Pillory @museum.de

F: The column in the middle of the room once stood in Siegburg’s market place. It’s a historical pillory, locally nicknamed the “käx”. Strictly speaking, it was a symbol of the town’s jurisdiction. There was probably a wooden scaffold next to it, where convicted offenders were put on show. Local people were at liberty to berate and insult anyone standing in the pillory.

M: However, death sentences were not carried out within the town. Instead, people were executed on what was then known as the Galgenberg – gallows hill – in today’s Brückberg suburb of Siegburg.

F: The history of the "käx" pillory can be traced back to 1450. Despite its dark history, it’s a special piece. The front and back depict a bound human being. The chains you see on the right and left are probably later additions, and are not part of the original pillory.

M: The original head on the Siegburg pillory has long since been lost. The current version was created by the Siegburg sculptor Ulrich Bliese in the late 1940s.

F: The pillory arrived at the museum in 1990. Here, protected from wind and weather, it bears witness to the administration of justice in medieval Siegburg. A copy of the pillory stands on its historic site in the market square.