Castles throughout History have been a sign of power. Their primary purpose was to protect,
either the King of the wealthy earl of owner who lived inside of it. Castles however have
always been a symbol of strength, and because of this they became the perfect place to imprison
someone if they had done wrong. Over the centuries, even Kings and Queens found themselves imprisoned
in castles, held prisoner for a number of reasons. Some of these sentences were rather
lavish, for example in the Tower of London the future Queen Elizabeth I was held captive
however experienced many luxuries. But this was not the reality for most. Many prisoners
in the medieval times were tortured, and there was a physical aspect to this, but also a
great psychological aspect to it to. Today we look at one of the worst tortures ever,
the Angstloch, the German Oubliette. Remember to support, please make sure to subscribe.
One of the worst tortures ever was the oubliette. This was a small and terrible underground
dungeon that was found inside castles in the medieval period. Many different prisoners
found themselves down the oubliette, from soldiers of the enemy, to political prisoners
and thieves. The idea was to inflict a huge amount of psychological damage onto a prisoner,
that would later result in their death. The word oubliette comes from the word ‘To forget,’
meaning a prisoner would be thrown into the dungeon, and simply would be left to rot.
Often they have no other means of escaping, and also they often had other dead bodies
of former prisoners to contend with. Oubliettes were greatly feared, and reputations spread
about them even across to different countries.
It was a small secluded dungeon within another dungeon, and being thrown into one would lead
a prisoner to go crazy and psychologically deteriorate. The claustrophobic conditions
would be horrendous, and they were sometimes bottle shaped also to ensure no one could
escape. Once they were down there that was it. The oubliette would also be incredibly
small, and could force a prisoner to have to stand for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
making the torture even worse. There may also have been spiked floors too, impaling a prisoner
once they were placed inside, and guards often threw human waste and sewage down the hole
in the ground.
But the Germans did have their own form of the oubliette. Oubliettes were found in France
and also in Britain and other countries, however Germany had their own form of the oubliette
known as the Angstloch. The Angstloch which is also referred to as a fear hole was a small
hole found in the basement or the floor of a medieval castle of fortresses. The hole
then led to a small dungeon similar to an oubliette and it is considered to have worked
like a trapdoor. There was just a hole or a shutter which could be pulled up, and a
prisoner thrown down inside. This would have been horrendous, as once you were down the
Angstloch, there was very little chance you would get out. Thats if you even would survive
the fall as it was a long way from the hatch down to the bottom of the basement. It’s
likely that this would be so deep that it would be damp too, meaning the prisoner could
get ill and sick easily.
They were usually found above a basement of a tower which was used for fighting or defence
known as a Bergfried. This is a tall tower that was found in German counties and was
not used to be lived in, just for defence unlike a keep. These were considered to have
been used like a dungeon would have similarly to an oubliette, but also the Angstloch was
used for other means too. It has also been documented that it has been used as a storage
room or a basement space to keep weapons for the Bergfried, with cannon balls and other
weapons being lowered into the Angstloch. Projectiles and stones could be kept there
to be launched at an enemy too and pulled up using a pulley.
There are a number of Angstloch’s around in Germany today, and they’re a popular
tourist attraction, many are covered over with armour plated glass as if you fell down
there you’d be in serious trouble. One fear hole can be found at Altena Castle, and more
can be found at Wildenburg Castle and Spantekow Fortress. The one at Spantekow just has a
wire mesh covering the hole in the ground.
So the Angstloch was a German variation on the brutal torture method that was the oubliette.
Although not just exclusively used for torture and for inflicting suffering, they were known
as fear holes for a reason. Being thrown down the Angstloch would be a horrific ordeal.
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