Witch Island, Szeged

Csongrád-Csanád · Ungern · Natural site

Twelve people were burned at the stake here in 1728, among them the town's former judge — and the innocent dead are said never to have found rest.

Local tradition holds that those burned on Witch Island never found rest, and that their spirits walk among the trees on the peninsula. On 23 July 1728, twelve people were burned at the stake here — six men and six women — condemned for witchcraft and sorcery in Hungary's largest witch trial. Among them was Dániel Rózsa, the town's former judge, who burned in the city where he had once passed sentence.

Witch Island is a wooded peninsula in the river Tisza just south of Szeged. The trial grew out of drought and failed harvests: someone had to carry the blame, and the accusations spread until more than eighty people were caught up in them. Today the site is a quiet stretch of riverside nature — but the memory of the pyres gives the walk a cold undertone.

FAQ

Where is Witch Island, Szeged located?

Witch Island, Szeged is in Csongrád-Csanád, Ungern.