Montafon lore part 2: A legendary past

They are full of supernatural events, mysterious beings and fantastic occurrences: Legends from times long past that explain mysterious things to us. As a historic Alpine region, the Montafon has a multitude of exciting stories to tell and, according to legend, some legendary events have also taken place in the immediate vicinity of our Fernblick. Today we would like to introduce you to a special legend from our immediate neighborhood:

The stone cross on Bartholomäberg

If you have ever explored the area around the Fernblick, you will have noticed it: the old, dilapidated stone cross near the Bartholomäberg church. It is less than half a meter high and there are no inscriptions on it. According to legend, the cross marks the place where the ground opened up many centuries ago and swallowed an insincere young man.

The story goes that a miner promised to marry a young Bartholomäberg woman. However, he was unfaithful to her and became engaged to another woman. When the first woman confronted him, he denied everything and swore: "If I marry the other one, the devil will get me!" By this time, however, he had already been to the market in Bludenz with this other woman and the two of them had ordered the wedding banns there. After a few weeks, he led the second bride to the altar and no longer thought about the terrible vow he had made.

But when they were in the church and the priest was about to marry them, the boy was suddenly seized by mortal fear and fled from the church, across the cemetery and over the cemetery wall, as if he was being chased by the devil. The altar boy who followed him only saw the ground open up and close again. The bridegroom had disappeared without a trace. The devil had snatched him from the altar and taken him to hell. The old stone cross still stands at the spot where he disappeared and warns passers-by to be sincere.

Listening to legends at home

These and other exciting legends have been prepared as audio recordings by the Montafon museums together with local schoolchildren. The short stories in Montafon dialect are accompanied by atmospheric folk music and provide the ideal introduction to a visit to the Fernblick. Immerse yourself in the mysterious world of legends of the Montafon and then explore the mysterious places with your own eyes. You can find the photos here.

Copyright cover picture: Patrick Säly (on behalf of Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Krause, Montafon project of the Goethe University Frankfurt a. M.)
Copyright picture stone cross: Montafon Museums, Friedrich Juen