Folk tales in Merschwitz
Please note: This page was machine-translated. If anything is unclear, the German version is authoritative.
The Plague willow of Merschwitz
The legend tells of a shepherd who was tending his sheep at the edge of a forest near Merschwitz. Suddenly, he saw a cloud of mist rolling in from Goltzscha across the fields. In front of the shepherd stood a hollow willow tree, into which the cloud crept. The shepherd knew what it was: A plague cloud.
He quickly rushed to the old willow tree and stuffed the opening shut. Now the plague was trapped and could no longer cause harm. But when the shepherd died and some time had passed, the willow tree was cut down. A blue mist rose from the trunk and spread over the land. From then on, the plague raged again in this region.
Source: Geschichte & Geschichten, zur Wiedereröffnung der Hohen Straße im Jahr 1994; Compiled by: Gerhard Putzger
The wild hunt at Merschwitz
The Luisenhof farm is located east of Merschwitz. There used to be much more forest here. Old and young alike claimed to have heard the wild hunt. However, no one ever saw it.
So it came to pass that young women and children went into this woodland to gather wood. Suddenly, a commotion of howling and screaming, drumming and whistling shook them to their core.
Seized with fear, they all ran out of the forest as fast as they could. Except for an old woman, who could not keep up. When the noise was over, the others went back to the forest to look for her. They found the old woman.
She was lying face down on the ground, her carrying basket pulled over her head, lifeless. Everyone cried out: “The wild hunt has struck her down!”
Source: Geschichte & Geschichten, zur Wiedereröffnung der Hohen Straße im Jahr 1994; Compiled by: Gerhard Putzger
Historical photo of the village of Merschwitz:
Photo: Walter Möbius, 1936
No.: df_hauptkatalog_0054554
Original negative (Glas, 13 x 18 cm, schwarzweiß)
Owner: Deutsche Fotothek
Under the creative commons licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Direct link: www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/33086403 (Aufn.-Nr.: df_hauptkatalog_0054554)