The Middle Ages are often portrayed in books and films as a dark age in which tyrannical aristocrats and bloodthirsty robber barons oppressed mouse-grey clad peasants and women were burned at the stake as witches without trial. This depiction does not correspond to the facts in any way. The Middle Ages were not a colourless era, in fact the period up to 1500 was extremely colourful, nor was it characterised by lawlessness and arbitrariness. The Middle Ages were also not the great time of large-scale witch burnings. This dark episode would not begin until the 16th century. This dark chapter in history began in 1485, partly in Innsbruck with the involvement of Heinrich Kramer, the author of the Witch hammers.

The economic and social circumstances in cities such as pre-modern Innsbruck were a good breeding ground for witch trials. Cities grew at an above-average rate. Officials, court servants, showmen, soldiers, merchants and other "foreign people" caused insecurity. The mortality rate for children under the age of 10 was close to 50%. There were also no weather reports on which farmers could base their activities. Food was permanently scarce, which led to an increased incidence of diseases and deformities of all kinds. Medicine and science were not yet ready to explain all this.

Many things were therefore attributed to supernatural powers. People's superstitions included black magic, which was harmful, and white magic, which was helpful. Saints were asked for help. Processions and prayers were supposed to help people avoid the devil and damnation in the afterlife. Harmful objects such as bone splinters from unbaptised deceased children or pieces of wood from a gallows brought bad luck, while relics were highly sought-after artefacts to protect against this. Even the smallest particles of a saint's body were believed to have powers that could work miracles. Love or sickness spells, curses, devil worship - the reasons why one could be accused of witchcraft in 15th century Innsbruck were manifold.

Heinrich Kramer was a misogynistic, superstitious religious zealot, driven by a belief in the devil and the apocalypse, who unfortunately had been authorised by the Pope to hunt witches and who took advantage of this situation. Like a showman, he travelled the country as an inquisitor and came to Innsbruck in 1485. His lectures and sermons on magic and sorcery fell on fertile ground in Innsbruck. Kramer encouraged his audience to report suspects of witchcraft, which was gratefully accepted. Envy and envy were part of everyday life within the city community. Settling disputes by means of denunciation was a method that some townspeople liked to utilise. 50 people, the majority of them women, were suspected of witchcraft after being denounced by fellow citizens on charges of heresy. After arrests and interrogations, seven people were charged and threatened with the death penalty. The reasons for the charges were manifold. Helene Scheuberin, for example, was accused of having poisoned the knight Jörg Spiess by magic.

It was Bishop Golser of Bressanone who doubted Kramer's account and intervened. His envoy found serious procedural flaws. A lawyer was appointed to represent all seven accused women in court. In the end, all the suspects were released. The bishop asked Kramer to leave Tyrol. "In der Praxis zeigte sich seine Dummheit, denn er unterstellt vieles, was gar nicht erwiesen war," wrote Golser in a letter. This disappointing trial was the start of a dubious career for Kramer, whose honour had been insulted. Following this episode, he wrote his work Der Hexenhammer. Er leitete es sogar bezugnehmend auf Innsbruck ein mit „aber was, wenn ich alle (Fälle) berichten wollte, die allein in jener Stadt gefunden worden sind? Es hieße, ein Buch zu verfassen.“

Kramer's work became the standard work of the inquisitors of Europe. Almost at the same time, book printing celebrated its major breakthrough around 1500 and simplified the distribution of this guide to witch hunting and trials. It should be noted that most witch trials were not heard in church courts. Heresy was a secular crime, for which there were guidelines, at least on paper. Torture was regulated, which did not make it any less terrible, but at least took away some of the arbitrariness.

In Europe, it is estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 people died as heretics, witches and sorcerers. This affected elites who aroused envy as well as Protestants, marginalised groups and the socially disadvantaged, who were scapegoats for bad weather, illness and other misfortune. The ratio between men and women was around 1:3. Innsbruck was to be spared further waves of witch hunts after 1485. The intervention of Golser and some of the people of Innsbruck played a decisive role in this.