The Witch Sidonia

Sydonia von Bork, a member of the powerful Borek family, became one of the most controversial figures in Pomeranian history. Her life was filled with love, betrayal, and tragedy. After a failed marriage attempt to Duke Ernest Ludwig, Sydonia fought for justice for decades, eventually ending up in a convent. Accused of witchcraft, she endured brutal torture but ultimately confessed, fearing death. Her execution, however, did not end the curse on the Griffin family, which soon vanished from history

She came from the powerful and wealthy Pomeranian Bork family. Fate had blessed her with extraordinary beauty and wisdom. She was educated and brilliant. It's no wonder, then, that Sydonia von Bork chose her suitors like a betrothed.

The prince's chosen one

Her father sent her to the Griffin court. There, Prince Ernest Ludwig fell in love with her. He was handsome and educated. He wanted to marry, but his family protested because Sydonia was not a princess.

Years passed. Ernest was still in love, but... he postponed the wedding. Finally, when Sydonia was around thirty, Ernest unexpectedly married the daughter of the Duke of Brunswick. Perhaps he thought Sydonia would resign herself to her fate? Or perhaps he hoped she would become his mistress? But the offended Sydonia left the court and loudly cursed the entire Gryfit family.

Without a vocation

To make matters worse, her father died. Sidonia's uncle and brother deprived her of her inheritance. She sued them but lost.

She refused to accept her fate. For almost 40 years, she tried to seek justice. She wandered throughout Pomerania, living with strangers. Finally, one of the Pomeranian princes agreed to let her enter the convent in Marianów.

Because she was the oldest resident of the monastery and came from a powerful and wealthy family, she became the deputy superior.

But she didn't feel a calling to religious life. The nuns complained that she was making their lives miserable. The abbot, in numerous writings, called her "the convent devil, a restless person, and a snake."

Meanwhile, misfortunes befell the Gryfits. They died prematurely, leaving no male offspring. The first to die was the unfaithful Ernest Ludwik (in 1592). A search began for the culprit. And Sidonia was found.

The nuns are sleeping

The monastery in MarianówIn 1612, she was accused of witchcraft. She was incriminated by the testimony of three nuns, who claimed that Sydonia had been in cahoots with a local witch. She was not caught until 1619. Under torture, she confessed that she and Sydonia had brought the devil to Marianów. And that Sydonia, with the devil's help, had killed the convent porter. Sydonia was imprisoned.

Witch Trial

The trial began on October 21, 1619. Sydonia was charged with 74 counts, ranging from trivial charges such as harassing the residents of Marianów, through more serious charges such as witchcraft, to the most serious, causing the deaths of several people. She was also accused of intending to destroy the Gryfit family, which fell under the charge of treason.After the extinction of the Griffin dynasty, the Brandenburg dynasty (Hohenzollern) was to take over power over Pomerania.

Sidonia's defense attorney presented 132 pieces of evidence, which the judge dismissed. Perhaps he didn't hear them because he was... completely deaf.

In July 1620, the accused was taken for torture. She endured the so-called Spanish boots: an iron shoe was placed on her foot and then placed in a fire. The Hacker chair with its iron spikes, heated from below, proved ineffective. Sidonia resisted the arm used to crush her legs or the tongs used to tear her body.

She slept with devils

But she was getting on in years—seventy-four!—and finally she broke down. She confessed to poisoning one of the princes, placing a sterility curse on the wives of the Gryfits, and having intercourse with a whole host of devils.

As a noblewoman, she was sentenced to be beheading. Apparently, the night before her execution, Prince Francis I visited her, begging for the curse to be lifted. She refused.

The next day she was beheaded, her body burned at the stake, and the ashes thrown into the Oder River.

But her curse continued to weigh heavily on the Griffins. Francis I died three months later. And after seventeen years, the last Duke of Szczecin, Bogusław XIV, passed away. He left no heir, so the dynasty died..