Johann Weyer Memorial

At the pedestrian entry of the General Municipal Hospital in Düsseldorf (Moorenst. 5), an allegoric relief commemorates in a quite heroic manner the physician Dr. Johann Weyer, medical attendant to the Duke of Berg in Düsseldorf who published extensively against witch prosecution at a time, when the neighbouring territory Kurköln governed by the archbishop of Cologne had even officially declared war on witches.

In „De praestigiis daemonum“ Weyer argued that persons confessing witchcraft, whether or not under torture, must necessarily be lunatic so that all those cases should not belong to the the realm of theology or jurisdiction but rather the medical sphere alone.

The relief made by Karl Damian initially decorated the headquarters of the Rhinish Physicians' Society in 1926, year of the exhibition GeSoLei, it has been transferred to the University Clinics entrance in 1975. Fellow court physicians of Jan Wier were Reiner Solenander and the surgeon Cosmas Slot, disciple of Andreas Vesalius and teacher of Fabricius Hildanus.

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