Gälknoeker
Gälknoeker , also Gäälknœker , Gelknœcker , Gälknöker or Gälknocker , is a Low German legendary figure who lives in the Rostock Heath .
description
The name of the legendary figure is derived from the Low German expression Gäl- for yellow and -knœker , to High German -knocher . Around 1887 an 80-year-old worker from Wöpkendorf told Richard Wossidlo about the saga that Wossidlo later recorded. According to the Mecklenburg dictionary by Hermann Teuchert and Richard Wossidlo, there is no other German legendary figure who is similar to the Gälknoeker, but Wossidlo sees in her similarities with the Silesian mountain spirit Rübezahl . The Gälknœker is said to have looked like a person, but he was short and skinny, his yellow skin color gave him his name, and he was also very agile.
It is also believed that his name testifies that he had no bones and that he was a ghost . Others believe that he has a bad history and possibly killed someone, which is why he lives in seclusion in the mountain. As a ghost figure, he is primarily a horror for children and women, he plays a lot of pranks , knocks over haystacks, excretes mustard and can generate whirlwinds. But he is fond of poor and sick people and helps them out with money. He was killed by an enigmatic being called Burrerbuck , Burra or Burrjahn . According to other legends, he was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm.
His dwelling is mostly located between Behnkenhagen near Rövershagen and Blankenhagen on the Heid'berg or the nearby Gälknœkerberg. However, since the Gälknœkerberg was plowed down, it is said to have had his apartment in Bucksbrauk between Dammerstorf and Dänschenburg.
Trivia
Since 2003, a sculpture of Gälknoeker has been set up on the extended model trail of the Forst- und Köhlerhof Wiethagen .
literature
- Hermann Teuchert: Gälknœker. In: Wossidlo-Teuchert Mecklenburg Dictionary. Volume 3, Akademie-Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1961, column 24f.
- Karl Heinz Kordt: The "Gaelknöker" from the Rostock Heath, in: Tidingsbringer 11, 2006/7, p. 68