Witches' Ponds

The pond witch lives here ...
Anyone traveling with children will appreciate this little detour.
The pensioners' path is beautiful, but offers little variety for children.

Between 1550 and 1680 around 400 people were executed in the county of Schaumburg for alleged witchcraft. The witchcraft trials, to which not only women but also men fell victim, were conducted in the villages by the manorial district courts. In Schaumburg, some judges had the so-called water test carried out at the request of the suspects to "find the truth", because according to traditional beliefs water repels evil, so witches have to swim and innocent people have to sink against it. During the water test, the "inquisites" were attached to a tether and lowered into the water under the eyes of the judges and numerous onlookers, always achieving the result desired by the judges. In the minutes it says cynically: "swims like a goose". Most of the accused then resigned and delivered the “confession” required for the execution. The two witch ponds east of the Schaumburg have been handed down historically and are very likely to have actually been the scene of this horror theatre.
They are somewhat hidden in the forest about 50 meters below the path.
Source: elkereineking.de/Historischer_Ortsspaziergang.pdf

Steep descent from the main path down to the witch ponds, which were used in the distant past during the witch hunt