Architecture and function of the MALEFIZ HOUSE

The secret torture prison of the catholic inquisition was called "MALEFIZ HOUSE" - from "malefiz" - the bad deed (medieval language). A person who became jailed in such a dungeon were called : "Malefactorn" or "Inquisit".

The complete compound was digitally rebuilt from a copper engraving by Peter Ysselburg (1628). The Malefiz House was built in 1627 by Prince Bishop Johann George II Fox of Dornheim and Vicar General Friedrich Förner. Hundreds of innocent citizens of Bamberg were brutally tortured in this building. Thanks to the detailled plan of Peter Ysselburg we can see the complex architecture, the rich engravings and the planned method to produce witches and magicians by inhuman means.thumb|500px|left

Five majors have also been tortured in the Malefiz House - like Chancellor Dr Haan and all of his family - all of them finally burned on the stake in Bamberg or the nearby city of Zeil am Main.

The end of every torture was a confession and the death penalty - burning at the stake.

A day before the swedish troops conquered the city of Bamberg in February of 1632 the Malefiz House was closed - setting the last 10 prisoners free.

A few years later (aprox. 1635) the Malefiz House was torn down by the Bamberg citizens - the stones were used in building the new monastry of the jesuits - about 400 meters away. Althoug the city of Bamberg is a world heritage site form the U.N.E.S.C.O since 1993 - you will not find any sign or memorial in remenbrance for these martyrs in Bamberg. Please see the complete documentation on: www.malefiz-haus.de

See the original copper engraving:

http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/amira/images/original/09_x_09_110.JPG