Weever (Schwerin)

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Weever.
Engraving by Louis Fischer

The weever is the spirit of Schwerin Castle , which, according to several legends, had one of its places of activity in the cellar vaults of the Schwerin landmark.

According to tradition, the vaults of the castle were connected by corridors to the Petersberg in Pinnow , where the good-natured goblin with a sinister expression worked as a blacksmith. In other versions, the figure overcomes the path from Pinnow to the castle by sea or even by air. The sleeping place is also assumed to be in different places depending on the version.

The dwarf-shaped figure, which was armed with a lantern, sword and keychain, is said to have punished thieves and intruders with plagues, jokes and nocturnal rumble and drove them to flight, while rewarding honest people. The goblin also woke soldiers who had fallen asleep who had been assigned to the night watch. The weever is said to have tormented Wallenstein , whom Emperor Ferdinand II enfeoffed with the Duchy of Mecklenburg during the Thirty Years' War in 1628 , during his first night in Schwerin Castle that the great general left the next morning completely sleepy and Schwerin never again entered. Instead, Güstrow was the royal seat during the reign of Wallenstein .

A weever statue created by Heinrich Petters around 1856 is in the courtyard facade of the palace. The city ​​express - train pair 131/136 Schwerin Hbf - Berlin-Lichtenberg of the Deutsche Reichsbahn was called Petermännchen from 1976 . At today's events, people disguised as weever appear as a kind of mascot . A weever museum on the Schwerin market showed the story of the legendary figure from 2006 to 2011.

Pinnow has had the weever in its municipal coat of arms since 2001 . The blazon describes it as follows: “Standing in gold on a green hill, the red-haired and bearded blue-clad weever with a blue hat and a silver feather, with a silver ruff, silver trim and silver cuffs, red belt, silver-spiked red cuff boots, in both hands (each) holding a silver stilt. "

The fictional character has also given its name to the passenger ferry on the Schwerin Pfaffenteich since the 100th anniversary of the ferry service (July 19, 1979) . Buses, with which city tours are carried out, as well as a type of beer brewed in Schwerin were named after the legendary figure. In addition, the Schwerin – Berlin city ​​express operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn , which ran from 1976 to 1991, was called Petermännchen.

  • Portrait of the castle ghost on a cabinet door in Schwerin Castle (17th century)

  • Weever figure by Heinrich Petters in the courtyard facade of the palace

  • Weever figure in the courtyard facade of the castle (2009)

  • Weever on the brewery sign "Schall & Schwencke" (around 1955)

  • Weever Ferry on the Pfaffenteich (1985)

  • Petermännchen city tour bus in Schwerin (2009)

  • Pinnower coat of arms with the weever (since 2001)

  • Weever Actor for Tourists (2008)

literature

  • Ernst Friedrich von Monroy: The "Petermännchen" picture in Schwerin Castle and its original meaning. In: Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher. 103: 67-76 (1939). ( online ).
  • Erika Borchardt: How weever got hat and stilts. Landesverlags- und Druckgesellschaft Mecklenburg, Schwerin 1991.
  • Erika Borchardt: weever. The enchanted prince. Stock-und-Stein-Verlag, Schwerin 1992.
  • Erika Borchardt: weever. The poltergeist. Stock-und-Stein-Verlag, Schwerin 1992.
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: Petermännchen. The Schwerin castle spirit. Stock-und-Stein-Verlag, Schwerin 1992.
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: Petermännchen. The mysterious dwarf. Stock-und-Stein-Verlag, Schwerin 1994, ISBN 3-910179-32-0 .
  • Erika Borchardt: The secret of the rock grotto. Legends from Schwerin and the surrounding area. Edition digital, Schwerin 1996, ISBN 978-3-931646-16-5 .
  • Jürgen Borchardt: Dat Petermänken. Lüdsnack and sales from the lütten Kierl in't Sweriner Sloss. Edition digital, Schwerin 1996, ISBN 978-3-931646-14-1 .
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: The legendary Schwerin ... discover it differently. Edition digital, Schwerin 2006, ISBN 978-3-931646-31-8 .
  • Erika Borchardt: Fabulous places. Around the Schwerin lake. Edition digital, Schwerin 2008, ISBN 978-3-931646-33-2 .
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: The Schwerin Castle Spirit Petermännchen. The most beautiful sagas and stories, part 1. Edition digital, Schwerin 2017, ISBN 978-3-95655-788-0 .
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: Earth, blood and beets. Weever as a prophet. Prophecy and Reality. Edition digital, Schwerin 2019, ISBN 978-3-95655-887-0 .
  • Erika and Jürgen Borchardt: Petermännchen wants to be king. Strange stories about his redemption. Edition digital, Schwerin 2019, ISBN 978-3-95655-881-8 .

Web links

Commons : Weever  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on petermaennchenmuseum-schwerin.de, website now offline
  2. ↑ http://www.nahverkehr-schwerin.de/technik/fahre/chronik.html