The Three Brothers of Stone
between Kelheim and Weltenburg in the national park Altmuehl valley
Once upon a time there were three brothers who lived in the dreadful castle of Randeck 
in the Altmuehl Valley . People despised and hated them because of their wild behaviour and avoided contact with the crude fellows. All young ladies were afraid of any encounter with the rowdy brothers. That was why none of them had found a conjugal partner and why they were made fun of as regular old bachelors. One day they vowed to make a runaway match with three young ladies of noble descent who had taken refuge under the roof of Weltenburg Abbey .
When the morning dawned the villains met on the banks of the Danube opposite the abbey. The boat for ferrying over was moored near the porch of the abbey. The youngest of the brothers, a man of quick resolve, swam across the river, untied the boat and rowed back.
In the middle of the river he stopped aghast, when a hollow sound came from the depth. He looked down and saw the corpses of three knights. A shudder crept over him. But at this moment a water-sprite emerged and gave him a friendly wave of the hand. He was perplexed and dropped the oars. But when his brothers shouted at him, he rowed to the bank.
Then the brothers crossed the river in the boat and hid in the garden of the abbey where they hoped to catch their human booty. After some time the door opened and out came three graceful, charming virgins. The three wicked scoundrels rushed towards them and dragged them to the boat despite their humble and imploring pleas.
The boat drifted quickly downstream. But the rape had been observed. The bailiff of the abbey who was a cousin of the young ladies´ hurried to bring relief. His boat was a very quick one, and when the rapists realized the impending seizure they jumped into the river in order to escape to the bank. But the watersprite seized them and transformed the men into three big stones.
To this very day you can see the three roundish rocks just below the surface of the river - the brothers of stone.
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Zuletzt aktualisiert am 10.02.2017