Hl. Kilian

3D Model

In the 17th and 18th centuries, pillories were a common sight in many market towns and court locations in Lower Austria. As a public instrument of punishment, they served to visibly punish minor offenses and at the same time emphasize the jurisdiction of the community. These pillory columns were often decorated with figures that had symbolic significance for law and order. The depiction of Saint Kilian was particularly widespread.

Kilian, an Irish missionary bishop from the 7th century and a highly revered folk saint in German-speaking countries, was considered the patron saint of justice and proper jurisdiction. His figure on a pillory was intended to underline the authority of the local courts on the one hand and to place the exercise of justice under divine protection on the other. In this way, secular punishment was combined with a religious message: order and justice were legitimized not only by human values, but also by moral Christian values.