Do you love to learn about the legends and stories of your holiday destination? Are you fascinated by creatures like the legendary Loch Ness Monster or the Yeti? Do you want to go on a myth hunt of your own? To help you get started (and because we were a little curious ourselves), we asked our Green PearlsⓇ if mythical creatures live in their area and what legends and stories surround them. And we found out: The world is full of magic! There are so many stories, we can’t even tell them all! So on your next trip, it’s worth asking around for places steeped in legend, magical creatures, and mythical beings. You can meet some of them right here with us.
How the alpenglow on the Alpe di Siusi came about
If you’ve ever seen the alpenglow, you’ve probably sensed that the glowing mountain peaks are much more than just a natural, scientifically explainable play of light. Behind it lies the story of Dwarf King Laurin, which you’ll be delighted to hear at Paradiso Pure.Living. The vegetarian/vegan hotel in South Tyrol is located directly on the Alpe di Siusi and offers a magnificent view of the Dolomite peaks – and the famous alpenglow.
The legend of the Dwarf King Laurin and the rose garden
Many centuries ago, a mythical creature, the Dwarf King Laurin lived in the mountains of the Alpe di Siusi. He prospected for ores, extracted valuable minerals and owned everything in his kingdom. His pride and joy was his rose garden, the most beautiful one imaginable. The only thing he lacked in his kingdom and garden was a wife. ….
One day, the king of a neighboring country decided to marry his beautiful daughter, Similde. Many princes and kings were invited to win the heart of the beautiful Similde. The only one who was not invited was the Dwarf King Laurin.
King Laurin was furious and decided to use magic to see the beautiful princess. He put on his cloak of invisibility and entered the feast. When Laurin saw Similde, he fell in love with her and took the beautiful princess back to his kingdom. The knights pursued the princess to free her. When King Laurin saw the pursuers near his castle, he took his cloak of invisibility and a magic belt that gave him the strength of a dozen men. The battle took place in the rose garden. And although Laurin was invisible, the knights recognized him by the movement of the roses around him and were able to defeat him.
The king decided that his roses had betrayed him and cursed the garden. He said that no one would ever see the beauty of his rose garden again, by day or by night. In his curse, however, Laurin forgot to mention sunrise and sunset. According to the legend, the beauty of the Magic Rose Garden can be seen today as the beautiful phenomenon of the Alpine Glow (or Enrosadira), when the sky turns pink and the mountains turn purple and orange at sunrise and sunset.
Mythical creatures – The Red Bog Maiden
The STURM is located in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön. This special landscape is the source of many legends and stories. Of course, the two moors that you can visit from the STURM and walk through on a path made of wooden planks hold a special fascination. The Black Moor and the Red Moor are two of the most important peat bogs in Central Europe.
The Red Bog Maiden still roams the moor today
During the Thirty Years’ War, Swedish soldiers came to the Rhön, where there was a hidden moor village in the Red Moor. If the Swedes had discovered the village, the inhabitants would probably have been massacred. But a young woman from the village sacrificed herself to protect the rest of the village. The beautiful Moor Maiden appeared before the Swedish soldiers wearing a bright red dress. The Swedes pursued her with unbridled greed, and the Maiden led them to the deepest, swampiest part of the bog – where all the soldiers sank.
Even today, almost 400 years later, the Red Moor Maiden rises from a moor eye on sultry nights. She wanders the moor in her wet dress, searching for her village. Since she does not find it, her search will probably continue forever.
As we are told by the STORM, guests wearing a red dress like to be called on it 🙂 .
Rübezahl – How the mountain spirit came to the Allgäu
In the Allgäu, in the fairy tale world of Ludwig II, lies the Hotel Das Rübezahl. People often ask who or what Rübezahl is. The Thurm family is happy to tell you the story behind it!
Rübezahl is a mountain spirit from the Siebengebirge – the old homeland of the Thurm family, who are now the third generation to run the boutique hotel. One of the spirit’s peculiarities are his magical turnips.
In a story from 1783, Rübezahl kidnapped the king’s daughter Emma into his underground kingdom. The princess was very unhappy, and the mountain spirit tried to satisfy her homesickness with the turnips, which could transform into any shape. But it was ineffective.
The captive makes a condition
Finally, the princess agreed to marry him – but on one condition: He has to count all the turnips in the field and tell her the exact number. The mountain ghost eagerly set to work. After counting all the turnips in the field, he counted them again to be sure. But the result was different, so he had to start all over again.
The king’s daughter used the time when the mountain spirit was busy with the turnips to escape. She rode to her prince, Ratibor, by turning one of the magic turnips into a horse. There she mocked the mountain spirit as “Rübezahl” (Counting the turnips).
It is said that if you say this derisive name while hiking in the Siebengebirge, you will incur the wrath of the mountain ghost. The correct form of address is “Lord of the Mountains”. However, this cannot happen to you on the hiking trails in the Allgäu. Whether you try it or not is up to you.
The Little Lake Man at Glaswaldsee in the Black Forest
About an hour and a half from the sustainable Hotel SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb is the Glaswaldsee. Its unspoiled nature makes it one of the most beautiful “blue eyes” of the Black Forest. In the 17th century there were glassworks here. In addition, mythical creatures used to live there: Little Lake Men. They were small like children, had a human upper body and a fish-like lower body. They could also make themselves invisible.
One of these little water creatures made friends with the residents of the nearby Seeben Farm. Every morning, it would come and wake the Seebenhofers. Then it stayed until the evening, doing all kinds of chores around the farm.
“Not too much and not too little”
Whenever he was given a task, the following words had to be said: “Not too little and not too much”. If this was not said, the Little Lake Man either did too little or too much. He got a meal every day, but the farmer never thought to buy him new clothes. His hat was worn out, and his jacket was torn. Finally, one winter, the farmer decided to have a skirt made for him. When he gave it to the Little Lake Man, he said: “As soon as you’re paid, it’s time to go. Starting tomorrow, I won’t come to you anymore.” The astonished farmer tried to reassure him that it was not a wage, but only a gift, but the mythical creature would not be swayed.
The maid was so angry that she stopped serving him food. So, the Little Lake Man left with an empty stomach. The next morning, the maid was gone, and neither the maid nor the Little Lake Ma were ever seen again.
Mythical creatures in Seefeld
The Hotel Klosterbräu in Seefeld in Tyrol is an excellent location for legends and stories. After all, the sustainable hotel was built on 500-year-old monastery walls and is now in its 6th generation. When asked about mystical creatures, the Klosterbräu team could name more than 20 (!). One of them was the dragon in Lake Seefeld.
Mythical Creatures: The dragon in Lake Seefeld
There used to be two large mountain lakes in Seefeld. According to folklore, one of them had an unfathomable depth. A man from Seefeld wanted to investigate this and rode his horse into the larger of the two lakes. At first, the lake was shallow, but soon the horse and its rider had to swim. Then a terrible dragon emerged from the middle of the lake and called out in a threatening voice:
If you want to explore the lake,
I will swallow Seefeld!
With these words, the dragon swallowed the rider and his horse. After a few weeks, the horse’s saddle, which the mythical creature had not digested, was found in the second lake. Thus, the people knew that there was an underground connection between the lakes – and after that, no one dared to explore the depth of the lake.
Mythical creatures – The sirens of the island of Punto Licosa
The A’ Cràpa Mangia farmhouse vacation rentals in Campania, southern Italy, are located just a few miles from Punta Licosa. Punta Licosa was the first nature reserve in Cliento and is considered a hiker’s paradise.
Off the coast of Punta Licosa lies a small island, part of which sank into the sea after a seaquake, together with the ancient Greek village of “Leucosia”. The ancient streets and houses can still be seen with the naked eye in the water! (The sunken city is not a legend, but history, which Stefany could see for herself during her trip to A`Crápa Mangia and describes in this blog post.)
The island of Punto Licosa is a scene from the mythical creatures in Odyssey
The island of Punto Licosa is also surrounded by a mythical legend. It is mentioned in “The Odyssey”, the epic poem by the Greek poet Homer. Sirens lived here and with their beautiful song, they drove the sailors to the cliffs and thus to their death.
Ulysses escaped the seductive sirens with a trick: he plugged his sailors’ ears and tied himself to the mast. That way, he could hear the enchanting song without risking his life.
By the way, the end of the story of the hero of Greek mythology is not clear. According to some writers, Athena turned him into a horse. According to another version, it was not Athena but a sorceress with whom he stayed until he died of old age.
Not enough stories? If you want to learn more myths and legends, check out this blog post:
Save this post as an inspiration for your next vacation.
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