witchcraft. Johann Tschudi was not only a doctor, but also served as a judge. He came from a family with a strong background in politics. Undoubtedly, his influence added a great deal of gravity to his accusations. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Anna Göldi.
Anna attempted to flee the authorities, who took out an ad in the Swiss newspaper, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The ad, published February 9, 1782, offered a reward for Anna's capture. Anna Göldi was subsequently captured. Authorities used torture to extract a confession from her. Her hands tied behind her back, Anna was hoisted up by rope and pulley by her shoulders. Stone weights were tied to her ankles to increase the pain. Under these conditions, Göldi finally broke and confessed to having formed a pact with Satan. Her confession stated that the devil had appeared in the form of a large black dog. Once the torture had ceased, Anna recanted her confession, but it was too late.
Anna Göldi was put on trial and while not found guilty of witchcraft officially, she was found guilty of poisoning Annemiggeli. Despite being found guilty of a crime that didn't warrant a death sentence, Göldi was sentenced to death by beheading. The sentence was carried out the same day and Anna was beheaded by sword on June 13, 1782.
Much like Giles Corey during the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, Anna Göldi's case is apparently another situation in which witch hysteria was used as a convenient means to have the authorities kill someone that the accuser wanted dead for their own personal reasons. Giles was likely accused due to his having murdered Jacob Goodale decades prior. Despite being found guilty of that crime, he'd only had to pay a fine for it and was set free. The witch hysteria allowed those who Corey had angered to finally get at him.
The Exoneration of Anna Göldi
Walter Hauser, in his book about the Anna Göldi case, Der Justizmord an Anna Göldi (published in 2007), makes the case for politicians in modern day to pardon Anna. The local church coucil and government stated an unwillingness to pardon her in March of 2007 due to them not seeing a need to publicly pardon a woman long dead. They further stated that in the public mind she had already been exonerated and thus did not need an act of government. However, on September 20, 2007, Swiss parliament reconsidered the case. On August 28, 2008, Anna Göldi was finally exonerated officially after consultation with the Protestant Church Council of Glarus.
Anna Göldi in Media
Besides being the subject of Hauser's book, Anna's case was used for the 1991 film, Anna Göldin - Letzte Hexe (AKA: Anna Göldin, the Last Witch). She was also inspiration for the song Beautiful Skin (In Memory of Anna Göldi) by Tom Kelly's Music Factory. It is on the album Leaving the Past. The case has also gotten mention in a number of books, including Witches and Witch-Hunts: A Global History (Themes in History) by Wolfgang Behringer and Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca by Candace Savage. Anna Göldi's story has also apparently been the subject of radio plays in the past.
The Anna Göldi Exhibit
The exhibit at the Orts- und Anna-Göldi Museum (also known as the Mollis Museum) holds the largest collection of items pertaining to the case. It takes up the entire first floor of the museum. There is a recreation of the devices used to torture a false confession out of the woman. Also on display are newspaper clippings, radio play scripts, novels based on the incident, term papers on the case and art. A sizable portrait of Anna gazing sadly into the distance hangs upon the wall. A recreation of the cell used to hold her rests in one corner. There are even more items, including props used in the 1991 film based on the case.
Times for the museum can be found at the Museum's web site, listed below. |
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| Related Sites |
Mollis Museum: Anna Göldi
Official web site for the Mollis Museum and its exhibit dealing with the case of Anna Göldi. |
Wikipedia: Anna Göldi
Wikipedia entry for Witch Trial victim Anna Göldi. |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: The Last Witch Execution in Europe (09/02/08) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Witches and Witch-Hunts: A Global History (Themes in History) |
Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca |
Anna Goldin, letzte Hexe: Roman |
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