Berggeist und Erzader

A Legend from Our Mining Region

It was a time when miners from the area searched for ore on their own, which they then took to the smelter. They were paid according to the quantity and quality of the ore. A devout miner, who was very poor and blessed with a large brood of children, once stood in front of his unproductive “spot”—that is, the place where he was digging.

Suddenly, a strangely tall man appeared behind him, greeted him with the miners’ traditional greeting, “Glück auf!” and asked how he was faring. The miner took a liking to the stranger and complained to him that he had a large family, but his “spot” was so poor and yielded nothing, and so his family was struggling. The stranger, who was the mountain spirit, said to him, “Dig a little further, and you’ll strike some fine ore!”

The miner did so and indeed struck a narrow vein of the finest ore. With renewed courage, he dug on. His perseverance was rewarded, for suddenly the vein grew wider. Delighted, he filled his little sack and carried it up to the surface. Once he reached the surface, he encountered a distinguished gentleman, in whose features he recognized the foreign miner—only now he wasn’t dressed in a miner’s outfit.

The stranger asked him, “Häss de jetz Ehz fonge?” “Jo, ich hann schönn Ehz fonge. Dat es et ieschte, wat ich drvann erusbränge,” (“Have you found ore now?” “Yes, I’ve found some fine ore. This is the first batch I’m bringing up,”) replied the overjoyed miner. “Well, let me take a look at what you’ve got in that little sack.” (“Now let me see what you’ve got in that little sack.”)

The man set down his little sack and showed the stranger his ore. But what was that?! He was so astonished he couldn’t utter a word, for the supposed ore was pure gold. Overjoyed and deeply moved, he thanked the stranger for his advice. The stranger, however, walked away with a friendly smile.

This route was developed as part of the LEADER-funded project “Quality Initiative for Hiking in Roetgen and Stolberg” with support from the European Union (EAFRD) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.