From the Introduction: A small grass covered mound rises at the centre of this cobbled square. A sturdy wooden palisade fence surrounds this small hill, and the wooden platform erected at its top, to keep spectators at bay as well as to keep convicts from escaping. Opposite to the only opening in this fence a wooden stair leads up the hill and its grisly centrepiece. A few more wooden steps lead up to the trapdoor equipped platform and the gallows crowning it. Usually numerous guards encircle the gallows just inside the fence, while countless spectators surround barely a step away on the other side of the fence. And even if a convict should manage to bypass the guards the chances to get past the mob are negligible, as convicts receiving their punishment here are usually not the ones with any public sympathies.