Thumbscrews and torture stones

Judicial documents dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries tell us that at Kyburg Castle thumbscrews and the rack were applied. At first, the judge tried to obtain a confession by oral interrogation. Only then, the torturer acted, as it was assumed that no lies would be told under severe pain. Without confession, nobody could be sentenced.

At the audio station you can listen to the interrogations of three accused.

The “Iron Maiden”

A product of imagination

Hans Grün confesses under torture the attempted murder, but not the burglary