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Every region has its legends, but Alsace has a particularly remarkable density. Several factors explain this mythological richness: the Vosges forests - vast, dark and impenetrable before the 20th century - that offered fertile ground for tales of the strange; the many medieval mines dug into the Vosges subsoil, sources of inexplicable accidents and unsettling underground noises; the numerous and capricious waterways; and finally the border position of Alsace, a crossroads of Germanic and French cultures that blended the popular traditions of both banks of the Rhine.
These legends were collected and transcribed from the 19th century onwards by Alsatian scholars - notably August Stöber and his son Adolphe - who travelled the villages to gather orally transmitted stories.
The Stollhexe - literally "tunnel witch" in Alsatian - is one of the most feared creatures of Vosges folklore. This malevolent figure inhabits the underground galleries of the silver and copper mines that dotted the Vosges in the Middle Ages, particularly around Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. She manifests as a hideous old woman or a flickering blue flame in the depths of the earth. Miners who caught sight of her knew that a fatal accident was about to occur.
The Stollhexe is also credited with power over precious metals - she can make veins disappear or shift them at will, punishing greedy or disrespectful miners. Offerings and prayers to certain patron saints were the only remedies against her malevolence.
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The nocturnal washerwomen are among the most unsettling figures of Alsatian folklore. These ghostly women, glimpsed at the edges of streams and rivers in the darkest hours of the night, endlessly wash white shrouds while humming mournful songs. Their appearance heralds an imminent death in the village.
Legend has it that these washerwomen are the souls of women who died in a state of sin - adulterers, infanticides - condemned to expiate their fault by washing the clothes of the dead for eternity. Anyone who helps them wring out their washing risks having their arms torn off if the twist goes the wrong way.
The Erdmännel - "little earth men" in Alsatian - are the dwarves or gnomes that people the Vosges forests and subsoils according to popular tradition. Unlike malevolent creatures, the Erdmännel can be benevolent or mischievous depending on circumstances. They are described as small bearded figures dressed in red or green with pointed hats, living in communities in underground passages or under the roots of old trees.
Stories featuring the Erdmännel are very varied. Some show them secretly helping hard-working peasants - sharpening scythes at night, sorting grain, repairing tools. Others depict them playing tricks on the lazy or the greedy.
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Water - rivers, ponds, springs - is omnipresent in Alsatian folklore. The Wasserfrauen - "water women" - are half-woman, half-fish creatures that inhabit the rivers and lakes of the Vosges foothills. These figures, cousins of the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixies, are generally presented as beautiful young women who lure imprudent young men into the depths to drown them.
The legend of the Nixie of the White Lake, in the Vosges high pastures, is one of the most famous in Alsace. This mountain lake, often shrouded in mist, is said to have been the domain of a nixie who attracted shepherds. Local villagers avoided approaching the lake alone.
The Wild Männel - "wild man" - is one of the most archaic figures of Alsatian folklore, whose origins go back to medieval representations of the forest man. Covered in hair, of prodigious strength, living alone in the most remote Vosges forests, he represents the dark and uncontrollable side of nature. Stories featuring him generally describe a chance encounter with a lost woodcutter or hunter.
The Haguenau forest, Europe's largest flat forest with its 13,000 hectares, is a nursery of legends. The Fairy Stone - a Neolithic megalith in the forest - is at the heart of a legend in which fairies gathered there on full moon nights to dance and cast spells. The Wild Hunt - a ghostly hunt that crosses the sky with a roar on stormy nights - is another legend widespread throughout the Rhine region.
Alsatian legends are not just dusty old stories. They continue to live and evolve in contemporary popular culture. Alsatian storytellers - numerous and active - perpetuate these stories in schools, libraries and festivals. The Christmas markets stage some of these creatures - Hans Trapp, a terrifying figure, is a direct embodiment of the wild man of the forests.
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