Strange Zagreb – Witch Trials, Black Queens and Malevolent Birds

Lauren Simmonds

strange zagreb
Medvedgrad Castle rises above the clouds - Davor Puklavec/PIXSELL

January the 27th, 2025 – How much do you know about the strange goings on in Zagreb? Let’s flick back through the pages of a dark history book…

Zagreb is a bustling city that has long lived in the (very tall) shadow of the coast. Thankfully, it has carved out a name for itself over the last few years, transforming into a tourism hub and an up and coming European city in its own right. The Croatian capital has it all.

From quirky museums to a thriving craft beer scene, to traditional fresh food markets and quaint cafes in which coffee is lazily sipped in the gallons, the Croatian capital city attracts the crowds year round. There’s a darker side, however, and I’m not talking about tram network disturbances. Let’s peek (if we dare) into the strange goings on in Zagreb.

the civil court once dealt with accused witches

Deeming a woman who dared use her brain a witch was once commonplace across all of Europe, but it was primarily the church involved in casting such judgements. In the Dark Ages, who were the general public to argue? In Zagreb, however, things were a bit different. It wasn’t the church who condemned women to death for being witches, but a civil court.

Let’s turn the clock all the way back to 1360. Yep, that’s a very long time before the infamous Salem witch trials took place. Zagreb in 1360 was a small settlement surrounded by hills covered in dense forests which were populated by brown bears. A far cry from what it is today, it was also inhabited by witches, or so the civil court might have you believe. The deeply unfortunate Alica and Margareta were Croatia’s first alleged witches to be tried, found guilty of being witches, and ultimately sentenced to death in the 1300s.

determining a witch

The terrible thing is that you didn’t really even need to do anything to be accused of being a witch back in those days. You just had a to be a woman, and hearsay was enough to cause suspicion. Then came the true tests (which was clearly foolproof). In no particular order, let’s examine each of them: the crying test, the weighing test, the Lord’s prayer test, the nose test, the cold water test, and the devil’s mark test.

Can you cry on command? Probably not. You’d have to think about your childhood dog dying for that, and that takes a while. If you can’t begin bawling the second you’re told to, you’re clearly a witch.

If you ever needed an excuse to eat too much at Christmas and indulge in that daily morning burek, then consider this as that excuse. Witches fly around on broomsticks, and they need to be light in order to do so. Been on a diet? Witch. Had food poisoning and lost a few pounds? Witch. Hypothyroidism? That’s not a thing, you’re obviously a witch.

I mean of course you know the Lord’s prayer like the back of your hand, right? You’re just always saying it! Who isn’t? If you couldn’t recite it, word for word, multiple times with zero errors, you were 100% a certified witch.

Did you know that the colour of your blood can tell you if you’re a witch or not? According to former very strange Zagreb civil court practices, this was a definitive way of knowing. You just needed to let someone hit you in the face with a bat to make your nose bleed in order to be sure. It makes perfect sense.

Who doesn’t love an icy cold dip? I’m not talking about a refreshing swim in the cooling Adriatic on an insufferably hot Croatian summer day, either. If your neighbour had decided to spread the gossip that you’re a witch, you’d be tied up, flipped upside down, and chucked into a freezing cold river. If you floated, you’re a witch. If you sank to the bottom like a stone, you’re innocent. Too bad in either case, because you’d be dead either way.

If you have a birthmark anywhere on your body, no matter how tiny, that means you’re a witch because obviously Satan himself did that to you. Suspected witches were stripped naked, and examined for the tiniest of marks. If the so-called mark of the devil was discovered, they’d be given the chance to confess to their sinful crimes, but many refused to do so (you know, because they hadn’t done anything). In those cases, these innocent women were tortured for long periods of time. They had to disclose the names of other alleged witches, and most of them would comply out of desperation. These newly surfaced allegations would lead to further convictions and deaths.

where did the strange zagreb witch trials take place?

Next time you’re in Zagreb, Google map yourself a route to the crossing between Streljačka Ulica and Tuškanac. You’ll arrive at a location referred to as Zvedišće. Accused witches had their bones broken and were strapped to carriages before being taken to Zvedišće via Mesnička Ulica. They were followed by the local judge, the public executioner and several guards. After all, what witch needs functioning legs when she could just produce her broomstick and zoom off?

With no TikTok to doom scroll back then, witch executions effortlessly drew the curious crowds, keen to see the death of these women. Once everyone was gathered in place, the “judge” would read out the list of crimes the woman was accused of, announce the verdict and snap a wooden stick over the woman’s body. He’d then give her to the executioner. As if she hadn’t been through enough, the poor woman would be tied to a wooden post, with more wood laid at her feet as the crowds cheered.

In some cases, a very small mercy was applied. That small mercy was not being sentenced to be burned alive. In those cases, the woman was first beheaded before what remained of her body was set alight.

how many zagreb women were murdered by the civil court for being “witches”?

106 Zagreb women were murdered for being alleged witches. That’s out of a total of 326 from the wider Zagreb area. Those poor 106 women were tried, “confirmed” to be witches, and burned at the stake in front of a jeering crowd. There was no real guideline when it came to witch accusations. You could just be the subject of neighbourly jealousy. You could have irritated someone, been economically deprived, been stubborn and the type to speak your mind. You could have been deemed too pretty, too young, too old, or socialised without proper supervision. All you needed to do back in those days to have the Zagreb civil court try you and likely kill you, was be female.

the black queen and her malevolent creatures

As if being accused of witchcraft and then being tried by the civil court and burned at the stake wasn’t quite enough, there’s a Black Queen the worry about, too. The Black Queen might have been a real person, or she might simply be a creepy legend. Regardless of which she is, the dreadful Crna kraljica is enough to make your blood run cold.

Picture this, she’s got long, jet black hair. She dresses in just black, and she spends her free time making deals with the devil himself. The story goes that she once lived in the magnificent Medvedgrad Castle in the hills above the city, and loved to taunt and terrify the lowly people living in Zagreb below her.

Her name was Countess Barbara Celjska, and she lived with a hoard of frightening beasts. Those beasts could be turned on anyone she deemed had done her wrong. She even owned a malevolent raven she had trained to tear the skin off her enemies (who, let’s face it, were just regular people). That bird also gouged their eyes out if she told it to.

If you want to catch a glimpse of her in a completely PG way, you can indulge in the Zagreb-made craft beer named after her (Crna kraljica). She’s even depicted on the label with her not-so-sweet feathered pal.

You’ll be thrilled to know that the beer is fantastic. Probably because the brewery can’t risk upsetting her.

getting to know strange zagreb today

Davorin Visnjic/PIXSELL

Luckily, you’re not very likely to be accused of being a witch by the civil court today. Nor are you likely to upset the Black Queen and be blinded by a malevolent raven. Isn’t life kinda boring, nowadays?

Next time you’re in Zagreb, indulge in some darkness by taking one of the several guided tours through the disturbing history of Zagreb’s witch trials. You can also get to know ghosts, dragons, and all kinds of things that you probably don’t want to go bump in the night.

 

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