Alpine Dragons
Legends from Switzerland and Neighboring Alpine Countriestranslated and/or edited by
D. L. Ashliman
© 2024
According to popular belief, in ancient times Switzerland was swarming with monstrous and horrific snakes, worms, and dragons, which devoured harmless farmers and entire herds. They inhabited not only the Drachenloch cave and Mount Pilatus, but also hundreds of valleys and gorges in all the mountains. Fear and superstition sometimes gave these monsters wings and tails, then sometimes clawed feet and curly tails, and sometimes fire-sparking eyes. Some of these serpents have golden crowns on their heads.
Knights, such as Arnold Struthan von Winkelried [also known as Heinrich von Winkelried], fought against them.
Wagner, in his Historia naturalis Helvetiæ curiosa, from the 17th century gives many accounts of such animals, which he divides into winged, footed, and footless.
In the Bernese Oberland and the Jura there is still a widespread belief that there are Stollenwürmer, i.e., snakes, three to six feet in length, with two short feet. These are said to appear only in prolonged drought before the onset of rainy weather.
Scheuchzer says in his Itinera per Helvetiæ Alpinas that most of these monsters are reported in the Luzern area. However, people in other districts have talked about them as well.
Most dragons seen in Switzerland have feet.
In Bonstetten (Zürich) Casper Gilg claimed to have seen a black dragon that was four feet long, had four feet, a neck as thick as an arm, with a yellow ring, and a yellow crown on its head. At Weiningen (Zürich) in the beginning of the 18th century a beautifully colored snake-shaped beast was seen, with a cock's head and a bushy crown.
Above Lake Thun lies the cave of the hermit Saint Beatus, who converted the residents to Christianity. Before Beatus lived in the cave, a dragon is said to have lived there. It is said that the hermit killed him through prayer and the sign of the cross.
Many dragon stories are told in the canton of Luzern. Athanasius Kircher relates: "When I was looking at the bright sky at night in 1649, I saw a shining dragon flying past from a hole in a very large rock cliff on Mount Pilatus. Its wings were moving rapidly, and as it flew it threw off sparks like glowing iron when it is being forged."
The story of the Luzern cooper or barrel-maker is well known (Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, no. 216). We only add that he died two months after leaving the dragon's cave, because his stomach was no longer used to human food. This legend reminds one of Daniel and Vitalis, who spent time in lions' dens.
A hunter named Paul Schumperlin climbed up the face of a cliff while hunting. There he met a dragon at the entrance to a large cave on Saint Jacob's Day in 1654. It had a snake's head. Its neck and tail were the same length. It had four feet. Its whole body was scaly and sprinkled with colorful spots. As soon as it saw the hunter, it shook his scales and went into the cave.
The following story is told in Graubünden: In 1696, a cowherd from the Plurs area drove the cows to pasture on Mount Joppatsch. On top of the mountain he saw in a deep pit a coiled beast that looked red from the sun's rays. Soon he saw the animal with its body erect, about two cubits long, with its head somewhat compressed. Instead of feet it had scaly fins like a fish, a tongue like a snake, and a tail divided into two parts.
Frightened, the shepherd fled, and the animal pursued him. The shepherd took refuge behind a hill over which the dragon could not get. It twisted and turned around on the hill in a frenzy. Meanwhile, the man grabbed his rifle, which alpine herders often carry with them, and shot the beast with a bullet. The bullet did not kill it, and it pursued the shepherd, shooting towards him like an arrow in a straight line. The shepherd then threw stones at the beast, killing it.
The local residents testify that such dragons were often seen flying through the air like arrows from Mount Joppatsch towards the Utgeis.
In the Gaster district a man saw a dragon that had feet, and wings that were marked with red spots and shone like silver. Two days later there was a thunderstorm with hail. A common legend of the Alpine people confirms that severe thunderstorms generally occur after a dragon has appeared.
We add the following to the Grimms' Deutsche Sagen, no. 216: In Luzern there is a dragon stone that is round, very hard, and of different colors. It is said to have healing power against the plague and other diseases. You hold it against an infected area or tie it there for a while.
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, in his Natur-Geschichte des Schweitzerlandes tells several stories of dragon-stone healings. One of them relates how a man found such a stone while haying. A dragon came through the air, and the man fainted in terror. When he stood up, he found blood splattered by dragons. The stone lay in this blood. The owner safeguarded this dragon stone like a treasure. It weighed nine ounces.
This happened in the year 712 at the place where Saint Margaret's Chapel now stands, which the dukes had built and endowed in memory of this event. Furthermore, they had the story depicted with a painting inside the chapel.
One day in fall time, said cooper went to Mount Pilatus to find material for his handicraft. (Some people believe it happened on Mount Rigi, because there is a greater abundance of saplings for the hoops to be found there.) While looking for saplings to cut for barrel-hoops, he unexpectedly and suddenly fell into a very deep crevice, or cave.
Because of his hard fall he lay there unconscious for some time. When he came to himself, he found that he could not get out of his new lodging, for no human help was at hand. Instead, he found himself in the company of and between two large, frightening, and monstrous dragons or lindworms. Just think of of his terror, lying there. But miraculously he was not at all harmed by these beasts.
He had nothing to eat, and he did not know how the monstrous animals stilled their hunger. He finally saw that both lindworms were constantly rising up and licking the cliffs at the side of the cave. He too then licked the same cliffs and felt refreshed. Thus he miserably spent the entire winter in this situation, not having any food other than what he got from licking the cliffs with the two lindworms.
With the arrival of spring, one lindworm flew from the cave, which it could easily do with the help of its wings. The one that was left caressed the poor man, as if it wanted to make him understand that because of the approaching summertime, he too should leave the cave. While the lindworm made preparations to fly away, the man (without doubt having been inspired by God) took hold of the lindworm's tail. Holding on with all his power and strength he was thus pulled to freedom.
The good man, whose family had given him up for dead, returned to Luzern following a half year of imprisonment with horrible company.
To thank God Almighty and to immortalize the event, he had a beautiful vestment robe embroidered in silk with an image of himself in a cave seated between two dragons. This can still be seen in the Abbey Church of Saint Leodegar.
The cooper, now unaccustomed to natural food and drink, died a half year following his return home.
Here they encountered a mountain-dragon of terrifying size, which, at their sight, raised itself up on its hind legs to the height of a man. Its body was covered with very rough scales. The length of it was equal to half a haystack, and its thickness was proportionate. It had four legs, ears, and the face of a cat. Its tail was about three cubits long. Its belly had yellow stripes between the front and back legs through which the veins shone through. Its entire back was covered with bristles up to its head, which was topped with a comb.
Abandoning the main trail, the men continued on their way across country unscathed.
Then it happened that a native of the area named Winkelried, who had fled the country because of a murder, offered to attack and kill the dragon on the condition that afterwards he would be allowed to return to his homeland. The people were happy with this and allowed him back into the country. He bravely attacked the monster and overcame it by pushing a bundle of thorns into its gaping mouth. Trying in vain to spit out the thorns, the animal failed to defend itself, and the hero took advantage of its weakness and killed it.
Rejoicing, he threw up his arm with which he held the bloody sword and showed the inhabitants his victorious deed. But the poisonous dragon's blood flowed onto his arm and onto his bare skin, and he died soon afterward.
Thus the land was saved and reconciled. Even today, the animal's den in the cliff is shown and called the Dragon Cave.
This creature is described as a type of snake with very short feet. Since snakes are generally called worms, and a short, thick foot is called a Stollen, this gave rise to the special name for this creature: Stollenwurm. It is almost always described as having a round cat's head, and sometimes two, sometimes four, and sometimes several feet, similar to the type that caterpillars have. It is sometimes described as hairy, and usually is relatively thick but short. Thus there is no general agreement as to this creature's outer appearance.
A farmer in a field near the Grimselstrasse sincerely described to me how, as a boy he, along with a few friends, had killed a Stollenwurm and found young ones in its body. I thus concluded that it was a mammal -- perhaps one of the rare otters, or even more likely a marten, a polecat, or a weasel. These people often have little or no knowledge about these animals.
A trustworthy shepherd in the Gadmen valley told me the following about Stollenwürmer: There are two types, he said -- white ones with little crowns on their heads, and black ones, which are more common.
One day, a daring man who knew magic, drew a circle around himself in order to demonstrate his art, and with his flute he enchanted the vermin in such numbers that they swarmed all around the circle. He piped stubbornly on and on until a few worms from a distance brought a particularly thick and hideous one on their backs and immediately threw it across the circle towards the magician.
He cried out loudly: "I am lost!" and was instantly torn apart by the monster.
According to the opinion of some Alpine residents near Bridel, Stollenwürmer often suck the milk from cows in the pasture. Popular superstition claims that such cows can be protected by a keeping a white rooster among the grazing cattle.
Afterwards he gained even greater fame by building a sturdier bridge over the Inn, from which the city of Innsbruck takes its name. For this reason many foreign people came to visit him. The Bishop of Chur [in Switzerland] baptized him, and Haymon built the Wilten Abbey in Christ's honor, where he lived until he died, and where he is buried.
His grave, fourteen feet and three inches long, can be seen in the Wilten Abbey. His image, in armor and carved from wood, is on his grave.
The dragon's tongue is also shown in the sacristy, together with an old chalice on which the Passion is depicted. The chalice was found in the earth more than 1,100 years ago when the foundation of the monastery was being dug. Thus the chalice was made soon after Christ's Ascension.
There is a plaque next to Haym's grave describing his life.
The saint said to his companion Toto: "Dear brother, we shall stay here tonight and pray that the Lord will give us the power to withstand the wild beast."
Toto thought that the dragon would destroy them both, but he did not want to abandon the saint, so he stayed with him. The saint put consecrated bread in his pocket, took resin and pitch in one hand and hung a cross on his neck. In his other hand he wielded the miraculous staff of Saint Gallus.
When he came near the dragon's lair, he put some of the consecrated bread in his mouth and made the sign of the cross on his chest. When the dragon saw him, it stood up straight against him and wanted to attack him with its mouth open.
Then the saint took resin and pitch, threw them into the monster's mouth, saying: "Lord, my God, come to the aid of your servant!"
The dragon was burned by the resin and pitch, and it perished.
Then the saint and his companion went to the hole in the rock where the worm lived. In front of it they came across a tall and wide apple tree with many ripe apples. Saint Mang hung the cross on it, which he had carried around his neck.
Later he built a cathedral on the site for pious brothers from the neighborhood. At his request it was consecrated by Bishop Witterp in honor of the Virgin Mary and Saint Florian, the martyr.
A man from Seefeld once wanted to investigate the larger of the lakes. Not thinking that it was very deep, he rode into it on a horse. For a while the horse found the bottom, but when it got to the middle it found no ground and had to swim with its rider.
At the same time, a terrible dragon emerged from the bottom of the lake. Its eyes glittered with anger, and it shouted: "If you try to fathom the lake, I'll swallow all of Seefeld!"
The dragon then showed what it meant with the word "swallow" by devouring the horse and rider. It then sunk with them into the unfathomable depths.
A few weeks later the saddle of the horse on which the rider had been riding was found floating in the second lake. The dragon had found the saddle indigestible. Because the saddle emerged in the second lake, it was proven that there was an underground connection between the two lakes.
Since then, no one has ever thought of trying to measure the depth of the lake.
Finally, when churches honoring Saint George the dragon slayer were built at two opposite ends of the marsh, the horrors gradually ceased, and the dragon disappeared without a trace.
A similar monster is said to have wreaked havoc in Schallmoos, and this is where the name Guggenthal (Look into the Valley) comes from.
A sea diver attempted to examine the lake bottom. To avoid being cut by the sawfish, he put on nine glass suits. He dove beneath the surface, and this attempt nearly cost him his life, because eight of the glass shields were immediately cut in half by the monster's sharp saw, despite the diver's ninefold armor.
The diver told the people that he had seen many other terrible creatures and had narrowly escaped them.
In earlier times a mermaid is said to have inhabited the lake. She had a beautiful face and alabaster-white arms. Instead of feet she had fins growing on her body. She stayed at the southern end of the lake, where the water flows in circles and forms a wide vortex. This water-woman was very feared by the people, because with her extraordinary beauty and her sweet song she attracted many people and pulled them down into the whirlpool.
A third creature was also feared by those who lived around the lake: an enormously large lindworm. It had such a mouth that it could devour a team of oxen along with a load of hay.
A seven-year-old domestic rooster had laid a red egg in a manure pile, and after three years a lindworm emerged from it, which quickly grew into a giant animal and devoured many people and cattle.
Nobody had the courage to fight it. Only an old man known as a sorcerer offered to put an end to the monster. For this purpose the man asked the farmers for a bull, slaughtered it, and took out its entrails. He then stuffed a large black lump soaked with deadly poisons into the empty abdominal cavity. The old man then ordered the dead animal to be taken to the lake near the place where the lindworm lived.
No one wanted to take this risk, because everyone feared for their lives. Only the "Village Idiot," as everyone called him, agreed to do so. With superhuman strength he lifted the dead bull onto his shoulders and carried it to the shore. The dragon immediately sensed prey, flew up with a snort, and devoured the servant and the bull. Soon the sorcerer's deadly poisons took effect. The armored worm began to twist and stretch, then died in terrible contortions.
This last victim of the lindworm is honored every year on the day of his death with a holy mass.
The above legend is also available in a different version:
Not far from Lake Goggau, popularly known as Lake Gogga, there is a ditch called Sojer's Ditch after a farmer who used to live there. A long time ago there lived a lindworm in this place. It had such power that it dragged everyone crossing Lake Dor into the ditch. In order to finally get rid of this plague, the Sojer farmer sent his "house hunk" (a mentally retarded person who does farm work for the house) into the ditch with a load of hay, which was pulled by two oxen. The lad knew nothing about the Lindworm. There was a barrel of quicklime hidden in the hay.Several days later the Farmer Sojer checked the ditch, where he found the dead dragon.
People claim that the skeleton of the monster could still be seen many years later. It was used as a shelter from pouring rain.
For a long time the residents showed their gratitude to the poor unfortunate servant by praying for his salvation.
It is said that the currant name of Murnau does not come from the mudflows in the area, but rather from the lindworm (muraena), that lived in the moorland and was dangerous to livestock and people.
There is a legend about it that reminds us of the slaying of the dragon at Babel by Daniel:
Since the surrounding residents did not know how to save themselves from the monster, a daring person offered to do away with it. He took a calf's skin, filled it with quicklime, then set it out for the beast to eat. The dragon hastily and greedily devoured the calf, but then burst asunder from the quicklime.
There was a great dragon in that place, and the Babylonians worshipped him.
And Daniel said: "Give me leave, O king, and I will kill this dragon without sword or club."
And the king said: "I give thee leave."
Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and boiled them together.
And he made lumps, and put them into the dragon's mouth, and the dragon burst asunder.
In this moat, as the legend goes, there used to be a lake in which a lingwurm (according to the local pronunciation) lived that poisoned people and animals. However, the lake was drained and the moat dried up, and then the animal could no longer stay there. Since then there has been peace.
Every year, on the Saturday evening following Corpus Christi, a large pilgrimage goes to Burgwindheim celebrating this event.
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Revised October 15, 2024.