Sciliar witches
The Sciliar witches are legendary figures from South Tyrol who appear in various legends and stories especially in the area around the Sciliar . In most of the traditions they are blamed for severe storms.
The alpine carnations, which, according to legend, are enchanted women, are also popularly referred to as Schlern witches in South Tyrol .
Myths and legends
The Sciliar witches as doombringers
The most widespread legend describes the Schlern witches as weather witches who are responsible for severe storms around the Schlern and are feared by the residents of the neighboring towns. According to tradition, the weather witches once gathered on the Schlern. A dwarf observed from the nearby rose garden group that dark clouds were gathering over the mountain, in which the witches were hiding. He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and went to the Schlern. There he was able to overhear the witches and learned that they were planning to create a huge storm and devastate the entire area. However, the dwarf could also hear the witches tell that the storm could be stopped by ringing a church bell, the so-called “weather stroach”. Thereupon the dwarf hurried to the nearest village and told the local Messner to “ring the weather”. The storm was then mitigated and the area saved.
The revenge of the Schlern witches
A pastor from Fiè allo Sciliar once hiked through a forest not far from the village. Since it was a hot summer day, he lay down in the shade to take a nap. When he woke up again, it was deep night and the pastor could no longer get out of the forest. So he decided to spend the night in the bushes. What he hadn't noticed, however, was that on his wrong track he had come directly to the Hexentanzplatz of the Schlern witches. They lit a fire, noticed the pastor and tortured him to death. The parish vicar of the Völs church noticed that the pastor had disappeared that night, and a hastily formed search party found the cruelly carved body the next morning. The Schlern witches had taken revenge on the pastor because he had thwarted their storm plans several times by his "weather bell".
The Schlern witches and the farmer Hansel
A farmer named Hansel once lived with his wife at the foot of the Schlern. When his wife was fetching water from the well on a warm summer evening, she noticed that dark clouds were gathering over the mountain, between which she could make out a Schlern witch. She ran to her husband, who immediately jumped up to kill the witch. He took his rifle, sprinkled holy water on the ammunition, and went to the threshing floor of his courtyard. From there he shot into the clouds, hit and killed the Schlern witch. The dead witch fell right in front of Hansel's feet and looked so terrifying that Hansel immediately passed out. It took Hansel several years to overcome the shock of the sight of the witch.
The good Schlern witch Martha
The story of the Schlern witch Martha describes her as the good-natured among the witches. She was very fond of the nature of the Dolomites and was considered to be particularly friendly to children, although they often frightened her because of their appearance. According to tradition, Martha could take the form of a squirrel .
The Sciliar witches and the dwarf king Laurin
Another legend about the Schlern witches relates to the legendary dwarf king Laurin . This was in addition to the nearby Schlern Rosengarten group created a magnificent garden. At that time there was also a blooming garden on the Schlern, which was tended by salty women . The residents of the area, but also dwarves and giants, vied for the Saligen's favor, and it happened that Laurin's rose garden was affected and he himself was dragged into the valley. One of the salty women saw Laurin in this situation and had to laugh about what angered the dwarf king so much that he cursed the women and the mountain. The garden on the Schlern disappeared, the Saligen turned into small flowers - the Schlern witches. The Schlernwind, a good-natured giant, blew the flowers into the garden of the Holy Sepulcher Church on the Virgl in Bozen one day , whereupon they spread out there. Stampf-Nandl, who tended the church garden, plucked most of the flowers and threw them into the well of the chapel near the church. In this holy place, Laurin's curse was finally broken, and the Schlern witches in the well became little salty women again.
The legend also tells that if the stork wants to bring a particularly beautiful daughter to the parents-to-be in the area, he brings her one of the little saligen from the well in the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher Church.
The Schlern witches in the present
The motif of the Schlern witches is used in a variety of ways in the villages around the Schlern group , for example in the form of statues or dolls.
A striking stone formation on Puflatsch is known as “witch's benches” and “witch's chairs”, and these can be reached through themed hikes with the motto “Sciliar witches”.
The Schlern witch "Nix" is the mascot of a children's ski school and is marketed by the local tourist association; A winter children's festival is also held every year on the Alpe di Siusi , through which the Sciliar witch Nix leads the visitors.
literature
- Berit Mrugalska, Wolfgang Morscher: The Sciliar Witch . In: The most beautiful sagas from South Tyrol . Haymon Verlag, Innsbruck 2012, ISBN 978-3-7099-7488-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elisabeth Aukenthaler-Oberrauch: The revenge of the Schlern witches . In: South Tyrolean legends . Publishing house Athesia, Bozen 1981, ISBN 978-88-7014-204-4 , p. 103 f .
- ↑ The Sciliar Witches. In: The most beautiful legends of the Sciliar area. Altoadige-Suedtirol.it, accessed on September 22, 2016 .
- ^ Sciliar witches. suedtirol.com, accessed September 22, 2016 .
- ^ A b Franz S. Weber: Laurin's rose garden. Legends from the Dolomites . Verlag Deutsche Buchhandlung, Bozen 1914, p. 49 ff . ( Online at haben.at ).
- ↑ Culturonda Dolomythos. 12 paths to culture and lifestyle in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage. Hiking map, UNESCO / World Heritage Committee.
- ↑ Verena Wolff: Between gourmet cuisine and fast descent. Manager Magazin, March 5, 2015, accessed September 23, 2016 .