On the trail of the legendary mountain world

The mountain world is full of secrets that have been passed on for many generations - from great-grandmother to great-granddaughter, from uncle to nephew, among friends at the hut or during home school lessons. The fact that they have been created in this quantity and variety at all is primarily due to the proximity to nature. In a pre-technological world, the wind had a voice, animals were given a character, light and shadow in the forest and on the water played with people's imaginations. Because books or newspapers, luxury and television or radio had not yet been invented, people shared their fabulous observations with each other - an entertainment programme in the best sense of the word.

The Tyrolean mountains: a treasure trove of old stories

Over the course of time, such legends have developed a life of their own. In the competition of modern media, they have been somewhat forgotten, but nevertheless serve today's editorial teams as inspiration for programmes that are out of the ordinary.

Austrian television channel ORF, for example, has been on the trail of old tales in the Tyrolean Zugspitz Arena on several occasions. As a "legend hunter", actor Max Müller, known as "Policeman Michi" on Rosenheim Cops, researches their origin and meaning.

Laura Berkmann from the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena tourism team knows why her homeland is a treasure trove of these old stories. She accompanied the legend hunter and his team during their research and filming: "The legends play an important role because they not only serve as exciting tales, but also preserve the cultural heritage of the region. Many of the old stories describe the landscape or historical events." If you want to find out more, she recommends the book "Sagenhaftes Außerfern" by Peter Linser, as it is "a real treasure trove".

Spooky legends from the Hochalm

From the long list of exciting themes that emerged from the collection of all the legends in the region, the production company chose that of the Hochalpgeist for the first of three films. It tells of the ghost of a restless dairyman who played tricks on the huts, in the stables and in the countryside around the Heiterwanger Hochalm and frightened people. "He could be heard coming and going in and out of clogs, rumbling and chopping wood in the cellar, cursing and swearing at the cattle in the barn, even crying," the story goes. "In the greatest darkness, he would sometimes release the animals from their chains or entangle them in such a way that the cattle could only be released with spiritual help."

Whatever was behind the wild stories, whether they were meant to teach children obedience or keep intruders away from certain buildings and areas: Their effect was powerful. Even today, because you can relive the story yourself on one of Berwang's three escape trails.

The beast of Dragon Lake and other legends

In the meantime, the TV team has travelled to the area two more times. One of the "legend hunter's" experiences led to the Drachensee lake, in which an entire village is said to have sunk and where a monster lives that pulls careless bathers into the depths. Max Müller did some research with hut owner Christian and the mountain rescue service. He sorted historical facts with a history expert and obtained valuable background knowledge from the Silberleithe Mining Association and the Alpine Club. With this knowledge, he finds mountain tunnels that shouldn't exist and learns surprising things about long-forgotten mining in the high alpine regions of the Tyrolean Außerfern. A world that is not only open to television people, but to all those who open their senses to the legendary mountain world.

Stay away from the mine!

Why are the mining legends so scary? It has to do with the mining of precious ores. They were deliberately intended to have a deterrent effect. Many a legendary "Manderl" originates from encounters with people of small stature from the region south of the Alps, who earned their living in the ore mines. For the locals, they were exotic creatures in a nature full of magic. At the same time, they wanted to keep out curious people who wanted a share of the spoils from the earth's interior. The more spooky such places were, the more effective the message of the legend.

Impressive message

The moralising finger may have been wielded by those who wrote down the story of the "Wachtkreuz". On a winter hike out of Lermoos, it still stretches its eerie shadow towards us at a place called "Wacht". It is reminiscent of a time after the Thirty Years' War when a dozen high-spirited and masked young men - as we know them from the Krampus runs - travelled over to Biberwier to celebrate carnival. After a wild night, they were joined by a 13th companion, sinister and sinister, the incarnate. The encounter got under their skin and that of their own, so much so that the local carnival was cancelled for a long time afterwards. The moral guardians, as we know today, had placed their message effectively.

The legends of the mountains live on to this day

The legends live on. Sometimes they are small pictures adorning the walls of houses, sometimes carvings in churches or in the beams of old inns: the world of legends is as colourful and full of surprises as the landscape and nature in the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena. Whether day or night, winter or summer, on the valley floor or up at the tree line - if you look closely, you will recognise the figures and faces from ancient times. Everyone else should prick up their ears to hear what the rustling of the wind in the branches is telling them.