Laubegg Castle

In the Schloss Laubegg in Austria, embedded cats were found. Cats embedded in walls have also been discovered in other places in Europe. In many cases, there is clear evidence that dead cats were deliberately embedded in a wall cavity or placed under a door threshold to ward off evil. Sometimes they were even still alive. This animal sacrifice is believed to stem from pagan customs. From the Middle Ages onward, cats were associated with magic, superstition, the devil, witches, and the underworld... This practice, which was widespread in Europe from the Middle Ages, may have originated in pre-medieval building sacrifices. Although the pagan significance was later lost, embedded cats were still seen as good luck charms well into the 19th century, according to traditional superstition.

This practice was also found in other places:

-in the Predikherenklooster in Mechelen

-at the cemetery of Saint-Maclou in Rouen, France

-a cat mummy is displayed in the castle of Combourg near Saint-Malo

-in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland

-in the pub Three Stags' Heads in Wardlow Mires, England

-in The Stag Inn pub in Hastings too

-in the crypt of the Saint Nicholas Church of Wiuwert in Friesland

Pascal Brackman