Weighing the Witch

Or what they do in Oudewater for fun

This weekend I took a trip to Oudewater, a small village near Utrecht in Holland, with my girlfriend. The reason? To prove we are not witches.

Oudewater is famous for its ‘Heksenwaag’ - the witches scales. During the 16th Century hundreds of thousands of people accused of being witches were  offered a chance of proving their innocence. The logic was that a witch has no soul and therefore weighs significantly less than an ordinary person; which allows the witch to fly on a broomstick. Too heavy, and you can’t be a witch!

After weighing, they received an official certificate proclaiming them not a witch. Stepping on the scales, I was confident that, to the best of my knowledge, I have no sorcerial tendencies. I was wrong. Both me and my girlfriend were pronounced witches.

Oudewater holds its annual witchy festival on the 27th and 28th June every year. If we can avoid the Inquisition for a year, we’ll be back to prove our innocence!