by Lisa Arcella

Happy Halloween!  Most Americans are certainly aware of the Salem trials, where in 1692’s Massachusetts twenty-five people died: nineteen were executed by hanging after being accused of practicing black magic. Now the city is a mecca for spooky seeking tourists at what locals coin as America’s Biggest Halloween Party.

   But did you know that Europe had and even darker history where far more people were put to death after accused of aligning themselves with the Devil.

  The small Bavarian town of Zeil am Main was the center of one the darker periods of history where many were persecuted and died. Today it is a pretty village of fachwerk (timber style) buildings, wineries, beer halls and hiking trails and nearby must see stops along Germany’s Romantic Road like Wurzberg and Bamberg. But between 1616 to 1683 it was the scene of a horrific torture for anyone who was accused of having made a pact with Satan.

     Thousands of mostly Catholics (and a smaller number of Lutherans and Calvinists) were among the accused and executed in the areas various principalities. Today the Zeiler Hexenturm tower in Zeil am Main, where so many met a sad end, is now a place that welcomes tourists interested in its complicated history.
     If you walk up the ancient wooden stairs to the very top of the tower you can see amazing vistas of the valley below, but you can also look down on the deep center  opening to the bottom floor. There, the mostly young women who were tried and convicted of the succumbing to the Devil’s temptation, were tortured into confessing that they were witches.

     Once they “admitted” guilt, they were called “heretics” and  sentenced to death usually by burning. Some were “pardoned” which only meant they would be beheaded and then their bodies would be burned.  The victims age, attractiveness or social status did nothing to protect them from being accused. And men certainly weren’t immune from the brutality. The city of Bamberg’s Mayor was imprisoned. “Innocent have I come to prison, Innocent have I been tortured, Innocent I must die,” he wrote to his daughter.
     The last executions took place in 1673, interesting since the Salem trials actually started almost twenty years later.

   Parts of the Medieval wall that once surrounded the town still remain with the tower at its highest hill. Today Zeil am Main (pronounced Mein) is a lovely place to visit and an easy day trip from Bamberg or Wurtzberg—both great small cities worth visiting.

  Brauerei Göller is the place to taste test some of Germanys famed beer, but there are plenty of other beer halls and fine restaurants. The area is also home to some of the best Franconian wines. The food is amazing as well.  Germany wouldn’t be Germany without a variety of sausages and wursts to try.    I particularly like the Bamberger Zwiebel—a roasted stuffed onion that is just delicious followed by apfelküchle (apple cake) for dessert. Hexenwerk Restaurant is a good place near the tower to sample local fare.

   Beyond its witch and warlock past there are beautiful churches and other attractions to see in addition to some of the most picturesque hikes in all of Europe.