Roermond looks into pardon for witches murdered in the 17th century

The municipality of Roermond wants to honor residents who were murdered as witches four centuries ago. The municipality will discuss the idea with organizations involved in heritage, mayor Rianne Donders wrote to the D66 council faction.

D66 had championed the pardon of the Roermond witches, innocent people who were tortured and murdered. In 1613 and 1614, at least 75 people were accused of witchcraft and killed by torture and burning in Roermond and the surrounding area, according to Donders. "A black page in the history of our city. Nowhere else in the Netherlands have so many alleged witches been tried and executed in a short period of time as in Roermond and the surrounding area."

The mayor calls what happened horrific. "Innocent people, mainly women, were completely wrongly persecuted and sentenced to death for something they could never have done. It is a part of our past that we cannot and we should not ignore it," Donders said.

The city already apologized in 2006 for the witch trials in the 17th century. Now, the municipality wants to consult with heritage organizations Rura and Stichting Ruimte, focusing on the persecution of witches in two places: on the Galgenberg, where the condemned "witches" were burned, and at the age-old Rattentoren, the prison where the interrogations took place. De Rattentoren was called the "Witch Tower" until well into the 19th century.

Now there is nothing that reminds of those witch trials, the mayor writes. The municipality is also thinking of a street name and wants to support initiatives by schools "partly because of the parallels that can be made with the present."

D66 had pointed out that last year the Scottish Parliament pardoned the 3,837 people killed there between 1563 and 1736 on charges of witchcraft. Cologne also absolved all convicted witches in 2012. D66 also wanted a posthumous pardon in Roermond, but the municipality goes a step further and wants to pay attention to this part of local history in the public space.