Franz Schmidt (executioner)

Franz Schmidt , also known as Meister Franz, was an executioner in Hof from 1573 to April 1578, and fromMay 1578 till the end of 1617 executioner of Nuremberg. He left a diary in which he detailed the 361 executions he performed during his 45 years in office.

Franz Schmidt was probably born in 1555, and was aboutyears old when he became executioner under his fathers supervision in Bamberg in 1573. Five years later, in 1578, he secured the post as executioner in Nrnberg. He married the chief executioners daughter Maria, and eventually became chief executioner after his fatherinlaw. He fathered seven children, and his salary, on par with the citys wealthiest jurists, allowed him to have a spacious residence in Nrnberg. After his retirement in 1617, he began a new, lucrative career as medical consultant. He was given a state funeral in 1634, in Nrnbergs most prominent cemetery, just a few paces away from the graves of famous individuals like Albrecht Drer and Hans Sachs.

Source: Wikipedia