Wolf of Ansbach

The citizens of Ansbach believed the animal to be a werewolf, a reincarnation of their late and cruel Bürgermeister Michael Leicht, whose recent death had gone unlamented.

During an organized hunt, the locals succeeded in driving the wolf from a nearby forest and chasing it down with dogs until it leaped into an uncovered well for protection.

It was dressed in a man's clothing and, after severing its muzzle, the crowd placed a mask, wig, and beard upon its head, giving it the appearance of the former Bürgermeister.

The wolf's body was then hanged from a gibbet for all to see until it underwent preservation for permanent display at a local museum.

[2] Franz Ritter von Kobell and other writers wrote poems about the wolf and its actions.