Witch wants rehabilitation
Published 15 November, 2007, 07:30
She is called Europe’s last witch and her memory still haunts the town of Glarus in the Swiss Alps. Two hundred years on, her name has become a byword for injustice and now locals want to clear her name.
Anna Goldi came to Glarus to work as a maid for aristocratic families.
But one of her masters accused her of sorcery, claiming she had put needles in his daughter’s food and drink – making her a witch.
In Mollis, a nearby town where Anna lived, there’s a museum that tells her story. Looking at her portrait you understand that her curse her beauty, which obviously bewitched a rich and powerful man.
Anna Goldi was tall and voluptuous with dark hair and eyes. And her master – a rising politician – fell for her. To the great displeasure of his wife, obviously.
“Mrs Chudi was jealous of Anna and was looking for a way to get her sacked. Mr Chudi had been having an affair with her. He didn’t want anyone to find out or it could undermine his position in society,” says Marianne Nef, director of Anna Goeldi museum.
Even at the time, many thought the judgment was wrong. But those who spoke out were smothered.
During and after the Middle Ages about 50,000 women were killed for witchcraft. Miss Goldi was said to be the last in Europe, beheaded in 1782.
Many locals, including a politician in Glarus, are now fighting for Anna Goldi’s name to be cleared. While some say it’s no use recalling the bygone times others believe the record should be set straight not just for Anna but for all those innocent women wrongly accused of witchcraft.
discuss it
