Pillory

The pillory in Duszniki-Zdrój is a historic monument located in the center of the Market Square. What you see today is not the original but a symbolic reconstruction erected in 2004. The stone used for it came from a fence of one of the local properties, and the fate of the original pillory remains unknown. According to local accounts, the first person to die at the pillory was the executioner, notorious for courting married women. The town had its own executioner thanks to the higher jurisdiction rights acquired in 1612. In the 17th century, German law applied in the Kłodzko Land, including the code of Emperor Charles V, known as the Carolina, which specified permissible forms of capital punishment. In 1711, it was replaced by the penal code of Joseph I, the so-called Little Josephine, which listed punishments such as beheading, hanging, quartering, drowning, burning, burying alive, and breaking on the wheel. Corporal punishments were also carried out at the pillory, including branding, flogging, cutting off ears, nose, tongue, or hand, and tearing with pincers. This site is interesting for history and law enthusiasts, offering insight into old judicial practices. It is outdoors, near public transport stops, and a visit takes less than an hour.