 |
|
The young girl's leap
One fine day, a poor young girl was sent by her mother to collect
wood in the forest. She had almost finished when she heard the warning
cry of a jay, a sign of danger. Turning round in fear she saw the
bailiff who threatened her that if she did not let him kiss her and
agree to become his fiancé she would never leave the wood.
Terrified of the bailiff, the young girl fled through the thick undergrowth
in the forest, pursued by the bailiff. But in the dense thickets she
lost her way and suddenly found herself on the edge of a high cliff.
With the bailiff behind her and the cliff in front, the girl raised
her hands to heaven and cried out, "Mary, Mother of God, help
me!", and leapt into space. Miraculously, the girl found herself
safe and sound at the foot of the cliff. On the spot where she knelt
to give thanks to Our Lady, a spring rose out of the ground. The rock
that hangs over the valley is still called "The Young Girl's
Leap". |
|
|
Blondel, the faithful minstrel
A few hundred years ago a band of knights was roaming the highways
of Germany searching every castle and fortress they could find.
They had come from a distant country far over the sea to rescue
their king, Richard the Lion-heart, King of England, held prisoner.
The leader of the band was a minstrel called Blondel. As they approached
Trifels, the only castle they had not yet searched for their king,
Blondel went on his own to the castle walls, to look for a likely
place where Richard might be held captive; when he found one, he
took his lute and sang a song known only to him and his king. As
he had already done near innumerable castles and forts, he sang
the first verse only, and then listened carefully in the hope of
a reply. At Trifels he heard a muffled voice singing the second
verse coming from some underground dungeon. He had found his friend
and king. He went quickly back to the other knights to announce
the good news and make a plan to rescue the King. The following
night, they stormed the castle, freed the king after a short battle,
and fled back to England. The fame of Richard the Lion-heart and
his faithful minstrel was recounted far and wide.
|
|
Tricking the Devil
The people of Darstein had been wanting to build a church for many
years. One evening as they held a meeting to discuss the project,
the devil passed by and was intrigued that half the village were
not in bed and were involved in such an animated discussion. When
he asked what was happening, the mayor recognised him immediately
and thought of a way of tricking him; he told the devil that the
village wished to build an inn but that the council did not have
enough money. The devil thought that an inn was an excellent idea
and offered to go without charge and fetch the stone needed from
the nearby forest. Day after day he carried huge rocks to the site,
until one day he saw that what he had been told was an inn would
soon have a tower. Discovering how he had been tricked, he flew
into a violent rage and raised a gigantic rock above his head, intending
to throw it into the Rhine. But the rock was that large that it
slipped from his hands and fell at the foot of Maiblumenkopf where
it can still be seen today.
|
|
|
|
The devil's table
On a moonless night a long time ago, an evil character was crossing
Kaltenbach Valley. He climbed the mountain to find a place to sleep,
his face contorted with hatred and impatience. Not finding any suitable
place, no stone on which to sit, no stone to use as a table for
his meal, he seized two huge rocks and using his incredible strength
lifted one of them placing it on top of the other to make a table.
Having eaten his fill he went on his way refreshed, leaving the
table behind. The following day the people of the valley, on seeing
the giant table, concluded with horror that the devil had supped
there. One of them however refused to believe them, and mocked the
others. He boasted he would go to the table the next night and dine
with the devil. Despite the others' warnings he left for the table
just before midnight. Then as the church clock struck twelve, a
violent storm blew up and in the howling of the wind, the people
of the village were petrified once again when they heard the horrible
death cry that chilled them to the marrow. They never saw the foolhardy
man again.
|
|
The golden organ
In times gone by there used to be a magnificent golden organ
in Eußerthal Monastery. One day the Abbot returned with terrible
news. He assembled all the monks and told them that hoards of wild
and uncivilised peasants had reached their peaceful valley and would
soon be at the doors of the monastery. He begged the monks to hide
all their precious treasures in the cellars and to bury the organ,
their most valuable possession, in the marshes. They should then
hide in the forest and pray for him. He would wait in the monastery
on his own. When the wild peasants entered the monastery they searched
in vain for the treasures and the famous golden organ. Furious,
they beat the abbot unconscious and set the monastery alight before
continuing on their way. Since then the monastery is but a ruin
and the organ lies in its damp resting place for not one of the
monks ever came back and no-one knows where in the marsh they buried
it. However, once every seven years, during the first hour after
midnight, the sound of the divine organ can be heard, like a celestial
tempest, sweeping across the fields and forest of Eußerthal
Valley.
|
|
|
|
King Dagobert
King Dagobert ruled from Landeck Castle. He loved his peasant farmers,
and his wisdom and sense of justice were famous throughout the kingdom.
He built many churches and monasteries, and made it known that in
his eyes, all men, whether nobles or commoners were equal before
the law. This did not please his cousins and other powerful people
in the kingdom, who attacked the castle. Thanks to a faithful peasant
the King managed to flee and hid in a thorn hedge at Geilweiler
Hof. The news of this cowardly attack spread like wildfire, and
the loyal peasants assembled from all over the kingdom forcing the
attackers to flee in turn. As a result King Dagobert, when he died,
left Haingeraiden forest to all his peasants. The hedge of white
thorn where the King took refuge is still called Dagobert's hedge.
Today it is a sacred place; it is said that if anyone cuts a branch
of it, his arm will wither, and he who dares take an axe to the
trunk of one of the trees will die in misery.
|
|
|
