Schinderhannes Tower in Simmern

The Schinderhannes Tower in Simmern in the Hunsrück originally formed part of the town’s defences.

Welcome to Schinderhannes Tower in Simmern

Simmern´s main landmark bears the name of Germany´s most famous outlaw, Johannes Bückler, known as "Schinderhannes". In February 1799, he was detained in the former gun powder tower, something which had been considered impossible up until that point. The tower was one of the few buildings in the toun to survive the destruction of 1689. Today, with its medieval atmosphere, the tower is used for exibition entitled "Schinderhannes - Myth and Reality". Johannes Bückler (1778/9 - 1803) is one of the most well-known robbers in German history. At the age of 15 he began his criminal career as a petty thief. Imprisoned several times, he was always able to escape. With his band of thieves he stormed the houses of wealthy merchants or extorted large sums of money by means of begging letters, signed "Johannes durch den Wald" ("Johannes through the Forest"). He issued "safety cards", which were meant to guarantee the holders safe passage through the forest. For many years all attempts to arrest him failed. It wasn´t until June 1802 the he was arrested near Limburg and handed over to the French in Mainz, where he and 19 fellow prisoners were sentenced to death by guillotine on 20 November 1803. They were executed one day later.

Source: DataHub Rheinland-Pfalz