Pranger, Bestrafung

Pillory, a wooden framework erected on a post to expose an offender to public derision and contempt; form of punishment meted out by lower courts up to the end of the 18^th  century. There are pillories in numerous places north of the River Danube, most of them dating back to the 16^th  and 17^th  centuries: Bad Zell (1574), Laa an der Thaya (1575), Pulkau (1582), Perg (1583), Drosendorf, Langenlois, Schenkenfelden and Eggenburg (all 16^th  century), Kirchberg am Wagram (1636), Litschau (1688), Rastenfeld, Hofkirchen im Mühlkreis, Königswiesen and Leopoldschlag (all 17^th  century). In some places pillories were replaced by Trinity columns or market fountains during the 18^th  century. The punishment of exposing an offender to public derision was abolished under Joseph II, since then many pillories have been pulled down.

Literature: W. Westerhoff, Pranger-Säulen in Österreich, 1994.