The gallows on Straconka - this name is doubly terrifying. On a small hill called Galgen Berg ("Straconka"), just off the road between Miłków and Ścięgny, there is a very well-preserved ruin of a former stone gallows in the shape of a cylindrical well. The gallows was erected in 1677. For decades, it was a place of brutal settlement of punishments not only for crimes committed, but also for trivial offenses. The building was impressive even from a distance, as it was supposed to be an effective warning to rebelling peasants. Interestingly, the first person executed on the Miłków gallows was... the brother-in-law of its founder. What was his fault? He killed his wife when his affair with the maid came to light. Nowadays, numerous archaeological research is carried out here, which little by little reveals the secrets of this extraordinary place.
An attraction for tourists with really strong nerves!
The Miłków gallows was "funded" by the then owner of the palace in Miłków - Carl Heinrich von Zierotin, who wanted the threat of punishment to arouse fear, and the sight of the massive structure on the hill had a preventive effect on potential criminals. Everyone was supposed to see the bodies of the hanged men from a distance, moving steadily like pendulums. And so it was - the sight of bodies moved by the wind remained in the memory of the inhabitants of nearby villages for a long time. The whole was complemented by ominous flocks of crows and ravens feeding on decaying bodies.
Hanged men were not buried until the bodies fell off the gallows rope on their own. Unfortunately, this rule was not always followed. According to contemporary chronicles, on December 6, 1715, the body of Hans Muller, who was accused of theft, fell from the gallows on Straconka, after hanging for 9 days. However, the local executioner, who was also responsible for burying the dead, only turned the bodies face down and left them to the mercy of animals. The history of the gallows on Straconka is unfortunately full of equally cruel human dramas.
The gallows on Straconka - a place where the imagination does its thing
The opportunity to touch the ruins of a structure that has witnessed so many deaths certainly captures the imagination of tourists. They often get carried away by the atmosphere and start looking for true stories related to this dark place on their own.
One of them was connected with the date of October 14, 1701. On this very day, from the very dawn, crowds of not only residents of the surrounding villages, but also townspeople, nobility and high-ranking officials gathered on the treeless hill of Galgen Berg. Some came here with their families and servants. Everyone wanted to be a personal witness of the events that were to take place around noon. On that day, the debuting executioner, Johann Heinrich Kuhn, took the lives of Georg Exner, his wife Maria Exner, as well as their daughter and son. The bodies were placed in a shallow pit, and the hearts of the unfortunates were pierced with aspen stakes with iron fittings. What had the Exner family done to deserve such a cruel fate?
The family lived in Karpacz (then Krummhubel) and dealt with herbalism, weaving and animal breeding. It was no different from its neighbors, and the Exner family was very numerous in this area. One day, the criminal authorities in Hirchberg received information that something was happening in the Exner house "against human and divine laws." According to neighbors, George and Maria's daughter, Rosina, rejected the advances of all the bachelors trying to marry her. Moreover, not only was she pregnant, which she carefully hid, but, according to witnesses, the newborn suddenly disappeared. Rosina's parents were accused of infanticide, and her siblings were accused of incest. The sentence against the Exner family was passed by the Imperial Court in Prague, considering the evidence collected to be sufficient. What was this evidence? This remains a mystery.
The gallows on Straconka is still incredibly impressive!
Gallows structures with a cylindrical well were often built in Lower Silesia, but the Straconka Gallows is one of the best-preserved structures of this type in the area. Apparently, you can still hear the groans of the condemned near her. Although this extraordinary place has been attracting crowds of tourists for hundreds of years, it has never been turned into a typical tourist attraction.