Christina Rauscher, the Witch

Everyone knows about the great witch-hunts of the Early Modern period in Europe, when up to 45,000 people were executed for crimes of using magic and consorting with devils — most of these alleged witches were women, and one of the areas most affected were German-speaking lands. The old woman riding backwards on a goat pictured here, drawn by Albrecht Dürer in the 16th century, encapsulates the stereotype. It might be refreshing to learn of the existence of one woman who helped put a stop to these ridiculous and harmful accusations.

This person was Christina Rauscher, who was born in the later 1500s in a small town in modern southwest Germany called Horb. She experienced the ugly side of the witchcraft hunts, but managed to gain enough power to stop the trials in her home turf.

Rauscher unfortunately got embroiled in Horb’s local politics when she supported her father’s side in a dispute between him and the town council. (Her father was making a lot of money from his brewery, but there had been a series of poor harvests, and all the grain purchased for his pub was driving up the cost of bread in a hungry town.) Witchcraft accusations against Christina began in 1598, and in 1604, locals busted into her house, arrested and imprisoned her, and tortured her for nearly a year. Rauscher, seven months pregnant, miscarried, but never confessed to witchcraft.

Finally Christina and her supporters (including her husband Johann) managed to successfully appeal to the region’s archduke, and Rauscher was freed. The Archduke’s administration fired the entire town council, and in 1609, Christina met with the archduke in person, after which she was given a public position in Horb in charge of investigating broaches in the legal system. There is actually a street named after her today, which you can see in the second picture.