Witches’ Memorial Galgenberg Ellwangen

In the southwestern German region, the witch hunts in the Prince-Provostship of Ellwangen between 1588 and 1694 are of particular importance, as the number of victims (around 450) and the intensity of the proceedings were very high compared to other areas. Similar intense persecutions only occurred in the Franconian diocese of Würzburg, Bamberg and Eichstätt and in the diocese of Mainz. The Catholic parishes had the memorial at the historic execution site erected in 2001 with the support of the city of Ellwangen as a warning for the future not to allow the "spirit of the times" to lead to persecutions. The idea for the design came from artist priest Sieger Köder.

In the middle of the gallows forest is the Ellwangen witch memorial.The witch hunts in the 17th century are a dark part of Ellwangen's history. Belief in witches was widespread and the frequent occurrence of plagues, diseases and storms only reinforced it and triggered a wave of hysteria. Between 1611 and 1618 numerous convictions were pronounced by them. Even before that, in 1588, there was a first series of trials in which many innocent people were convicted. A total of 450 people were executed in those years.
In 1990, the remains of the courthouse became visible due to the Wiebke storm. The remains of the foundations of the formerly standing gallows were archaeologically examined, and mortal remains of executed people were also found. In 2001, a memorial was erected in memory of those executed, designed by the artist pastor Sieger Köder.deine-ostalb.de/2021/07/15/galgenwald-das-hexenmahnmal-in-ellwangen

There is also a very nice forest stadium of FC Ellwangen very close by.