Girl With Ravens (The Bratislava Witch) in Bratislava, Slovakia

In a city brimming with bronze, one statue in Bratislava may claim the best view of the city.  She’s on the Bratislava Castle hill, overlooking the Danube. A woman with flowing hair rests in repose, surrounded by a flock of ravens. Her gaze is warm and direct. Her smile is soft and enigmatic. She seems at peace, almost playful, kicking out her bare feet. The sculpture’s ethereal mood belies the fact this statue is a tribute to the victims of one of history's darkest chapters. Created by sculptor Tibor Bártfay in the late 1980s, "Girl with Ravens" (also known as "The Bratislava Witch") serves as a memorial to the women burned as witches in what was then called "Pressburg." It was a time when accusations of witchcraft could lead to torture, forced confessions, and death by fire. One of the first recorded victims at that time was Agáta Tóthová-Barlabášová from the village of Podunajské Biskupice (now part of Bratislava), who became one of the first recorded witch execution victims in the city. In 1602, she was imprisoned in the dungeons of the Old Town Hall, where torture extracted confessions of her supposed fantastical crimes: harming a butcher's business, flying on broomsticks, and communing with the devil at sabbaths. On May 24, 1602, Agáta was burned alive on a special pyre designed for witch executions. Her death was part of a broader pattern of witch hunts that swept through Central Europe, targeting vulnerable women and extracting confessions that implicated others in a cycle of tragedy.  Today, the statue is a particularly popular selfie spot on Halloween. But beyond spooky season, the Girl With Ravens is a powerful reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria and persecution.