Anna Maria Schwegelin

Anna Maria Schwegelin (also: Schwägele, Schwegele, Schwägelin; January 23, 1729, in Lachen – February 7, 1781, in prison custody in Kempten[1]) was a maid alleged German (Bavarian) witch, long considered the last person to be convicted of witchcraft in the Holy Roman Empire, now modern-day Germany.

[3] Through many hints and allusions Schwegelin gave the impression to those around her that she was involved in Satanism, this, paired with a number of strange incidents being linked to her, raised suspicions against her which would later lead to her arrest in February 1775.

Apparently, the execution may have been temporarily suspended by the sovereign due to the intervention of his confessor, a Franciscan priest called Anton Kramer who would later become a dedicated representative of the Enlightenment in Kempten.

On June 27, 2002, a fountain named after Anna Maria Schwegelin with a commemorative plaque on a pedestal was inaugurated on the south-east side of the residential building of the former Benedictine abbey in Kempten as a place of remembrance for the accused witch.

[4] On December 18, 2018, Lord Mayor Thomas Kiechle unveiled an information point next to the Schwegelin fountain, on which details about her life can be found.