Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bears a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.
The last woman accused of witchcraft and sorcery in Munich was Maria Theresia Kaiser, the daughter of a sergeant, born in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, and only 17 years old. She was executed and burned in 1701. There is a case report about another one in 1721, but this has not been proven. Therefore, Theresia Kaise was known as the last woman accused, tried and executed for witchcraft in Munich.
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Where Falkenturmstrasse meets Maximilianstrasse, the Falkenturm (Falcon Tower) once stood. Also known as the “Witches’ Tower,” it served as a prison from the 16th century until its demolition in 1863. This is where she was imprisoned and is also rumoured to haunt.
Theresia Kaiser is Imprisoned
Where today there are plenty of luxury clothing stores, the shadows of the Falcon Tower once loomed, opposite the National Theatre. There is still the street Falkenturmstraße named after it. A lot of prisoners came and left in this tower, and witches were supposedly imprisoned and tortured here as well. .
One of the last victims of the witch hunt in Munich was Theresia Kaiser, a 17 year old girl. Her being accused of being a witch are said to have come after a high ranking court official is said to have denounced her when she was working as a maid of the Electorate. She was apparently rejecting his advances and he called her a devilish woman.
There were actually two towers by the second city wall they stood on. The falcon tower between Alter Hof and Neuveste, in which falconry equipment was temporarily stored and which later served as a prison. The witch tower was a neighboring tower of the Falcon Tower, which was also used as a prison.
According to her testimony she gave after torture, she was initiated into the secrets of magic by her cousin, Elisabeth, when she was just eleven, and taken by her to the witches’ sabbath on St. Thomas’ Night, a catholic feast day July 3rd.
The Devil’s Ball
At this infernal ball, according to her account, entire cavalry units of soldiers and many lords and ladies appeared. A handsome cavalier with a large powdered wig approached her and asked her if she would renounce God. Several times she answered: no, But her cousin persisted, so that finally, after repeated questioning, she agreed.
The cavalier produced a large book and ordered her to write her name and age in it with her own blood. With a knife offered to her, she cut her left hand and signed it with her blood. Then there was dancing and people were naked. This gentleman then gave her a thaler, a gold silver coin, and then several more; but when she later wanted to examine them again, she found nothing but leather scraps in her hand.
The devil had also tempted her to steal and taught her how to open locks with a knife or scissors. Supposedly, she stole thirteen times. The devil had also taught her to poison the Elector’s court chamberlain, Neufinger, and his wife, with whom she served in Munich. But because their children took pity on her, she did not do it, for which the devil tormented and beat her.
In prison itself, the devil often urged her to murder herself so as not to fall into the hands of the executioner. The devil didn’t tolerate consecrated items on her, and in particular she had to take off her scapular, a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. She was also said to have to remove her Monica belts, something coming from the tale of St. Monica, and it is said she would protect anyone wearing it.
According to her testimony, she also had committed fornication with the devil several times. She was tried and condemned to death. Apparently required treatment by a competent doctor while in prison before she was executed.
Her execution happened by the sword in Munich on September 17, 1701, and then her body was burned.
The Legend of the Ghost of Theresia Kaiser
Even stranger than the testimony she had to give after torture, are the legends of what happened after. On the night before her execution, the devil, in the form of a bat, is said to have flown to her in her dungeon according to her guards. The next morning, she was found unconscious and naked on the floor, without her shirt. Her accuser was found hanged, or in some versions strangled in his house that same day. For reasons unknown, he was wearing the prisoner’s shirt.
Today, a bus station at Hackerbrücke stands, where so many accused of witchcraft were once tied to a vertical tree trunk before being burned alive. At the spot where the Witches’ Tower once stood, Theresia can supposedly still be seen today: a translucent female figure, barefoot, with long hair. She covers her face with her hands and stands motionless. Then she vanishes back into nothingness.
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