In Utrecht’s Oudewater you will find an original witches’ weighing house. These scales were used to show whether suspects could be convicted as witches. Thanks to Emperor Charles V, Oudewater was given a privilege for a fair weighing process. No one was found to be a witch in Oudewater. Nowadays you will find a museum at this location and visitors can have themselves weighed as it was done at the time. Oudewater was one of the few places where suspects received a fair trial, many witch trials followed an unfair, sabotaged trial.
Believe in witchcraft
For centuries people believed in witchcraft. This superstition reached a peak in the 16th century. A scapegoat was sought for inexplicable things and bad things. A failed harvest, bad weather or the outbreak of a disease had to be the result of the dark practices of a witch. According to the church, this should be seen as a punishment from God. All misery had to be someone’s fault. And so witch hunts came about.
Witch persecution reached its peak in the Netherlands and Flanders between 1590 and 1615. Anyone who showed even slightly deviant behavior or simply did not fit in well with the group could be accused. It didn’t take much, a dispute between neighbors or the death of a young child was enough. If that happened, the accused had to brace themselves for witch trials. However, they had little chance to defend themselves and confessions were usually extracted by force. The majority of the victims were women.
Witch persecution using different types of witch trials
Various methods were used to find out whether someone was a witch. If you were labeled as such by one of these tests, you often ended up at the stake. So it was vital to prove that you were not a witch. Unfortunately this wasn’t that easy, the witch trials were either sabotaged or the evidence killed you.
Waterproof
The water test is one of the most famous witches’ tests. A suspect was thrown into the water while his hands and feet were tied together. Did someone float? Then this person was too light and therefore a witch. Did the accused sink? He was then acquitted, but unfortunately it was often too late
Trial by fire
The trial by fire was another method to find out if someone was a witch. The suspect had to walk barefoot over hot coals. The idea behind this was that a person who suffered burn blisters from this could not be a witch. This would protect itself against this with witchcraft.
Weighing test
Witches were said to weigh very little, they flew through the air at night on goats and broomsticks. This is not possible with a normal weight. To find out whether someone was a witch, all you had to do was weigh the suspect. This witch trial was one of the few painless variants. The suspects had to take off their shoes and some of their clothing to avoid taking objects that would weigh them down. Prior to the weighing process, people were searched.
City weighing house used as a witches’ weighing house
City weighing house
When people talked about the waeghe or waech (nowadays weighing house) they meant the building where goods were weighed. One of the city rights was the right to such a weighing house. Traders were obliged to weigh goods such as butter and cheese in the city weighing scale. This promoted a fair trading process. The city levied a fee for this, a kind of excise tax on roads. These incomes are comparable to VAT as we know it today.
Witches’ Waag
Later, not only goods were weighed with this, people also ended up on the city weighing scale. When someone was suspected of witchcraft, this person was weighed with the city scales. Were you a normal weight for your height and body type? Then you couldn’t possibly be a witch. After weighing, they received a certificate proving that there was no witchcraft. However, did the weighmaster indicate that your weight was much too low? Then it didn’t end well, you were convicted as a witch and burned at the stake.
Unfair process
You would think that the witch trial with the weighing house cannot go wrong. After all, everyone has a normal weight, right? Unfortunately, these trials were often not fair, for example, a weighmaster was often bribed for gold ducats by those who benefited from the suspect being accused of witchcraft. Personal hatred or the chance to take over the convict’s belongings were also often reasons to cheat the trial. The weigh master tampered with the weigh scale and adjusted it in such a way that the suspects would be found wanting anyway. Many lost their lives after the weighing process and ended up at the stake.
The witch’s weighing house of Oudewater
Also in the Utrecht city of Oudewater, the city weighing house, which was built in 1482 as a goods weighing house, was later used as a witches’ weighing house. Suspects stood on the scales here from the 16th to the beginning of the 18th century. However, things always ended well here, the weighmaster was reliable. Not only the suspects, but also the city of Oudewater benefited from a fair trial. Payment had to be made for each certificate. More weights therefore meant a larger source of income and was therefore of economic importance.
Unique fair trial thanks to Emperor Charles V
Emperor Charles V ruled the Netherlands in the early 16th century. He was present at a weighing moment in the village of Polsbroek and did not believe the results of the witch weighing. He was convinced that this was a false accusation. He therefore had the convict weighed again in Oudewater. A normal weight was indicated there and the suspect was acquitted. Charles V gave the weighmaster a kind of seal of approval that showed that this man weighed honestly.
Oudewater was therefore given the privilege of a fair weighing process in 1545. This was unique, Oudewater was the only place in Europe with such a privilege. No one was ever condemned as a witch here. Everyone was reassured with a certificate and could return to their place of residence with this proof. When this became known, people from all over Europe came to Oudewater to obtain the certificate.
Museum Heksenwaag
Nowadays you will find a museum in the original weighing building: Museum de Heksenwaag Oudewater (located at Leeuweringerstraat 2, 3421 AC Oudewater). Here visitors can have themselves weighed as it was done in the past. This takes place on the original Witches’ Waag from 1482, only the ropes have been renewed over the years. They then receive the coveted Weginghe Certificate.
You will also find audiovisual presentations, an exhibition and a reading library on the subject of witch persecution. A treasure hunt and children’s entertainment are available for young visitors.