Pranger

The Pillory of Mauthausen There was a lively atmosphere in the market square of Mauthausen. It was market day. Many stalls were set up in long rows. Merchants and peddlers offered their goods there. There was much to buy: fine cloth, beautiful linen, expensive furs and good leather, but also all sorts of tools and foodstuffs, such as salt, honey, grain and wine. The children liked the treats best. Traders had come from all parts of the country to do good business here. People crowded between the stalls. They chose and often haggled for a long time until they decided to make a purchase. Suddenly, everyone listened up. A loud drum roll sounded across the square. "What's going on?" some cried. A man already knew how to report: "They caught someone stealing; he must now go to the pillory!" Lisbeth and Georg, who had just been admiring the beautiful goods on display, ran to the upper market square to the pillory. Next to the four-meter-high, square granite column, into which all sorts of symbols were carved, stood the market guard, drumming the people together. He looked sternly at the trembling man who was chained to the pillory. The thief kept his pale face bowed to the ground in shame. Curious people streamed in from all sides. "What did he do?" Lisbeth whispered. She almost felt sorry for him. Georg replied: "He probably stole something and thought no one would notice in the crowd. But we'll hear it right away, the market scribe is already coming." The market scribe stood in front of the market guards. With a hand gesture, he commanded silence from the curious crowd. Then, with a loud voice, he announced the verdict that the market judge had imposed on the thief. The dishonest man had to stand at the pillory until evening and thus atone for his guilt. After the verdict was read, the bystanders shouted at the condemned man. They pointed their fingers at him and reviled him loudly. The prisoner had to endure everything in silence. He was guarded until evening. Only after the evening bell did the market guards free the thief from his chains. He quickly made his escape. Not only thieves had to stand at the pillory. Mauthausen was already a market at that time with market regulations that all inhabitants had to obey. Every injustice was punished by the market judge. Vagrants who did not want to work, traders who sold bad goods or used too small a weight, people who argued, fought and publicly insulted each other, and those who lived immoderately, also came to the pillar of shame. In later times, standing at the pillory was abolished. However, the pillory columns are still preserved in many places.