page_title: Elizabeth Báthory
section_title: Investigation
hierarchical_section_title: Elizabeth Báthory / Accusation / Investigation
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614) Slovenčina: Tato olejomalba o rozměrech 93x77 cm visela do roku 1991 v Čachtickém muzeu. Obraz byl do Čachtic zapůjčen ze zámku Bojnice. Kde visí dnes, těžko říci. V noci z 22. na 23. září, což odpovídá dnům z neděle na pondělí, byl z Čachtického muzea odcizen. Do pátrání byl tehdy zapojen i Interpol. Do dnešního dne se krádež nepodařilo vyřešit. Obraz namaloval J. Valentínyi roku 1869 v Agardě, malé vesnici na břehu Velenského jezera v Maďarsku. Maloval ho na objednávku šlechtického rodu Zayovců. DŮLEŽITÁ OTÁZKA: Podle čeho Valentínyi svůj obraz maloval? Podle obrazu Alžběty Báthoryové z doby, kdy žila? Někteří historici si to myslí. Každopádně, jsou i jiné názory, ale o nich se více rozepíšu v připravovaném článku: UKRADENÝ OBRAZ.Deutsch: Die Blutgräfin, nl:file:Elisabethbathory-01.jpg, [http://www.cachtice.sk/link.php?id=300]
context_page_description: Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a Hungarian noblewoman from the noble family of Báthory, who owned land in the Kingdom of Hungary.
  Báthory has been labeled by Guinness World Records as the most prolific female murderer, though the precise number of her victims is debated. Báthory and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women between 1590 and 1610. The highest number of victims cited during Báthory's trial was 650. However, this number comes from the claim by a servant girl named Susannah that Jakab Szilvássy, Báthory's court official, had seen the figure in one of Báthory's private books. The book was never revealed, and Szilvássy never mentioned it in his testimony. Despite the evidence against Báthory, her family's importance kept her from facing execution. She was imprisoned in December 1610 within Castle of Csejte, in Upper Hungary.
  The stories of Báthory's sadistic serial murders are verified by the testimony of more than 300 witnesses and survivors as well as physical evidence and the presence of horribly mutilated dead, dying and imprisoned girls found at the time of her arrest.
context_section_description: Between 1602 and 1604, after rumors of Báthory's atrocities had spread through the kingdom, Lutheran minister István Magyari made complaints against her, both publicly and at the court in Vienna. The Hungarian authorities took some time to respond to Magyari's complaints. Finally, in 1610, King Matthias II assigned Thurzó, the Palatine of Hungary, to investigate. Thurzó ordered two notaries, András Keresztúry and Mózes Cziráky, to collect evidence in March 1610. By October 1610 they collected 52 witness statements. By 1611, the notaries collected testimony from more than 300 witnesses.
  According to the testimonies, Báthory's initial victims were servant girls aged 10 to 14 years; the daughters of local peasants, many of whom were lured to Csejte by offers of well-paid work as maids; and servants in the castle. Later, Báthory is said to have begun killing daughters of the lesser gentry, who were sent to her gynaeceum by their parents to learn courtly etiquette. Abductions were said to have occurred as well. The atrocities described most consistently included severe beatings; burning or mutilation of hands; biting the flesh off the faces, arms and other body parts; freezing or starving to death. The use of needles was also mentioned by the collaborators in court. There were many suspected forms of torture carried out by Báthory. According to the Budapest City Archives, the girls were burned with hot tongs and then placed in freezing cold water. They were also covered in honey and live ants. Báthory was also suspected of cannibalism.
  Some witnesses named relatives who died while at the gynaeceum. Others reported having seen traces of torture on dead bodies, some of which were buried in graveyards, and others in unmarked locations. Two court officials (Benedek Deseő and Jakab Szilvássy) claimed to have personally witnessed the Countess torture and kill young servant girls. According to the testimony of the defendants, Báthory tortured and killed her victims not only at Csejte but also on her properties in Sárvár, Németkeresztúr, Pozsony, Vienna, and elsewhere. Both Szilvásy's and Deseő's statement came half a year after her arrest and had mentioned by the servants during the torture, so it is possible that they were also afraid of torture if they didn't give the desired answers.
caption: Elizabeth Báthory from Zay artist. Probably a copy of the other painting which one is at the Hungarian National Museum, in Budapest (also made by Zay). Mentioned in the Magyar Várak book, page 34.
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