Today in spectacularly morbid German history, I learned that on April 9th 1559, as the inhabitants of the Swabian town of Weil in Schönbuch celebrated, fires broke out around the town... 
Much to the horror of the inhabitants of the town, as soon as one building was extinguished, more sprung up. It soon became apparent that someone was setting the fires that were razing the prosperous community...
111 houses were burned, as well as the town hall and church. There's no figures on casualties, but it's safe to say that there were a few. Reports say that for the next couple of days, bits of the priests records were found across the town, carried by the hot air of the fire...
A few days later, a local homeless man and known ne'er-do-well, Enderlin Seitz was arrested in the town of Hechingen. As it turns out, he couldn't shut up about how he'd totally incinerated that other town...
Now, here's where things get really gross. Depending on which story you believe, Enderlin wasn't burned, as some say, but rather was taken to a hill near the town. There, he was stuffed into a barrel into which nails had been driven. Then he was rolled down the hill...
...and that, dear friends, was the end of Enderlin Seitz, rent to ribbons by many, many sharp nails. This tale is told on the town website, and recounted on signs around the town. The lesson? Don't mess with Swabians. /FIN
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
