Kaspar Hauser stabbed in Ansbach (1833)

Kaspar Hauser, a German youth living in Ansbach, suffered a deep chest wound on 14 December 1833. He claimed a stranger stabbed him in the Court Garden, but inconsistencies led to suspicion of self-infliction. Hauser died three days later on 17 December 1833, sparking debate about the nature of his death.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Kaspar Hauser lived in Ansbach from 1830 to 1833 under the care of schoolmaster Johann Georg Meyer, to whom he had been transferred in 1831. By late 1832, he worked as a copyist in a local law office. On 9 December 1833, Hauser and Meyer had a serious argument, five days before Hauser was found wounded.

The Stabbing. On 14 December 1833, Hauser returned to Meyer's house with a deep chest wound. He claimed he had been lured to the Ansbach Court Garden, where a stranger stabbed him while handing him a purse. However, inconsistencies in his account led the Ansbach court of enquiry to suspect he had stabbed himself and invented the story.

Death and Controversy. Hauser died from the wound on 17 December 1833. His death sparked debate in Nuremberg and abroad. A monument in the Court Garden reads 'Here a mysterious one was killed in a mysterious manner.' Later medical studies supported the view that Hauser had self-inflicted the wound, accidentally stabbing himself too deeply.

People involved

Sources

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