The witchcraft trials in the Slovenian Styria took place, as elsewhere in Europe, mainly because of people's superstition and their fear of the devil. Their multitude was also influenced by various external factors, which people under the influence of the church attributed to the devil and his minions on earth, i.e. wizards and witches. The wine-growing region of the Slovenske Gorice was especially sensitive to natural disasters and accidents.

As for the number of processes in Slovenian Styria, we can see that the number of them reached its peak in the second half of the 17th century. This is also a time of frequent natural disasters (floods, fires), infectious diseases and wars that raged through our territory or its neighborhood. In the 16th and 17th centuries, fires were the fear and trembling not only of cities in the Slovenian Styria region, but throughout Europe, because most cities were made of wood and the houses stood next to each other.

Favorable ground for the outbreak of witch trials in the second half of the 17th century was created by the great floods that affected the Slovenian Styria in 1675 and 1684. This was joined by bad harvests in 1649, 1660, 1661 and 1690, as well as locusts, which decimated crops, and the worst evil of that time - the plague. In the 17th century, the plague or one of the plague diseases spread in Slovenian lands as many as eighty times, especially in the years 1600-1602, 1623-1631, 1641-1648, 1664-1669 and 1679-1683. In 1679, the plague was probably brought to us by soldiers from Vojna krajina, and it took a death toll in our regions between 1680 and 1683. In some places, the plague literally decimated the population, and it took quite a while for the affected places to recover.

The frequency and incomprehensibility of these accidents greatly alarmed the common people, and due to their ignorance, they looked for the causes of them in the work of dark forces - witches. This is also why the trials against them were so cruel and bloody, because in many cases people thereby reduced their own fear of the future.

The main centers of witch trials in the Slovenian Styria region were Hrastovec, Vurberg, Ormož, Ljutomer, Maribor, Ptuj, Radgona and Celje. In the years 1546 to 1746, which was the period of witchcraft trials in the Slovenian Styria region, there were 250 to 300 witchcraft trials, in which there were usually several defendants at the same time.

Statistical data on witch trials in Slovenian Styria between 1546 and 1746:

• Accused women - 22
• accused man - 36
• accused - gender unknown - 172
• total number of accused - 230
• tortured - 56
• sentenced to death - 170
• sentenced to other punishments - usually flogged and exiled - 6
• died in prison - 10
• escaped - 3
• acquitted - 21
• unknown - 17
• Total - 153

Historical archives about witchcraft processes in Slovenian Styria are only partially preserved, but they offer some important findings. The vast majority of witch trials took place in the wine-growing area of Slovenske gorice. The town of Ljutomer undoubtedly stands out, as 75 or 45% of all known processes were here. The vast majority of those accused, tortured and executed were women (more than 70%).

Only few of the accused ever escaped. The most common punishment was death at the stake. Most of the condemned were burned alive or were previously strangled or beheaded and then the body was burned. Only occasionally a man was hanged and a woman drowned. In those days, it was believed that anyone accused of witchcraft was certain to be sentenced to death. Exceptions only conžfirmed this rule.

Vine-growing regions are very dependent on natural disasters and accidents, so in the past, local people, due to ignorance, looked for external forces to blame for these problems. Witches, especially women from the bottom of society, were a very suitable target. But it would be unjust to attribute these crimes only to local ignorance and accidents. To a large extent, the bloodthirsty judges who presided over these trials were also responsible for this. And in Ljutomer, unfortunately, there were quite a few of them.

Among these, the longest and most comprehensive witch trial in Slovenian Styria - which began in 1671 in Ljutomer and ended with a huge number of victims - stands out the most. This terrible process spread over a large part of Lower Styria and the border areas of neighboring Hungary and Croatia and lasted for almost twenty years. It is not known exactly how many victims there were, but judging by the number in Ljutomer, there must have been a lot of them. The trial in Ljutomer namely claimed as many as thirty-six victims.

It went so far that on July 16, 1673 even Countess Konstantina Radkay, the owner of the regional court in Ljutomer, wrote to the government in Graz to give away ownership of the court if the trials continued, as the costs were too high for them.

Another example of a bloodthirsty judge was Janez Ludvik Löhrer, administrator of the regional court Zgornji Ljutomer and at the same time a criminal (or blood) judge. Löhrer was responsible for many trials that took place in Ljutomer in 1690. At that time, 63 persons were accused of witchcraft, of which 61 were women and two were men. 47 of them were executed, mostly strangled, hanged or beheaded and then burned at the stake, four defendants died in prison during torture, two were flogged and expelled from the country, six were acquitted but sentenced to pay costs, two women, who accused each other of witchcraft, but they reconciled and were released.

The Graz magistrate dismissed Löhrer prematurely due to the increasing number of trials and the murder of the defendants that sparked loud complaints of the locals. Janez Ludvik Löhrer left Ljutomer in 1691 and took the job of administrator in Hungary with Countess Radkay. The latter sent 50 guilders to the local council as compensation for the excessive violence perpetrated by its administrator in Ljutomer.

The trial from 1690 is an exemplary example of how the men of Ljutomer stood up to the defense of their wives and achieved what was almost impossible at that time: the acquittal of a large number of persons suspected and accused of witchcraft.

This is one of the brightest moments of this otherwise very dark period in the history of Ljutomer, which was generated by general ignorance and superstition, natural hazards and misfortunes, and above all greed and envy - both of the people of Ljutomer and of the judges, who were appointed by the indifferent Austrian authorities.

That is why it is right to learn about this very dark period of our history and determine its real causes, so that something like this does not happen ever again in any form. But no matter how dark it is, it is our indigenous cultural heritage, so it is also right to celebrate its memory - which will prove that we have learned something from it.

The last witch trial in Slovenia unfolded here, which took place between 1744 and 1746. The locale was Veržej, where the first trial was recorded as early as 1635, and the place of trial was Gornja Radgona. Even before that, seven women from Veržej were accused in the great witch trial in 1690 in Ljutomer, which means that Veržej can be characterized as the third major focus of witchcraft trials in Prlekija.

In the middle of the 18th century, Veržej was a small rural square, where the number of inhabitants was only slightly higher than in the surrounding villages. The parish was still in Križevci. Veržej had certain municipial rights, an elected municipial authority with a judge or mayor and the council or magistrate, and above all, pride and affiliation. But despite this they were very dependent on the farming environment or were at most minor craftsmen. The wider area was also threatened by frequent floods.

The locals from Veržej have always been known to be quarrelsome, and many stories and jokes about them are still known today. In this environment, Polona was born in the marriage of Matija and Marija Katana. The registers sometimes call her Vukova, which was probably just a nickname. On January 26, 1721, she married Gašper Heric from Mota at a very young age. They lived in Veržej and soon their children were born: daughter Helena in April 1722, daughter Neža in January 1724 and son Lovrenc in August 1726. The Heric family lived a fairly calm life. Gašper was a miller, and Polona baked bread, which she occasionally sold in various places all the way to Polenšak.

In 1744, Mihael Koroš was the mayor and the judge of Veržej. He was the one who filed the complaint against Polona Heric, saying she was a witch. With the help of his men, Koroš knocked on the door of Heric family on the evening of September 25. He told Polona, who was alone at home, that he had come to pay back a loan, so she opened the door unsuspectingly. That's when the men grabbed her and dragged her to the local prison. Thus, with a trick, a lie and a pretext, the last witch trial in Styria began (see also under Gornja Radgona).

She was accused by three drunk Verženians who, after returning from the inn, sensed 'satanic intrigues' that they could not interpret and accused Apollonia of it. To this complaint, the local magistrate added an official certificate that the accused is already a well-known 'witch'.

After the senseless accusations of her fellow villagers (that she tried to kill them with magic), the administrator of the regional court in Gornja Radgona dismissed the accusations against Polona Heric as delusions and nonsense of confused persons and acquitted the accused.

But the village people of Veržej did not give up. Soon they found three new witnesses with new false accusations. The case became very complicated, because in addition to Polona's mother, her daughter Neža and Simon Kukel were also accused. Extensive and hostile trial records bare witness of the all-sorts of incredible claims of many men and women from the village. That the accused Polona always had money, but many others had debts; that the accused always had enough butter and milk, but only two poor cows; that she knew how to heal cattle and make storms, etc. The process therefore continued.

General social conditions, the age of enlightenment and the changed legislation of the ruler Maria Theresa indirectly finished the last witchcraft trial in our lands. After the decision of the Inner Austrian authorities in Graz, Polona Heric, as an accused witch, was finally acquitted and released from prison, in which she had languished for 452 days. The process, which began on September 25, 1744, was completed on July 8, 1746, after almost two years.

The village of Veržej changed in many ways in the centuries that followed. Past events have also been forgotten. But from the stories of their ancestors, even today, some people remember that there were once witches in Veržej...

Gornja Radgona Castle - which was built by the Slovene nobleman Radigoj and named after him - was mentioned for the first time in 1129 as Rachersburch and in 1147 as Rategoyspurch - the name Radgona means the castle on the hill, which represents the beginning of the settlement. The castle was built at the beginning of the 12th century, when Radgona was owned by the Spanheims and was also one of the main Styrian outposts against the Hungarians.

The owners of the castle changed several times, and during the period of the greatest expansion of witchcraft trials in Slovenia, the castle was in the hands of the Eggenbergs. The lordship of Gornja Radgona (and thus also the castle) owned by Emperor Ferdinand II. was sold to Janez Ulrik, Duke of Eggenberg in 1623, and in the hands of this family the lordship and the castle remained until the extinction of the family in 1717.

In the era of the development of witch trials (1500-1660), quite a few of them were before the provincial court in Gornja Radgona. We can trace the trials from 1648 against Boštjan Hoffer, 1649 against Jera and 1650 against Marina as the first. In 1653, a witch trial was held against Marina. From various testimonies we can find out that she was accused of being a fortune teller who could find stolen and lost objects.

The 'classical era' of trials, which lasted from 1660 to 1700, saw the most trials. In 1669, for example, Barbara Sperkh/Šperk was condemned and burned, under the burden of 'classic witchcraft' accusations, such as flying on the Sabbath, etc. During the interrogation, Barbara accused several comrades in revenge, who were then sentenced to death.

In 1684, Emperor Leopold I issued an order to 'our faithful J. Wendtseisen' (see also Ljutomer) to imprison all 'witches' in the districts of Radgona, Ljutomer and all the surrounding courts. Then he should face them and condemn them, and all the provincial courts and magistrates are obliged to help him as best as they can. Wendtseisen, of course, as a notorious judge, thoroughly executed this order. The following year, at least fifteen serfs from Gornja Radgona were tried for witchcraft, and one woman was burned alive during that time.

In 1687, Jera Jedilnica was tried for witchcraft before the regional court in Gornja Radgona, and she was burned. This was the last mentioned witchcraft trial in the era of 'classical trials, which took place before the court in Gornja Radgona. This era was followed by the era of the decline of witchcraft trials, which lasted - roughly - between the years 1700 and 1750. The last witchcraft trial in Slovenian Styria took place between 1744 and 1746, i.e. the so-called 'The Veržej process'.

The trial took place before the regional court in Gornja Radgona against Apolonia Heriz and her daughter Neža and Simon Kukl (see also under Veržej). On September 25, 1744, the magistrate in Veržej imprisoned Apolonia - who was reputed to be a 'witch' - and handed her over to the provincial court in Gornja Radgona. The judge at the time was Kukec, who wanted to settle and close the case, but he failed because of the rebellion of the men from Veržej - Kukec had to start the process. During the procedure, Neža and Simon were also arrested.

Witness statements were made in the 'old style' (see also Veržej). Although Apollonia only had two cows, she always had enough butter and money. She also knew how to heal livestock by burying objects. Simon was accused of being responsible for the loss of livestock and also of wanting to burn down the market. Kukel spent 108 days in prison, after which he died there. Therefore, he can be considered the last victim who lost his life in Slovenian lands due to witchcraft.

The court had already asked the government for permission to torture Apolonia, but on July 1, 1746, the government ordered her to be released, as well as her daughter Neža. Apolonia was finally free, but she had to spend 418 days in prison - due to the stupidity of her compatriots. On July 15, 1746, the last known Slovenian 'witches' were thus released.