Step into the fascinating world of Museum de Heksenwaag. Here, the history of 16th and 17th century witch hunts and witchcraft comes literaly to life. This unique weighhouse in Oudewater offered accused witches a rare opportunity to prove their innocence. And this was during a time of widespread persecution! Today, the museum not only tells the story of these historic injustices but also draws powerful connections to modern issues of exclusion, discrimination, and societal judgment.
Learn all about 16th and 17th century witch hunts and witchcraft
Oudewater is just a 45-minute drive, South of Amsterdam. Most of all, it has one of the most fascinating little museums in the Netherlands. Witch trials in the Netherlands were not as large and widespread as they were in other parts of Europe and in North America. They were also nipped in the bud relatively early, whilst other countries were still accusing their citizens of witchcraft. Nonetheless, they are still very much a part of Dutch history and The Witches Weighing House lets us dig into this grizzly part of the country’s past.
Built in a beautiful and traditional Dutch weighing house, this has to be one of the quaintest museums around. You might be wondering why it’s called The Witches Weighing House, though. It’s because of a strange belief once held about witches. Witches were believed to be as light as a feather. So, when people were accused of being witches they were brought to the weighing house as a way of checking for this apparent trait. Obviously, weighing witches doesn’t work… But today, you can still do what they did and stick your dog on the scales instead.
After all, these kinds of weigh houses were used to weigh livestock and goods, as well as witches. Owing to the odd fact that Holy Roman Emperor Charles V approved this place as a fair weighing site, nobody was ever sentenced to death here as a result of having been weighed. You can learn a lot from this museum. Plus, it’s the perfect way to sprinkle a bit of Halloween in your days !