Hügeliloch

In the footsteps of ancient legends and myths: The story of the noble lady, the mound of the hill, which stood too long in front of the mirror, is entwined around the hill. Your story ends sadly.The path to the hilltop leads past corn and potato fields and over a wooden staircase into the forest. Béatrice Meili walks up the narrow path at a fast pace, she knows him well. She grew up in Schöftland.
Again and again she went for a walk with her father, the hill hole in the Nagelfluhgestein was often the target.Her father always told the legend of the hillside Imli. In the area of ​​Hügeli on Stübisberg, where now is the hilltop, according to legend, once stood a castle, which is said to have inhabited a noblewoman. "She was probably a bit conceited," Meili says. Because the lord of the castle did not get away from the mirror, the legend ends sadly.
Too late for the baptism
According to this, a poor man is said to have requested the castle maiden as a godmother. On the day of the baptism, she should have brought the child to church. She sat too long in front of the mirror.
When she got on her way and arrived at the Hungerbach Bridge, the bells stopped ringing. "That was bad for them, because after the bells were only those with the illegitimate children in the church," says Meili. "One would have thought that she brought an illegitimate child with her." Because she could not stand this shame, she threw the child into Hungerbach.
She returned to the castle and a violent storm opened. The castle was then in ruins, the noblewoman was gone. Later they gave her the name Hügelimeitli.
"I never understood why she threw the kid in the stream," Meili says. "They say that the hillside island is still there and that it must be redeemed." This could be done by a young man venturing into the cave.As a reward, he should get a chest filled with money, which is guarded by Hügelimeitli and a black dog. So it is written in various traditions of the saga. Today the back part of the cave is spilled.
Béatrice Meili now lives in Kirchleerau and is president of the Association of Local History Suhrental. She is a librarian and, among other things, a history teacher. "The stories here do not leave me cold and I think it's important that they are preserved and shared," she says.
Two variants for the legend
So it happens that she knows a second variant of the legend. This told her grandmother. Accordingly, the castle was further back toward Uerkental and the hill hole was an underground access.
Because the farmers were besieging the castle because of their high taxes, the noblewoman had to flee through this corridor. The treasure chest took her. But the cave collapsed and the young lady was spilled. "It is said that in bad weather one still sees a little light burning in the hole," says Meili.
Again and again, the supposed treasure has been searched. Thus, some Reitnauer were cited in front of the choir court at the end of the 17th century because of treasure graves in the hill's hole, as can be seen from the book "Schöftland Geschichte und Geschichten" by Christian Holliger.
She has never met the Hügelimeitli, although it is said that one occasionally sees it combing hair on Hungerbach, says Meili with a wink.
The Hirschthaler Benny Frei tells the legend: "It is rumored that now and then at full moon men from the matrimonial bedroom move and run towards the hilltop to kiss the castle maiden and redeem." Apparently the Hügelimeitli was still from none found.

Dans la grotte Nagelfluh de 20 m de profondeur, vous pouvez toujours vous tenir confortablement au début, mais plus loin, vous ne pouvez continuer qu'à genoux.