Bone Flutes, Müstair, Switzerland John and Paul’s Day was celebrated throughout Europe on June 26 but was originally a pagan festival...

The place called Calvary . In the year 1284 a strange man was seen in the town of Hamelin. He wore a parti-colored coat and a colorful...

Bear Goddess, Bernese Historical Museum Deae Artioni The Lithuanian folktale The Fairy Tale Friend (see full text below) features a most u...

The Fairy Tale Friend A long time ago an old man lived with his old wife and the old man loved to hear fairy tales. One day a Russian came t...

A tale to honor of all those who labor in field or garden. In ancient times, the knights residing in Elsass at Nideck Castle near t...

Edward Burne Jones, Sleeping Beauty A very long time ago there lived a king and queen. Each day they said to each other “If only we ha...

In the Fairy Tale One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes , the mysterious Wise Woman is probably a Norn (for complete text of fairy tale, se...

The Tree with the Golden Apples, Gustav Klimt This fairy tale illustrates that beauty really is in the eye (or eyes) of the beholder...

Richard Wagner based his opera Tannhauser und der Saengerkrieg auf Wartburg on the two sagas provided below. The opera takes a romantic lo...

Grimm’s Saga No. 561 The Wartburg Singing War In the year 1206, six virtuous and reasonable men came together in song to compose hymns at Wa...

The Last Judgement, Fra Angelico Deutsche Sagen, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm (Brueder Grimm), 1816/18 No. 171 Noble Tannhäuser , a Germa...

In addition to their pantheon of gods, ancient Germanic tribes acknowledged a number of supernatural beings, who were capable of help or h...

Rumpelstiltskin is an odd fellow. Sharing traits of both wild man and witch, he is indeed a rare breed of fairytale figure. It might...

There was once a miller who was poor, but he had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he came into conversation with the king and to...

Source: Ludwig Bechstein, German Saga Book, Leipzig 1853 The Lorelei (or Lurlei) The Rhine River flows through a valley and push...