The ''Bergmönch'' ("mountain

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

"; ) is a mountain spirit from

German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...

. He is also known as ''

Meister ''Meister'' () means 'master' in German (as in master craftsman, or as an honorific title such as Meister Eckhart). The word is akin to master and maestro. In sports, ''Meister'' is used for the current national, European or world champion ...

Hämmerling'' ("master hammering guy").Wilhelm Grimm, Jacob Grimm: ''Deutsche Sagen''. Hamburg 2014, p. 34. The appearance of the ''Bergmönch'' is like a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

in size. He has white hairChrista Agnes Tuczay: ''Geister, Dämonen - Phantasmen: Eine Kulturgeschichte''. Wiesbaden 2015, p. 91. and fiery looking eyes as large as dining plates. The mountain spirit wears a black hooded

cowl A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks. It was developed during the Early Middle Ages. The term may have originally referred to the hooded portion of a cloak, though contempor ...

as used by monks; this gave rise to his name ''Bergmönch''. He also can be dressed like a miner. As such he is called ''Meister Hämmerling''. Additionally, he can take the shape of a horse with long neck and terrible looking eyes, and is also able to become invisible. The residence of the ''Bergmönch'' are pits and mines in the mountains. There he is active as well deep in the pits as up on the surface. Especially on Fridays this mountain spirit is very busy. He fills the excavated

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

s from one bucket to another. The ''Bergmönch'' should be given his head because he will violate anyone who dares to scold his futile effort. The mountain spirit generally is an erratic and dangerous being. His breath is poisonous, able to kill twelve people at once. Also, he sometimes grasps a miner and puts him down at another place with so much strength that the miner's limbs are shattered. The mountain spirit loves hoaxing and is known as a very hot-tempered person. He doesn't like being denied or joked about and will surely punish those who deny him.Ludwig Bechstein: ''Deutsches Sagenbuch''. Meersburg, Leipzig 1930, p. 417. The ''Bergmönch'' can also be just and helpful, guarding the good miners and punishing the evil ones. He punishes

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

s such as whistling and cursing, egoism, infidelity and idleness. For example, the mountain spirit killed an evil foreman of miners by crushing his head invisibly with his knees. The ''Bergmönch'' sometimes gives miners whose mining lamps are in danger of going out some of the oil from his giant pit lamp. This oil never diminishes and burns steadily even for years when the miner never reveals the secret that he got lamp oil from the ''Bergmönch''. He also has favorite miners whose work he does, excavating ores for them. This spirit is able to excavate more ores in one hour than miners are able to excavate in one week. He also shows his favourite miners hidden

lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fracture (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from th ...

s of gold and silver but the miner has to throw some of his mining tools in the offered lode or it will be closed to never being seen by human eyes again.

Similar beings

Many other mountain spirits appear in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

folklore. The most frequently appearing mountain spirits are the dwarves, which are most commonly called ''Zwerge'' (sg. ''Zwerg'') but are also known under a wide range of other names such as ''Bergmännchen'' (sg., pl.; "mountain manikins") or ''Erdkobolde'' ("earth ''

Kobold A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore. It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. ...

s''"; sg. ''Erdkobold''). They are said to often appear in droves. A malevolent mountain spirit of

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n salt pits is the long-nosed ''Halgeist'' or ''Haalgeist'' (both "salt ghost") which throws everyone over the mountain who dares to make fun of its large nose.Ludwig Bechstein: ''Deutsches Sagenbuch''. Meersburg, Leipzig 1930, p. 604.

Literature

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author, philologist and anthropologist. He was the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1 ...

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

: ''

Deutsche Sagen ''Deutsche Sagen'' ("German Legends") is a publication by the Brothers Grimm, appearing in two volumes in 1816 and 1818. The collection includes 579 short summaries of German folk tales and legends (where " German" refers not just to German-speak ...

: Vollständige Ausgabe mit Illustrationen von Otto Ubbellohde''.

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

1818, reprint at Nikol,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

2014, . *

Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappea ...

: ''Deutsches Sagenbuch''.

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

1852, reprint at F. W. Hendel Verlag,

Meersburg Meersburg () is a town in Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany. It is on Lake Constance. It is known for its medieval city. The lower town ("Unterstadt") and upper town ("Oberstadt") are reserved for pedestrians only, and connected by t ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

1930. * Christa Agnes Tuczay: ''Geister, Dämonen - Phantasmen: Eine Kulturgeschichte''. Marix Verlag,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

2015, .

External links

Legends about the ''Bergmönch'' and other mountain spirits from German folklore.
Brothers Grimm Legend 2 ''Der Berggeist''
at www.zeno.org
Brothers Grimm Legend 3 ''Der Bergmönch im Harz''
at www.zeno.org
Ludwig Bechstein Legend 625 ''Meister Hämmerling''
at www.zeno.org
Ludwig Bechstein Legend 935 ''Breithut und andere Geister''
at www.zeno.org . Contains information about the ''Halgeist''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmonch German legendary creatures Fictional giants Mining spirits

Similar beings

See also

Literature

External links

References