The Bamberg Witch Trials — A Prince-Bishop's Reign of Terror (1626-1631)

The Bamberg witch trials, conducted under Prince-Bishop Gottfried Johann Georg II Fuchs von Dornheim between 1626 and 1631, were among the most systematic and devastating witch persecutions in European history. An estimated 300 to 600 people were executed in the small prince-bishopric, including the city's deputy chancellor, several priests, and children as young as ten. Dornheim, known to history as the 'Witch Bishop,' constructed a purpose-built witch prison called the Drudenhaus, equipped with torture chambers designed to extract confessions. The prison contained cells for dozens of accused witches awaiting trial. The Bamberg persecution is exceptionally well-documented because of a letter smuggled out of the Drudenhaus by one of the accused, Johannes Junius, who was Bamberg's deputy chancellor. Writing to his daughter, Junius described in harrowing detail the torture he endured and his forced confession to crimes he had not committed. He was executed on August 6, 1628. The letter, which survived and was published, became one of the most powerful primary documents of the witch trial era.