The rose of Turaida

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The Turaida rose as a brand motif

The Rose of Turaida is a Latvian legend from the area of ​​the city of Sigulda and the Turaida castle located there . It is a historical tradition (Latvian: Turaidas roze also Turaidas Jumprava ) and is also a tragic love story from the 17th century. The resulting legend served as a template for the drama “Love is stronger than death”, published in 1927 by the Latvian writer Jānis Rainis , which is known throughout the country.

Content of the saga

During the Polish-Swedish War in 1601 a bloody battle took place near the Turaida fortress in Courland , which also claimed many civilian lives. One of the few survivors was Maija, who was later only called "the rose of Turaida" because of her famous beauty and virtue. Her heart belonged to Victor Heils, the same age son of a castle gardener. Both were already planning the wedding according to the old custom. In August 1620, in the 20th year of this disastrous war, two foreign Polish officers arrived in the city; by chance they crossed the path of beautiful Maija. Immediately inflamed with intense desire and passion, both courted the virtuous virgin, but unsuccessfully. With a forged letter, an alleged message from Viktor, they lured Maija into Gutmannshöhle (Latvian Gūtmaņa ala). The two men were already lurking there, and the maiden immediately recognized their true intentions and at the same time the hopelessness of their situation. To save her honor, she pretended to be in possession of a magical scarf. To prove it, one of the two men should strike her with his sword, she would do no harm. With this devilish ruse she was able to save her virginity and honor. With horror and covered in blood, the two men recognized Maija's cunning and fled the area. Because of the forged letter that was still in Maija's clothes, her guilt was not recognized and Viktor was brought to trial. Only on the day of the execution did one of the two officers go to the judge and tell those present the true story that his companion went mad after the crime and hanged himself in a wooded area. Viktor was now a free, but broken man, he buried his beloved Maija, planted that linden tree on the grave and left home with a bag full of earth from his bride's grave. Nobody is said to have heard from him again.

Places of worship and memory

Gutmannshöhle

Gutmannshöhle

The scene of the gruesome act is the Gutmannshöhle (Latvian Gutmana ala), near the castle on the rocky bank of the Gauja , here is a small explanatory board and refers to the legend. Since the 19th century, inscriptions and initials of countless visitors have covered the rock walls inside the cave, they probably have the same meaning for lovers as the hearts carved into the tree bark. Not far there is a second, smaller cave which is popularly known as Viktor's cave .

The tomb of the rose of Turaida

Maija tombstone

A maple avenue leads south of the city of Sigulda to the Kirchberg (Latvian: Baznīckalns). There you will find the wooden church of Turaida (translated God's garden ) , which was renovated around 1750, and the associated, now abandoned city cemetery. The grave of the Rose of Turaida , which still exists and is tended by the population, is shown under an ancient linden tree .

Gauja Bridge

Many Latvian bridal couples practice the custom of traveling to the city of Sigulda after the wedding to throw their bridal bouquet from a bridge into the Gauja River, as an oath of loyalty and in memory of the fate of the Rose of Turaida and her groom Viktor.

reception

The first written reproduction of the legend can be found in the form of a ballad by Adelbert Cammerer (1786–1848) from the middle of the 19th century, when Latvia , Estonia and Lithuania, following the example of the Brothers Grimm , recognized and recognized the value of folk tales wrote down the texts that were previously often only passed down orally. This is also a chance find in Livonian court archives in context, to Cammerer for his dedication during Livonian Gerichtsassessor , Councilor Magnus Wolf Feldt like thanks. This legend would therefore have a historical model. The saga, retold in the romantic taste of the times, found its way into Latvian literature in various forms; it is often used in collections of sagas and school books.

A ballet version was also created on the basis of Rainis - this is called Rose von Turaida .

Others

In 1997, an edition of the Latvian Post published a stamp with the legendary motif Rose by Turaida.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The ballad explains: because that battle took place in May, the foundling was named Maija.
  2. ↑ The (alleged) possession of a magic cloth or amulet was particularly widespread among soldiers.
  3. ^ Turaida Museum and Cultural Reserve. (No longer available online.) In: Turaida Museum Reserve website. Archived from the original on July 28, 2007 ; Retrieved September 3, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.turaida-muzejs.lv
  4. ↑ Carl Russwurm was also an important collector of sagas from the Baltic States . His work: Legends from Hapsal, der Wieck, Ösel and Runö was published in Reval in 1861 . - as a digitized version
  5. ↑ It could be the files of a corresponding criminal case from the Turaida court office, the higher jurisdiction is likely to have been located in the former castle and not in the hands of the city.

literature

  • Jānis Anmanis: Legend of Maija, the rose of Turaida . Ed .: Sniedze Ruņģe, Kārlis Freibergs. SIA "Redakcija", Riga 2001, p. 26 .
  • Jochen Könnecke, Vladislav Rubzov: Latvia . In: DuMont art travel guide . DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-7701-6386-9 , coastal region north of Riga, the Gauja National Park, p. 185-193 .

Web links