Why Early Modern Mass Incarceration Matters: The Bamberg Malefizhaus, 1627–31.

This article examines the Malefizhaus ("witchcraft-house"), built in 1627 in the prince-bishopric of Bamberg during the peak of the early modern witch-hunt, as Europe's first purpose-built prison for solitary confinement. It argues that the Malefizhaus was a sophisticated carceral institution integral to the witch-craze, serving both as a tool for extracting confessions and as a symbol of political and religious power within the Counter-Reformation context. The prison's architecture and regimen exemplified early modern interrogation techniques that relied heavily on isolation and psychological pressure rather than solely on physical torture. The Malefizhaus significantly influenced Bamberg's social, political, and economic life by enabling mass incarceration that disrupted communities and reinforced confessional and state-building agendas. Finally, the article situates the Malefizhaus within broader carceral studies, challenging the notion that mass incarceration is exclusively a modern phenomenon and highlighting continuities between early modern and contemporary penal practices.