Say of the dwarves of the split rock

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The legend of the dwarfs of the split rock has its origin in the Bergün / Bravuogn area in the Albula valley in Graubünden .

background

In the forest of Crestota ( Rhaeto-Romanic for "high (mountain) ridge") west of Bergün lies a huge granite boulder . It is noticeable that it is continuously split from top to bottom. Two stone wedges are stuck where the crack starts, so it appears that they caused the split.

content

A long time ago the block was whole and covered a cave where dwarves lived. The dwarfs were good-natured and hardworking helpers of the farmers, especially those who had trouble at work. They took care of mowing, fertilizing and clearing the weeds in the meadows. With all this, the dwarves were always unseen and were happy about it.

One evening two boys were following runaway sheep and suddenly saw a dwarf in the Crestota forest. From this point on, the peace and quiet for the dwarves was over. People chased them and built obstacles for them. Then they decided to look for a new cave to find peace there again. Before they left the place, they destroyed the rock by dividing it with two stone wedges. As they did so, they wept and then moved away into the lower-lying forest of Arzeta . There they moved into a new cave. They never helped the Bergün farmers again.

source

  • The legend of the dwarfs of the split rock, in: Fairytale hiking. On the trail of Bündner sagas and fairy tales, Terra Grischuna Verlag, Chur, 2nd edition 2003, p. 51.