What Is The Mystery Of Thousands Of Shipwreck In The Rhine River Of Germany

Lorelei Rock

          Germany is best described in its history and its natural beauty. This place has historic cities, small towns, lovely old cathedral, grand palaces and abundance of forests and mountains. Germany has all the things that one could imagine. Every year lots of visitors visit this place.

          But what comes to your mind when I say the name Germany? That may be Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate or maybe the famous Black Forest. But Germany has much more than that. This place is enriched with mythical histories and folklores that people still believe. So I will be sharing with you the topmost myths of Germany. But it is not possible to write all of them in one day blog because they all have a huge history behind them. So I will do it one by one because I want you to dive into the story and enjoy all its flavors. So let’s get started……

          During my research about German mythical histories, I came across many mythical incidents. But today we will be talking about the most talked myth of Germany, the story of Lorelei, a siren.

LORELEI

          Hearing the name Lorelei you must be thinking that “what’s important about Lorelei? It is just a high rock on the bank of the river Rhine at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany." But believe me, the story behind this rock is much more creepy.

          As we come to its name, its name has a hidden meaning inside. Lorelei comes from the old German word ‘Lureln’ which means murmuring and Celtic word ‘Ley' which means rock. But what is the mystery of naming a rock this way? This inspires one of the most popular legends in Germany.

          Who is Lorelei? Everyone depicted her differently. Some say she is a nymph, some say she is a mermaid, even some say she is a water spirit or siren. The actual story of Lorelei is very hard to reconstruct because there are many different sources. The first appearance of Lorelei was in the ballad “Zu Bacharach am Rheine” of the novel "Godwi oder Das steinerne Bild der Mutter” written by Clemens Brentano. In this novel, we come to know the story of an enchanting female associated with that rock. The woman was accused of bewitching the men and causing their death.

The Poem "Die Lorelei"

           But the legend of Lorelei become more famous when Heinrich Heine wrote a poem about Lorelei named “Die Loreley”. This poem depicted the story of Lorelei very efficiently.

Lorelei Luring Sailors

          In the ballad, Lorelei is depicted as the daughter of Rhine. She lived in the depths of the river. In the time of twilight, she came up and sang tempting songs sitting on the rock. It is said that boatmen who heard her song forgot everything and died by crashing their boats.

Painting of Lorelei

          But one day something strange happened. She saw a fisherman and immediately fell in love with him. The fisherman too loved him back. They used to meet every day near the rock and Lorelei helped him catching fish. Their love affair did not last for long.

          Suddenly one day Lorelei came to know that there was a young girl who also loved the fisherman. She became very jealous. One day out of jealousy she dragged her lover to the underworld so that he could stay with her forever. The fisherman was a mortal and as a result, he drowned in the water and died.

Lorelei Causing Death of Sailors

          That incident made her even more vicious. She continued to lurk the sailors. Many sailors lost their lives for this. One day Prince Palatine’s only son Count Ludwig came to know about an enchanting woman who bewitched men causing their death. He did not believe in the stories heard. He wanted to see her with his own eyes.

          When Count Ludwig came near the rock where Lorelei used to sit and sing, he became spellbound too. He lost his ship, his crew and finally he died. When his father came to know about the death of his only son, he immediately ordered his army to end the life of Lorelei.

Lorelei Sitting On The Rock

           At the time of twilight, the army began to climb up to rock where Lorelei used to sit and sing. They found her there sitting and combing her hair. She asked the soldiers why they had come. The soldiers answered that they have come to destroy her. Hearing this she laughed. Her laugh echoed from every corner of the entire valley. She took out a string of pearl, tore it and hurled them into the water.

          The moment a storm burst into being. The Rhine began to whirl and rise. Foam kept rising higher and higher until it reached to Lorelei. It lifts her into its arms and carried her down, under the water.

          
          This is a mere mythical story. This hardly has some explanation. But till now some sailors say that Lorelei is still present on the rock. Some sailors also claim to see her on the hills. Even the passing boater claims to hear her voice, soft and low echoing from the valley. Everyone who passes this rock looks up hoping for the sight of Lorelei.