Legends of Vienna and Austria. Legends of Feldkirch Tannen-E - a city under eternal ice

Myths and legends of Austrian castles

The palaces and castles of Austria are the main attraction of the country, because we all know well that it was in Austria that this intricate art developed in the best way. The construction and improvement of castles and palaces in this country was cherished for years and even centuries. Thus, one of the most famous palace and park ensembles is Schönbrunn, which is located in the capital in Vienna.

Beautiful fabulous Austria

But what is truth and what is fiction in this castle?

Its history began back in 1614, when Kaiser Matthias, who loved hunting, purchased a hunting lodge near the old town. While walking through the forest, he discovered a spring and ordered a well to be dug in this place, which he called “schonnen Brunnen” - a wonderful spring. This well has been preserved and today is located in the Schönbrunn Garden near the statue of the nymph. The hunting lodge was destroyed during the siege of Vienna by Turkish troops. Construction of the majestic Schönbrunn Castle began in 1696 and was not fully completed until 1712. The palace complex was designed by Fischer von Erlach, modeled after the Palace of Versailles for the Habsburgs, a powerful dynasty that ruled much of Europe for centuries. In 1700, Schönbrunn Palace was donated to Maria Theresa, who was then, among other titles, the reigning Archduchess of Austria. It was a gift from her father. She ordered the court architect to carry out a major overhaul of the palace and make changes in the Rococo style, including laying out beautiful gardens, like in the Mirabell Palace (Salzburg). In contrast to the gloomier Hofburg, another Habsburg castle in Vienna, Schönbrunn is brighter, livelier and more welcoming.

Royal Schönbrunn Palace

This castle was chosen as the summer residence of the Austrian imperial family, and remained so until 1918, when the long reign of the Habsburg dynasty ended. After the fall of the monarchy, it was decided to open the park and palace to the public. The entire complex includes 1441 rooms. Of these, it should be noted that 190 rooms that do not belong to the museum are rented to private individuals. Forty rooms of the castle are open to the public. The most interesting are the state rooms, stunning with their decoration. Many rooms feature exquisite moldings and decorative ornaments in the Rococo style, the Millions Room is especially richly decorated. You can study them for an unlimited time, imagining what divine life reigned here during the time of the Habsburgs, who made the history of Austria in these halls. In 1760, Joseph II married Isabella Parma here, in 1805-1806. the castle was the headquarters of Napoleon, and in 1814-1815. the Congress of Vienna danced in its halls. Kaiser Franz Joseph I was born and died in Schönbrunn Castle, and the last Kaiser Charles I abdicated his crown here. Of course, a presentation of Schönbrunn Palace would be incomplete without its Imperial Garden. The gardens are divided into several parts, such as the French garden, where the hedges wind in a complex labyrinth. Among the main attractions of the Schönbrunn Gardens is the Gloriette Pavilion, a summer house made of marble.

The park is also home to one of the oldest zoos in the world, founded in 1752. An octagonal pavilion, decorated with lush ceiling paintings, is located in the center of the park. Now the zoo is home to about 4,500 animals.

Not only castles, but also cathedrals were built with all grandeur

For example, the Salzburg Cathedral is famous for its harmonious Baroque architecture and an organ with 4,000 pipes. It also houses the medieval font in which Mozart was baptized. The original temple was founded in 767 in the center of the former Roman city of Juvavum by order of Bishop Virgile, and in 774 it was consecrated in honor of the two saints Peter and Rupert. In the Salzburg fire of 1167, the temple burned to the ground, and in its place a new, more luxurious and majestic cathedral in the Romanesque style was built. But in 1598, a fire again destroyed most of the building. The ruling prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich at that time ordered the demolition of the remains of the ruins, hatching plans for the construction of a new grandiose cathedral that would surpass in its beauty the temples that had ever existed. Carried away by this idea, the archbishop destroyed not only the surviving valuable sculptures, but also plowed up the church cemetery, which angered the residents of Salzburg. Soon, under the pretext of feuds with Bavaria, he was thrown into the Hohensalzburg prison by his successor Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, who built the current Salzburg Cathedral. The ceremonial consecration of the new building took place in 1628.

Austria has long been located at the crossroads of routes leading to various European countries. This has resulted in a well-developed hotel industry here. Over many decades, famous hotels have appeared here, arousing great interest among various tourists. Many people associate Austria primarily with the Alps, so the most fashionable hotels are located in the mountain resorts - Ischgl, Zell Am See, Sölden. Many of these hotels are not just a business, but a family affair, passed down from generation to generation. That is why many establishments eventually become famous far beyond the borders of this country. In the large cities of Austria there are also many establishments that can confidently be called famous and even iconic. They are usually located in large cities - Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg. The sophisticated tourist has plenty to choose from - five-star hotel complexes or cozy designer hotels, where each room is decorated individually. In Austria there are often small castles that are readily converted into hotels. It’s not always possible to have such a unique opportunity to spend time in a medieval castle and feel like a real aristocrat.

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Tannen-E - a city under eternal ice

Legends of Austria

Compiled by I. P. Streblova

ETERNAL ICE OF LEGENDS

Have you ever heard about the rich city of Tannen-E, high in the mountains, which was once covered with thick snow, and the city remained forever under eternal ice? The inhabitants of this city were overcome by greed and vanity, not only did they have nowhere to put their money, but they also decided to build a tower to the sky, a tower higher than all the snowy peaks, and hang a bell at the top so that all the peoples of the world would know about this city. That’s when nature acted in its own way - and punished its disobedient children who tried to disrupt its harmony. And this happened not somewhere in a magical distant kingdom, but in a real place that can be found on the map: in the Alps, in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Etzthaler Fernern mountain range, where a rocky spire rises above the peak of the mountain covered with the Eiskugel glacier - this is a tower , not completed by the inhabitants of Tannen-E.

There is something surprisingly familiar about this story. She immediately reminded us of the Russian fairy tale about the fisherman and the fish and dozens of other fairy tales of the peoples of the world, telling about punished arrogance. But stop! Do not rush to conclude that the Austrian legend about the city of Tannen-E is the sister of these tales! There is a difference between a legend and a fairy tale.

Firstly, the location. In a fairy tale, everything happens in a kingdom far away, in one village or somewhere unknown at all: once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, but we don’t know where they lived - and this is not so important in the fairy tale. The legend clearly states the location of the action. Look at the beginning of the Austrian legends: “A peasant from Obernberg, on the Inn River ...” or “Once upon a time there lived Hans the Giant in the Upper Mühlviertel ...” - all these are completely reliable names of specific geographical places that exist today. Cities, villages, valleys, rivers, streams, lakes, mountain peaks, individual rocks are named - and an amazing and instructive story is associated with each place. Gradually, as we become acquainted with Austrian legends, we develop a complete picture of the nature of this country, where every corner is covered in poetry. This is a kind of poetic geography. This is the geography of Burgenland, with its famous lowland lakes and picturesque castles. And here is the geography of the land of Styria: mountain lakes, glaciers, steep cliffs, caves.

We have arranged the legends as is usually done in Austrian collections of legends - by land. The nine sections of the book are nine pieces of a geographical map that together make up one country - Austria. The geography of legends is peculiar. She doesn't set priorities. The center of the action may be a small village, an inconspicuous stream, or a local mountain cliff. And in this the legend is very modern. After all, it is high time to abandon the method of getting to know geography based on the principle of marking: this city is worthy of mention because it is large and economically important, and that one is small and insignificant and is not worthy of being known about. Modern knowledge is humanistic, for modern man every corner on earth is valuable - to the same extent that the ancient creator of the legend was important to his only corner, which he described in detail and lovingly - after all, once it made up his entire world, he did not have other corners knew.

So, in a legend, unlike a fairy tale, a specific place of action is named. Of course, it happens that in a fairy tale the location of the action is known, as, for example, in the famous “Musicians of Bremen” by the Brothers Grimm - such fairy tales are similar in their characteristics to legends. A legend not only names a specific place, but often also names specific natural features: if in a fairy tale the sea is a conditional phenomenon, then in the legend each lake has not only a name, but also a description of what kind of water is in it, what shores it is, what grows around it. Glaciers, snowfalls, caves, mountain paths are described in detail, and in urban legends - streets, alleys, taverns.

The second difference between a legend and a fairy tale is that the legend involves historical characters and mentions historical events. Among the numerous beggars, lumberjacks, blacksmiths and Hans, who, if they have a name, then it has long become a generalized symbol of a daredevil or a rogue among the people (a situation well known to us from a fairy tale), one encounters the very real legendary Hans Puchsbaum, who once led either the construction of the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, or the legendary alchemist Theophrastus Paracelsus, or Charlemagne, or Mrs. Perchta, who was not included in the annals at all, but was equally famous thanks to the Austrian legend. It is no coincidence that in the last phrase we twice came across the word “legendary,” which is appropriate in this case. Because a legendary person is a historical figure, treated in a special way by a legend. Unlike a chronicle, in a legend the exact date when an event occurred or when a historical hero acted often disappears. But the characteristic features of the historical figure in the legend are exaggerated, become brighter, more prominent. And again the same phenomenon, unusually close to the worldview of modern man: there are no main and secondary people, just as there are no main and secondary cities - everyone can participate in the creation of history, but for this he must do something significant - for his loved ones, for of his people. It turns out that in a fairy tale the personality is erased, the main character is the people, generalized and typified, while in a legend living, real people appear against this background.

And finally, we get to the third difference between a legend and a fairy tale. This is her special form. Much work has been done on the form of the tale, and it is described in detail. Of course, because the form of the fairy tale is very recognizable, and this is expressed in certain linguistic features. In a fairy tale there is a beginning and an ending, there is a threefold repetition of the plot, there are stable epithets. With a legend, the situation is more complicated. The main thing here is the story itself, the plot, and it can be presented in different ways. Often this plot is reflected in early chronicles, and then it is repeatedly written down and presented with variations. There are always many versions of a legend. We chose the option proposed by the wonderful Austrian writer Käthe Reheis. But no matter how the legend is processed, the leading features of its content remain. We have already talked about them.

A few words about translators. The legends were translated by a large team consisting of well-known and young translators. Each with their own professional destiny, with their own style. But there was a unity of views in the approach to the legends. We tried to preserve the accuracy of geographical designations, the features of colloquial speech, and the rather complex and varied language of descriptive storytelling, unlike a fairy tale. We really wanted the reader to feel with us the charming power of Austrian legends.

The basis for the book was a wonderful collection of legends, adapted for children and youth, written by the famous Austrian children's writer Käthe Recheis. It is called “Legends from Austria” (“Sagen aus Österreich”, Verlag “Carl Ueberreuter”, Wien – Heidelberg, 1970). In general, adaptations of legends have been done more than once, but it was this version that attracted us with its simplicity and expressive power.

Before you are the legends of Austria. An amazing, unique country. Created by amazing, unique people. But their essence will be clear to you. After all, this country is a part of a single Earth, and these people are part of a single humanity.

I. Alekseeva.

VEIN

Danube mermaid

At the hour when the evening serenely fades away, when the moon shines in the sky and pours its silver light onto the earth, a lovely creature appears in a swarm among the waves of the Danube. Light curls framing a beautiful face are decorated with a wreath of flowers; The snow-white figure is also covered with flowers. The young enchantress either sways on the shimmering waves, then disappears into the depths of the river, only to soon reappear on the surface.

At times, the mermaid leaves the cool waters and wanders in the moonlight through the dewy coastal meadows, not even afraid to appear to people, looks into lonely fishing huts and rejoices at the peaceful life of their poor inhabitants. She often warns fishermen, informing them of impending danger: ice jams, high water or a severe storm.

She helps one, but dooms the other to death, luring her into the river with her seductive singing. Seized by sudden melancholy, he follows her and finds his grave at the river bottom.

Many centuries ago, when Vienna was still a small town and where tall houses now stand, low fishermen’s huts were lonely huddled together, one frosty winter evening an old fisherman sat with his son in their poor home by a blazing fireplace. They mended nets and talked about the dangers of their craft. The old man, of course, knew many stories about mermen and mermaids.

“At the bottom of the Danube,” he said, “there is a huge crystal palace, and the river king lives in it with his wife and children. On large tables he has glass vessels in which he keeps the souls of drowned people. The king often goes out for a walk along the shore, and woe to anyone who dares to call out to him: he will immediately drag him to the bottom. His daughters, mermaids, are always looking for a beauty and are very keen on young handsome guys. Those whom they manage to charm must soon drown. Therefore, beware of mermaids, my son! They are all charming creatures, sometimes they even come to people’s dances and dance all night, until the first rooster crows, and then they rush back to their watery kingdom.

The old man knew a lot of stories and fables; the son listened to his father's words with disbelief, for he had never seen mermaids before. Before the old fisherman had time to finish his story, the door of the hut suddenly opened. The interior of the poor dwelling was illuminated with a magical light, and a beautiful girl in a shimmering white robe appeared on the threshold. White water lilies were woven into her braids, shining like gold.

- Don't be scared! - said the beautiful guest, fixing her wet blue gaze on the young fisherman. “I’m just a mermaid and I won’t harm you.” I came to warn you of danger. The thaw is approaching; the ice on the Danube will crack and melt, the river will overflow its banks and flood the coastal meadows and your homes. Don’t waste time, run, otherwise you will die.

Father and son seemed petrified with amazement, and when the strange vision disappeared and the door quietly closed again, they could not utter a word for a long time. They did not know whether this happened to them in a dream or in reality. Finally the old man took a breath, looked at his son and asked:

-Did you see this too?

The young man shook off his daze and nodded silently. No, it was not an obsession! There was a mermaid in their hut, they both saw her, they both heard her words!

Father and son jumped to their feet and rushed out of the hut into the frosty night, hurried to their neighbors, other fishermen, and told them about the miraculous incident. And there was not a single person in the village who would not believe in the prophecy of the good mermaid; everyone tied their belongings in bundles and left their homes that same night, carrying with them everything they could carry, and rushed to the surrounding hills. They knew perfectly well what a sudden thaw would threaten them with if the frost-bound stream suddenly broke its bonds.

When morning dawned, they heard a dull crash and roar coming from the river; bluish transparent blocks of ice piled on top of each other. The very next day, the coastal meadows and fields were covered with a seething and foamy lake. Only the steep roofs of the fishermen's huts rose lonely above the still rising water. But not a single person or animal drowned; everyone managed to retreat to a safe distance.

The water soon subsided, the stream returned to its channel, and everything became as before. But is that all? No, one person has lost his peace forever! It was a young fisherman who could not forget the beautiful mermaid and the tender gaze of her blue eyes. He constantly saw her in front of him; her image haunted the young man relentlessly, whether he was fishing or sitting in front of the fireplace. She appeared to him even at night in a dream, and in the morning, waking up, he could not believe that it was just a dream.

The young fisherman went to the banks of the Danube more and more often, sat alone for a long time under the coastal willows and kept looking into the water. In the noise of the stream he imagined the alluring voice of a mermaid. Most willingly, he went out in his boat into the middle of the river and thoughtfully admired the play of the waves, and every silvery fish that swam past seemed to be deliberately teasing him. He leaned over the edge of the boat, stretched out his hands to her, as if wanting to grab her, grab her and hold her forever. However, his dream was not destined to come true. Day by day his gaze became sadder, and his heart became more and more bitter when he returned to his home in the evening.

One night his melancholy became so unbearable that he secretly left the hut, went ashore and untied his boat. He never came back again. In the morning, his boat alone, without a swimmer, swayed on the waves in the middle of the river.

No one ever saw the young fisherman again. For many years, the old father sat alone in front of his hut, looked at the river and cried about the fate of his son, whom the mermaid carried with her to the bottom of the Danube, to the crystal palace of the water king.

Tree in glands on Stock im Eisen square

Life is not easy for children apprenticed to a master.

One such boy, Martin Mux, learned this the hard way since he was apprenticed to a noble Viennese locksmith, and that was three or four hundred years ago.

The work began at dawn and continued for a long time, until the evening. And Martin, oh, how he wanted to sleep longer, laze around, and play and frolic with the other kids. But the master was strict, and for Martin everything did not always go smoothly: sometimes the owner pulled him painfully by the ears.

One day the master sent a boy for clay. He took a wheelbarrow and went out of town to where everyone was getting clay. Martin was even a little glad to escape from the workshop and spend an hour or two in the wild. The sun was shining brightly and warmly from the sky, and the boy walked cheerfully, pushing a wheelbarrow in front of him. Outside the city gates, he met other boys and, abandoning the wheelbarrow, frolicked and ran around with them all day, forgetting about the clay and the fact that the master was waiting for him. While playing, he didn’t even notice how the day passed - and suddenly the sun set and dusk came. The guys abandoned the game and ran home, and Martin realized too late that he had not completed the assignment, and realized that he would not have time: while he was collecting clay, the gates would close and he would not get into the city!

Martin sees that there is nothing to do. He picked up his car and ran home at full speed. He ran so hard that he was completely out of breath, and still he was late: when he reached the city gates, they were already locked. The boy didn’t have a penny in his pocket, and to get into the yurod, he had to pay the guard a kreuzer, otherwise he wouldn’t open the gate. Not knowing what to do, the boy began to cry out of grief. What will the master say when he sees that he has not returned? And where should he sleep?

Martin sat down on the wheelbarrow, roared, sniffled and thought: “What should I do? What should I do?" And suddenly, out of childish thoughtlessness, he blurts out:

- Eh, it was - it wasn’t! If only I could get into the city, I would be willing to sell my damn soul!

Before he had time to say this, suddenly a little man in a red camisole and with a pointed hat, decorated with a bunch of fiery red rooster feathers, appeared in front of him out of nowhere.

-What are you crying about, little boy? – the stranger asked in a hoarse voice.

Martin's eyes widened at his strange appearance.

Then the devil - because the stranger was just a devil - consoled the boy and said:

“You’ll have a kreuzer for the watchman, and a wheelbarrow full of clay, and there won’t be any beaters at home.” Do you want me to make you the best locksmith in Vienna as well? Don't be afraid, you will get all this on one small condition: if you miss Sunday mass even once, you will pay me for it with your life. Don't be shy! What's so scary about this? All you have to do is go to mass every Sunday, and nothing will happen to you!

The foolish boy believed that there was nothing wrong with this proposal. “Go to mass every Sunday? What's so difficult about this? - he thought. “You’d have to be a complete fool to miss Sunday service!” So he agreed and sealed the agreement with three drops of blood. For this, the devil gave him a shiny new kreuzer for the gatekeeper, and the wheelbarrow suddenly turned out to be completely full of clay. The boy knocked cheerfully on the gate, paid for the entrance, came home to the master, and he, instead of any thrashing, also praised him for his hard work.

The next morning, an acquaintance of Martin’s came to the workshop and ordered the master a very special piece of work. Near the city rampart at the corner of Carinthia Street there was an oak tree with a mighty trunk - all that remained of the ancient dense forests. And so the visitor said that he wanted to tighten the tree with a strong iron rim and lock it with an intricate lock. Neither the master nor the apprentices dared to take on such unprecedented and complex work.

- How so! – the customer was indignant. “What kind of craftsmen are you then if you don’t know how to make such a simple thing!” Yes, your student can handle this without difficulty!

“Well, if the student manages to make such a castle,” said the offended master, “then I will immediately declare him an apprentice and let him go free.”

Remembering the red man’s promise yesterday, the boy was not afraid:

- Agreed, master! - he exclaimed and, before he had time to come to his senses, the iron hoop and lock were already ready. The boy effortlessly completed the job in a few hours. He himself didn’t know how it happened, but the matter was boiling in his hands. The customer waited in the workshop for the end of the work, went with the boy to the oak tree, tied the trunk with an iron hoop and locked it. Then he hid the key and disappeared from view, as if it had never been there. Since then, this trunk and the area on which it stands is called “Stock im Eisen”, that is, “Tree in the glands”.

For Martin Mooks, the apprenticeship ended there, and the master let him go on all fours. According to the ancient custom, the young apprentice went on a journey, worked for various masters and finally found himself in Nuremberg. The master to whom he hired himself as an assistant only marveled at his work. Martin completed the elaborate window grille, which would have taken other apprentices a week to complete, in a few hours, and to boot, he also forged the anvil onto the grille. Such miracles made the master feel very uneasy, and he hastened to part with such an assistant as quickly as possible.

Then Martin set off on his way back and a few months later returned home to Vienna. Of course, during all his travels he never missed Sunday mass. Martin was not afraid of the devil and firmly decided to make a fool of his acquaintance in the red camisole. In Vienna, he heard that the magistrate was looking for a craftsman who could make a key to the elaborate lock that hung on the famous oak tree near the moat. It was announced that anyone who could forge such a key would be given the title of master and the right of Viennese citizenship. Many have tried to make such a key, but no one has succeeded so far.

As soon as Martin heard about this, he immediately got to work. But the red-jacketed man, who took the old key with him, did not like this idea. Turning himself invisible, he sat down near the forge and every time Martin put a key into the flame to heat it up, the devil turned his beard to the side. Martin Mucks soon guessed which way the wind was blowing and deliberately put his beard in the opposite direction before sticking it into the fire. So he managed to outwit the devil, who, with evil persistence, again turned her to the other side. Rejoicing at the successful trick, Martin ran out of the workshop laughing, and the enraged devil flew out through the chimney.

In the presence of all the members of the magistrate, Martin inserted the key and unlocked the lock. He was immediately solemnly awarded the title of master and citizen of the city, and Martin, in joy, threw the key high into the air. And then a miracle happened: the key flew away and never fell to the ground.

Years passed. Martin lived happily in peace and contentment, never missing Sunday mass. Now he himself regretted the agreement with the devil, which he had concluded when he was still a stupid boy.

But the red-jacketed villain did not at all like the respectable life of Martin Mooks, and the devil, as you know, does not give up on a healthy life once he has hooked a human soul. For many years he waited for an opportunity, but Martin Muks worked diligently on weekdays, and always went to church on Sundays, without missing a single mass.

Martin Mux grew richer and richer and soon became one of the most prosperous citizens of Vienna. However, he had no idea that the gentleman in the red camisole had a hand in his success. The devil hoped that wealth would soon turn the master’s head, and so it happened - little by little Martin began to indulge in playing dice and drinking wine.

One Sunday morning, the master sat down with a group of drinking companions in the wine cellar “Under the Stone Clover” on Tuchlauben Street. They started playing dice. When the bell tower struck ten o'clock, Martin pushed away the glass of dice to go to church.

- You'll still have time! – his friends began to persuade him. - Why are you getting ready so early? Mass starts at eleven, what's your hurry?

They didn't have to ask Martin for long; he stayed with his friends and continued drinking and playing dice with them, and they got so carried away that they couldn't stop even at eleven.

And again Martin Muks listened to them, and they continued the game. Suddenly the clock struck half past eleven. Martin Muks turned chalk white with fear, jumped out from behind the table, ran up the stairs and rushed into the church. When he ran to the square near St. Stephen's Cathedral, it was empty, only an old woman stood near one tombstone, it was a witch whom the devil ordered to watch over Martin.

“Tell me, for the sake of all that is holy,” Martin shouted, running up, “is the last mass really not over yet?”

– Last mass? – the old woman was surprised. “It ended quite a long time ago.” It's almost an hour already.

Martin Mucks did not hear how she giggled maliciously after him, because in fact it was not yet twelve. The poor master, out of grief, ran back to the wine cellar, tore off the silver buttons from his camisole and gave them to his friends as souvenirs, so that they would not forget him and learn from his terrible example. And just then the noon bell rang. The last blows had barely died down when a guest in a red camisole appeared at the door.

The frightened Martin Muks again rushed up the steps, jumped out of the basement and rushed to St. Stephen's Cathedral. The devil ran after him and grew taller with every step. When they reached the cemetery, a gigantic figure of a fire-breathing monster was already towering behind the back of the deceived poor fellow. At that moment the priest in the cathedral said the last words of the mass. The service ended, and with it the life of Master Mux ended.

The fire-breathing monster grabbed him in its claws, soared into the sky and disappeared from sight along with its prey. And in the evening, the townspeople found the body of Master Martin Mux outside the gate where the gallows stood.

Since then, all the traveling apprentices of the plumbing trade, coming to Vienna, hammered a nail into the trunk of an oak tree in memory of the unfortunate master, which stood in the middle of the city and soon turned into a real “iron tree”.

(poetic translation from Wikipedia)

The money is gone, the man is gone, Everything is gone, Augustine!

Oh, dear Augustine, Everything is gone. The dress is gone, the family is gone, Augustine is lying in the dirt.

Oh, dear Augustine, everything is gone.

And even rich Vienna disappeared, like Augustine;

Cry with me, Everything is lost!

Every day was a holiday

So what now? Plague, one plague!

Just big burials, that's all.

Augustine, Augustine, in short, go to your grave!

Oh, dear Augustine, Everything is gone!

Oh, dear Augustine, Augustine, Augustine,

Oh, dear Augustine, Everything is gone!

LEGEND ONE - "BASILISK"

On one of the old streets of Vienna in 1212, on June 26, in the early morning, a terrible scream and scream is heard from the baker’s house across the yard, residents of nearby houses jumped out into the street and knocked on the baker’s gate, a young man with a deathly pale face looks out and says the following: as usual In the morning, a young maid was drawing water from the well and, lifting the bucket, she saw that there was no water in the bucket and, looking into the well, she saw something terrible there - a monster with the head of a rooster, the eyes of a toad and the tail of a snake and fell unconscious to the ground.. Deciding to check the well alone One of the brave souls of the assembled crowd dares to go down and a minute later, exactly the same terrifying scream is heard. The terrible story quickly attracted a crowd from all corners of the city, and among them happened to be a stranger who was a doctor and happened to be in the city. He was a very smart and educated doctor and explained to people that since ancient times, the famous scientist Plinius had mentioned this animal in history, this is the so-called Basilisk, a mixture of a mole and a rooster (the Basilisk was hatched from an egg hatched by an old rooster and hatched by a mole), emitting a fetid odor and turning everyone who saw him into stone. According to legend, the Basilisk can only die if it sees its own reflection in a smooth mirror stone... That’s when the young baker decided to go down the well and show the monster the stone, he killed the monster, but he himself didn’t even live until the morning and died in coma..

LEGEND TWO – “TURKS AT THE CITY GATES!!”

In the autumn of 1529, when the Turks were besieging the city and their tents stood at the gates, the entire population of the city was busy fortifying Vienna in order to prevent the enemy from entering the city. It was hot in the baker’s house (again), after a hard day of work on fortifying the city, the young man still had to bake bread, because the next day he had to feed the city, and tired to the point of exhaustion, the young baker took tray after tray out of the hot oven, dreaming in his thoughts of a quiet evening over a wonderful dinner, when suddenly the earth swayed under his feet and began to fall somewhere. Wild fear seized the young man and his first thought was that he needed to run away quickly. A large hole with sounds barely coming from there opened in the floor and with a shudder the baker imagined the Turks crawling out of the hole. But having pulled himself together, he realized that he urgently had to inform people about the impending danger, he called the men and all night they flooded the underground passage water, until then the noise did not disappear. And in the morning, the population of the city watched with their hearts sinking with happiness as the Turks left the city.

LEGEND THIRD – “DER STOCK-IM-EISEN...”.

It was one of Sunday days. In one small castle atelier, already in the morning there was an incredible stuffiness and the hot air was heating up the already restless situation.. “Me again!” - exclaimed the young man. “Why me again?” , but no one listened to his voice and the master almost forcibly pushed the student out of the workshop: “Bring more clay!” “It’s all over already,” the man ordered almost angrily. As soon as the student went out into the street and slowly walked towards the ditch, where he was supposed to take clay, nearby he saw children playing counting rhymes: “Oanihi, boanihi, Siarihi, sairihi, Ripadi, bipadi, Knoll...” And the teacher’s entire order instantly flew out of my head, the children were playing too hard and didn’t notice how it got dark and, waking up, quickly hurried home. The student quickly collected clay and headed to the city gates, but they were already locked and, upset, he sat down near the wall.. -Devil, devil..how could I.., it will fly in from the master, I wish I could be this devil now, so that I could end up in the workshop.! And at that very moment a little man appears in front of him in a dirty red cloak and with three slightly frayed feathers on his hat. “You have the key to the gate and you will not be punished for being late..” - came after the giggles. “And you will be a famous master, very famous!!” And the young man, after thinking, asked what the devil would like in return. “Your soul,” the man with feathers said, barely audibly.. Slowly thinking, the young man thought and said: “Why not, only on my part there is also a condition, if I never miss a service in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, you will serve You will always be with me.!!!.” “Agreed,” the man in red hastily answered.. The next morning, a lot of people crowded around the workshop, and among them, a very fashionably and elegantly dressed man clearly stood out. “This is yesterday’s man in red,” the young man thought, seeing the same tattered feathers on his hat. “I am ordering a chain with a lock that no master can open,” orders this seemingly very rich man. The drooping master answers with disappointment that even the most famous key holders cannot do this. “Your student is much more talented and smarter than all of you. “- the man with feathers objects... To which he hears the evil voice of the master: “If he does this, he will become my apprentice at that very moment..!” Less than an hour had passed when the happy young man handed the castle to his teacher who could not believe his eyes... Time flew by very quickly, the young man wandered a lot, and became known everywhere for his golden hands. .returns to Vienna, where after a while he was forgotten so much that no one remembered the student who made the castle, and throughout the city it was said that whoever opened the castle would receive all the highest privileges of the city... And now the young man was already revered by everyone, having everything that he wishes, sitting in a tavern, fairly drunk, reluctantly looking at his watch, getting ready for a church service... “You’ll make it!” friends reassure and, having stayed longer than expected, he runs out of the tavern. Not far from the Church of St. Peter, he notices with surprise and fear that people do not go to church. Seeing an old woman slowly trudged away from the church, she asks her with horror what time it is and why people don’t go to church services, to which the old woman nods and replies, “It’s over a long time ago!” - the old woman said in a creaky voice... And the young man sadly trudged back to the tavern, noticing that people were slowly moving towards the Cathedral of St. Stephen... The old woman who had confused the young man was none other than a witch, in collusion with the devil. Returning from the tavern, drunk and upset near the cathedral, he sees a man in red, only huge horns unexpectedly grow on his head, he picks up the young man and carries him high into the sky, and in the evening near the cathedral people see a dead young man... And the tree that we see. on the building Der Stock-im-Eisen..., almost everything is pierced with nails, this was done in memory of this sad story by wandering masters - key holders..

LEGEND FOUR - "LUCIFER AND THE TWO DEVIL"

Lucifer, Spirifanker and Springinker. Since a very long time, a lot of black forces gathered around the Cathedral of St. Stephen in the square, large and small devils circled around the cathedral, looking for people, trying to seduce them. They used all the tricks to make people commit sins and then calmly took possession of human souls.. One fine day they got tired of being outside the church and the three little devils began to think about how they could get inside the cathedral, where they could roam.. Flying around the church and examining every corner, Lucifer discovered a small hole in the stained glass windows of the church and three lucky devils quietly entered the cathedral. They were attached to the capitals of the columns, to the key of the church vault and never tired of admiring the golden decoration of the church. The inner beauty of the church, the spiritual purity of the temple in one short moment even awakened in them the desire to be kind, loving, tolerant... But this was a momentary desire, quickly disappeared again and after a short time they again indulged in tempting games... The temptation of the people in the temple was so much so that the church minister, hearing croaking, quacking, and cackling, turned to stronger preachers asking for advice and help in this situation, and it was decided to catch the black forces, imprison them in a cage and wall them up on the north side of the cathedral.. And to this day we see small strange creatures depicted in bas-relief on the wall of the cathedral...

LEGEND FIFTH – “DEATH SERVICE...”.

As the chronicle of 1363 tells us: On Sylvester 1363, the priest of the church of St. Stephen stayed up past midnight, working on his sermon for the next year. Suddenly, voices, hurried steps, and the muffled sound of an organ are heard outside the window, as if people were gathering around the cathedral for an evening service. A little surprised that it could be at such a late hour, the priest leaves the house, approaches the church and looks inside through the stained glass windows..... The consecrated cathedral is full of people... Hastily returns, takes the keys to the church gates and passes through the cemetery heading towards the entrance to the church. Suddenly someone grabs the priest tenaciously, the priest looks around in bewilderment. .....No one... “Strange..” the priest thinks, it’s quiet in the cemetery..and instantly forgetting about it, he goes to the gates of the cathedral. “What could it be, the gates are open, the cathedral is full of people... and, escaping the cold, he quietly enters the church... And only he opened his mouth to ask a parishioner standing nearby: “What are you doing here at such a late hour?” - how that hour hundreds of faces turned and stared at him with anger and reproach... Having looked closely at the priest who was reading the sermon, he recognizes himself in him with horror and, looking around, sees more and more familiar faces... at that moment the sound of a bell resounds and in one Within seconds the church was empty, as if there had been nothing. Returning to the house, he sits down to work again and notices with horror that he cannot finish the sermon... The year that followed was a terrible year - the year of black smallpox... and all the people he saw there were victims of this black death, including himself..

LEGEND SIX – “LUNCH...”.

Once King Rudolf the First of Habsburg passed through the town of Lindau and a local resident invited him to try fish from local rivers... - pike... In the kitchen, cutting up fish, as soon as the cook cuts off the head, a mole falls out of his mouth, the surprised cook wants to throw out the pike, and orders bring another one. Meanwhile, the king, having waited for dinner, sends for the cook and indignantly asks what’s the matter. And then the cook tells him this unpleasant story, to which the king replies: “The mole is the food of the pike, and this was supposed to be food for my entourage, and the pike for me... cook the fish and bring this dish!” This is how a dinner for the king was prepared from fish with mole...

LEGEND SEVEN - "MEASURES".

On the portal of the cathedral, on the left side at the corner, we see metal slats, one 77.7 cm, the other 89.7. Why, was it really true that they measured the fabrics of merchants, what is the circle for??? Maybe this is a measure for a baker’s bun??? And if there was less, they threw the poor into the Danube..

LEGEND EIGHTH - "JUDGE..".

Again, on the portal above, there is one person sitting in a niche, who is pulling out a splinter. This character is very often found in art, in our case it means the following: In front of the cathedral on the square in the Middle Ages (the time of the Babenbergs), legal acts were read out..

LEGEND NINE - “DIE SPINNERIN AM KREUZ” (“THE SPINNER AT THE CROSS”).

Far from the fortress wall of the old city of Vienna, on a small mountain there stood for a long time one stone cross, and whoever left Vienna from the southern side always drove past it (and today, in fact, too). One day there was a beautiful young girl, passionately hugging her beloved, who did not want to let him out of her arms. It so happened that this couple, who had recently just gotten married, were facing separation, because the young man, who had dreamed of exploits for so long, was finally accepted as a knight and was preparing to go on a crusade.. Tears welled up every now and then in the eyes of his wife... But then he sounded the last click and the young man, with difficulty, escaped from the embrace of his beloved.. “Come back, come home soon, I will be waiting for you, really waiting for you. ..” - she whispered and watched the knights for a long time until they disappeared from sight and, heartbroken, she went home... She was alone and cold in their orphaned house... and every day she returned to the place to the cross where the last once she kissed and hugged him so passionately... Over time, she came more and more often. Bringing with her threads, a spinning wheel, she was engaged in spinning from morning to night, not noticing when the sun set, not paying attention to the freezing wind or the scorching sun... Merchants, coming to Vienna, became so accustomed to her that they fell in love with this young spinner, they always bought her products, and could no longer imagine this mountain with a cross without this beautiful girl... Spring came and the knights were returning from a campaign. Peering into the face of each young man, she tremblingly expected to see her beloved... but days and nights, months flew by, and her husband never came to his beloved wife. In a fit of pain and suffering, she swears, turning to God, that if her beloved returns, with all the money she earned from her work, she will hire a good craftsman and put up the most beautiful cross in the world.. Literally a few days later, when it was already dark and she was collecting her spinning wheel, getting ready to go home, the silhouette of a man appeared in the distance and the closer he approached, the slower his steps became. Her heart suddenly began to beat faster and faster, she threw down the spinning wheel and almost ran towards him. A little short of reaching the mountain, he fell exhausted and exhausted to the ground.. She ran up and tried to help him get up, and screaming, she recognized the man as her husband and her tear-filled eyes filled with tears of happiness.. The next day he says that he was in captivity and only love gave him strength and hope... He takes her out of his worn, blood-soaked and sweat-soaked shirt an amazingly beautiful package containing thin orange-red plants that emanate an incredible aroma. . and it was Saffron. The column, which was built by the best master with the money of a spinner, amazes with the subtlety of its architectural work even today..

LEGEND TENTH – MINNENSINGER NEIDHART (NEIDHART) AND THE HOLIDAY OF “VIOLETS”.

A long time ago, when candles still burned in houses, because people did not know what a light bulb was, and warmed themselves from an open fire in the stove on which they cooked dinner, and even very rich people heated their castles and palaces with fireplaces, everyone was looking forward to spring, which already with early cheerful rays, at least a little, but it warmed the cold houses and the nights became shorter... Then in Vienna they really loved the spring festival, which was called the Violet Festival. Whoever was the first to find a violet in the forest had to cover the flower with his hat, hurry to the palace of the Duke and Duchess, report the joyful event, to which all the city people, dressed up and happy, with music and dancing, headed to the forest, where the young man showed the place with the hat, under which the treasured flower was hidden... and a holiday began in which everyone participated and the lucky one who found the flower even had the right to invite the duchess or princess to a dance and secretly every young man cherished the hope of someday being the first to find a violet... And then one day in early spring a young man Minnesinger - Neidhart, having accidentally found the first violet in the forest, and already dreaming of how, having informed the Duke first about this joyful event, he could approach the Duchess and invite her to dance, he did not notice how a young man was standing behind a neighboring tree and secretly watching him. Happy and cheerful Neidhart, covering the violet with his hat, almost skipped into the city. Meanwhile, the young man, hiding behind a tree, collecting brushwood and quite by chance seeing Neidhart, was from a village that was not far from Vienna and had harbored a grudge against Neidhart for so long, because the young Minnensinger did not miss a single pretty village girl and all the village boys they only dreamed of getting back at him, finally they could answer him... As soon as the Minnensinger disappeared behind the trees, the village youth went up to the hat, cut a flower and relieved himself in this place, then covering it with his hat... and very soon the bugles were blowing somewhere at the edge of the forest forest, music is heard and then a procession appears, led by the Duke, Duchess and Neidhart, who proudly heads towards this place. Approaching and raising his hat, he raises his head in horror and looks at the Duke and Duchess, encountering a surprised and then angry look.. Looking around the crowd, he sees a crowd of guys to the side, among whom he recognizes the village guys looking at him from under their brows with laughter and... In almost one jump he reaches the guys, crashes in and hits with his sword right and left. Observing this scene, the Duke understands what is going on, forgives Minnesinger and the herald announces the beginning of the holiday. .....

Have you ever heard about the rich city of Tannen-E, high in the mountains, which was once covered with thick snow, and the city remained forever under eternal ice? The inhabitants of this city were overcome by greed and vanity, not only did they have nowhere to put their money, but they also decided to build a tower to the sky, a tower higher than all the snowy peaks, and hang a bell at the top so that all the peoples of the world would know about this city. That’s when nature decided in its own way - and punished its disobedient children who tried to disrupt its harmony. And this happened not somewhere in a magical distant kingdom, but in a real place that can be found on the map: in the Alps, in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Etztaler Fernern mountain range, where a rocky spire rises above the peak of the mountain covered with the Eiskugel glacier - this is a tower , not completed by the inhabitants of Tannen-E.

Firstly, the location. In a fairy tale, everything happens in a distant kingdom, in one village or in an unknown place: once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, and we don’t know where they lived - and this is not so important in the fairy tale. The legend clearly states the location of the action. Look at the beginning of the Austrian legends: “A peasant from Obernberg, on the Inn River...” or “Once upon a time there lived Hans the Giant in the Upper Mühlviertel...” - all these are completely reliable names of specific geographical places that exist today. Cities, villages, valleys, rivers, streams, lakes, mountain peaks, individual rocks are named - and an amazing and instructive story is associated with each place. Gradually, as we become acquainted with Austrian legends, we develop a complete picture of the nature of this country, where every corner is covered in poetry. This is a kind of poetic geography. This is the geography of Burgenland, with its famous lowland lakes and picturesque castles. And here is the geography of the land of Styria: mountain lakes, glaciers, steep cliffs, caves.

We have arranged the legends as is usually done in Austrian collections of legends - by land. The nine sections of the book are nine pieces of a geographical map that together make up one country - Austria. The geography of legends is peculiar. She doesn't set priorities. The center of the action may be a small village, an inconspicuous stream, or a local mountain cliff. And in this the legend is very modern. After all, it is high time to abandon the method of getting to know geography based on the principle of marking: this city is worthy of mention because it is large and economically important, and that one is small and insignificant, and is not worthy of being known about. Modern knowledge is humanistic, for modern man every corner of the earth is valuable - to the same extent that his only corner was important to the ancient creator of the legend, which he described in detail and lovingly - after all, once it made up his entire world, he did not have other corners knew.

The second difference between a legend and a fairy tale is that the legend involves historical characters and mentions historical events. Among the numerous beggars, lumberjacks, blacksmiths and Hans, who, if they have a name, then it has long become a generalized symbol of a daredevil or a rogue among the people (a situation well known to us from a fairy tale), one encounters the very real legendary Hans Puchsbaum, who once led either the construction of the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, or the legendary alchemist Theophrastus Paracelsus, or Charlemagne, or Mrs. Perchta, who is not at all included in the annals, but equally famous thanks to the Austrian legend. It is no coincidence that in the last phrase we twice came across the word “legendary,” which is appropriate in this case. Because a legendary person is a historical figure, treated in a special way by a legend. Unlike a chronicle, in a legend the exact date when an event occurred or when a historical hero acted often disappears. But the characteristic features of the historical figure in the legend are exaggerated, become brighter, more prominent. And again the same phenomenon, unusually close to the worldview of modern man: there are no main and secondary people, just as there are no main and secondary cities - everyone can participate in the creation of history, but for this he must do something significant - for his loved ones, for of his people. It turns out that in a fairy tale the personality is erased, the main character is the people, generalized and typified, while in a legend living, real people appear against this background.

The basis for the book was a wonderful collection of legends, adapted for children and youth, written by the famous Austrian children's writer Käthe Recheis. It is called “Legends from Austria” (“Sagen aus Österreich”, Verlag “Carl Ueberreuter”, Wien - Heidelberg, 1970). In general, adaptations of legends have been done more than once, but it was this version that attracted us with its simplicity and expressive power.

I. Alekseeva.

Danube mermaid