With superstition, the author examines phenomena that, according to prevailing understanding in the 19th century, played at most a subordinate role. The dominant historical interpretation perspective for this era follows sociological categories such as "secularization," "rationalization," "intellectualization," or overall "modernization." A powerful metaphor in this context is Max Weber's formula of a "disenchantment of the world." Yet, despite all secular trends and scientific insights, religion and churches remained shaping forces. Additionally, the impotence of medicine against many diseases allowed numerous traditional interpretive patterns to persist. At the same time, the modernization process opened the field for new forms of superstition and magic, which initially emerged in bourgeois-aristocratic circles with seemingly scientific approaches.