Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 July 2

= July 2 =

Witch-burning site in Poland
A couple of years ago I remember seeing a flat ground inscription in the Warsaw Old Town, approximately here in Podwale which said in Polish that in the Middle Ages on this site witches have been burned (in Polish, citing by memory: "w tym miejscu w średniowieczu palono czarownic"). Later I walked across Podwale, but saw nothing, possibly because of parked cars that frequently obscure the sidewalk (and on Google Maps the sidewalk is also crammed by cars). When I asked in the local tourist info spot, they said there's no such thing in Warsaw. Maybe I'm confusing this with another Polish city, but almost certainly it was Warsaw, less likely Toruń. Any ideas? Brandmeistertalk  11:24, 2 July 2016 (UTC)


 * There seems to be a logical error with the tourism official stating that there is no such site in Warsaw. Do they claim to know everything that ever happened in Warsaw, from the Middle Ages on ?  If it's so minor an event to modern Warsaw citizens that it only merits a plaque, which people then park on top of, it may very well drop "below the RADAR" of tourism officials.  The tourism official should have said "none that I am aware of".  I've had a similar problem with store clerks saying "we've never carried that item", when they really mean "we haven't carried it in the two years I've worked here", and they have no idea if they carried it before then. StuRat (talk) 15:22, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Yeah, and I'm afraid it was either removed or got buried under the parked cars. If only I could take a photo... Brandmeistertalk  20:52, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I've found some Polish websites (e.g., ) which confirm that the place where Piekarska and Podwale streets meet today used be an execution site, particularly for burning at stake, and was known in Polish as Piekiełko ("Little Hell"). I couldn't find any mentions of a memorial plaque, though. I will ask a certified Warsaw tourist guide that I know; maybe she knows whether it is or used to be there. — Kpalion(talk) 12:32, 5 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Well, she isn't aware of any plaque commemorating the pyres, either now or in the past. There is only the statue of Jan Kiliński and the commemorative plaque for Maria Konopnicka (you can see both in Google Street View). — Kpalion(talk) 14:06, 6 July 2016 (UTC)