Vierschaer Court

The accused was forced to confess in the torture chamber of Steen Castle after which he was arraigned in the Vierschaer. The trials took place in open air so God could see that everything was done as it should be done. The “Hogere Vierschaer” was responsible for sentences relating to life and limb: the death penalty or mutilation. The criminal would be executed the next day. The Vierschaer was located on the corner of Zakstraat and Steenstraat but had to move to the corner of Zakstraat and Mattestraat in 1498 as a result of the expansion of St. Walpurga’s Church. It was demolished in 1847 to make way for a warehouse.