Bergsagen Long-Distance Walking Trail. Long-distance walking in the region

Since summer 2024, a new long-distance walking route has been inviting walkers to set off on a journey lasting several days. With five moderately easy stages, it is also ideal for those new to long-distance walking who want to enjoy the feeling of being out and about in the Alpine mountain countryside to the full.

A pleasant feature: The ‘Bergsagen Long-Distance Hiking Trail’ remains at airy, yet not high-alpine, altitudes throughout, and boasts breathtaking landscapes, charming villages as stage destinations and, above all, plenty of peace and quiet amidst the mountain scenery. It still gets exciting, however, when you immerse yourself in the world of mountain legends along the route, where Alpine spirits, fairy-tale giants and Christian legends bring times gone by back to life.

Magdalena Bogner, a farmer’s wife, used to walk regularly from her farm in Schlögelsbach to Terfens. She always felt drawn to a particular larch tree by the side of the path, which is why she would pray there. When she told Johann Weiß, the curate of St Martin’s in Gnadenwald, about this in 1665, he fashioned a statue of the Virgin Mary out of clay himself, which she was to attach to that larch tree. Her husband placed the gift in a niche near the larch tree in question.

Soon, other people too began to pay their respects at ‘Maria-Lärch’. Shortly afterwards, a wooden chapel was built, which was replaced by a stone one just a few years later. Joseph II abolished the pilgrimage and the object of veneration was taken to Terfens; in 1795, the chapel was reopened with the statue of Mary returned to it.

And there is another key reason for the popularity of Maria Larch near Gnadenwald: the healing spring there, which bubbles up from the Baroque fountain house, is said to have cured the mute girl Maria Jenewein of her affliction in the 18th century. Ever since, the water has been regarded as a revitalising drink, in a place of power that could not be more impressive.

Tip: Fill your water bottle with the revitalising water of Maria Larch and taste the difference!

Adapted from ‘Mysterious Hall – Myths, Legends and Curious Stories’ by Christine Zucchelli.

Where the Tulfein Alm stands today, there once stood the palace of a shepherd-king, who lived there with his four daughters and ruled his people with kindness. One day, the peace of this high valley was shattered by a giant who lived in a cave near the Glungezerspitze and who, at night, often roared so terribly that avalanches and mudslides crashed down into the valley. When the giant one day saw the four king’s daughters, a longing took hold of his rough heart – he wanted to marry one of the princesses and presented his wish to the king.

The king was terrified to the very core when he heard the ugly giant’s request, but replied that if the giant were to win the affection of one of the princesses, then he too would be welcome in the king’s court.

So the Glungezer giant made his advances; but the king’s daughters laughed at him. The spurned suitor plotted a terrible revenge. The following night, he rolled boulders as tall as a house down from the Glungezer towards Tulfein, which swept the king’s castle and all its inhabitants into the lake, where everything sank beneath the waves. Today, the pool that remains of that lake is called the ‘Schwarzer Brunn’.

The giant was overcome with bitter remorse, but even his tears could not bring the drowned king’s daughters back to life. Later, the Glungezer Giant was transformed into an ice-grey little mountain man, who yearningly stretches out his wrinkled little hands towards the ethereal figures of the four king’s daughters, who float above the lake as blessed souls. But he is unable to reach the ethereal figures and, in his despair, throws himself into the lake to cool the burning embers of his passionate heart.

Tip: Let your mind wander and use the platform at Lake Zirbensee for a short break.

Adapted from *Die schönsten Tiroler Sagen* (The Most Beautiful Tyrolean Legends), Karl Paulin, Innsbruck 1972

Oral tradition holds that Romedius was born at Thaur Castle. He is therefore also referred to as the ‘Nobleman of Thaur’. His parents gave him a Christian upbringing, which bore rich fruit. Following the death of his parents, Romedius undertook a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and from then on led a life devoted to God.

Numerous legends surround Saint Romedius. Probably the best-known tells how one day he intended to visit the Bishop of Trento. As he was setting off, he sent his companion to saddle the horse. However, the companion returned and reported that a bear was in the process of tearing the animal to pieces. Romedius then instructed him to put the bridle on the bear. Surprisingly, the wild animal obeyed, and so he rode the bear to Trento. This is why St Romedius is usually depicted with a pilgrim’s staff, a scallop shell and often a bear as well.

Tip: The Romedius Pilgrimage Route leads from Romedikirchl in Thaur to the pilgrimage church of San Romedio in the Non Valley (ITA), covering 180 kilometres and an elevation gain of almost 10,000 metres over twelve daily stages.

Adapted from https://www.romedius-pilgerweg.at and Paul Haider: Romedius Büchlein, 1985

A long time ago, when St Magdalena’s Convent was still run by the Order of the Augustinian Nuns, a poor salt miner knocked on the door and asked for a small donation for his hungry children. But the surly nun at the gate handed him nothing but a piece of rock-hard bread. Then a fierce rage seized the poor man and he shouted: “You can eat this pittance yourselves, you misers!” And with a powerful throw, he hurled the bread against the rock face to the north of the convent. The nun therefore cursed the Salzberg miner. She cried out: “You shall atone for this! You shall find no rest in your grave. Your spirit shall be doomed to wander restlessly through this valley.”

And so it came to pass. The man has never been seen since. Invisible, he haunts the rock faces of the Halltal valley, sweeping back and forth; in winter he sets off dust avalanches, in summer he triggers mudslides from the crumbly rock. On warm days when the Föhn blows, one can hear his howling and raging from the crevices of the rocks.

But the nun’s greed was also punished. An earthquake in 1670 severely damaged the convent building, and 19 years later it was completely destroyed by another earthquake. The rugged, steep rock against which the Salzberg miners had thrown their hard bread, the ‘Bettel’, was called the ‘Bettelwurf’ by the locals.

Tip: Pause for a moment and feel the magic at the foot of the Bettelwurf, which is also an official place of power in the Hall-Wattens region.

Adapted from “Mysterious Hall – Myths, Legends and Curious Stories” by Christine Zucchelli.

At the Walder Alm, which is now a popular destination for day trips, a rather malicious spirit is said to have been causing mischief for a long time.

In 1842, the farmer Alois Speckbacher from Wald went out to hunt chamois and, in the evening, settled down for the night at the Walder Alm in a small wooden shed next to the Kaserhaus. Before long, a noise roused him from his light slumber – as if a dog were vigorously scratching behind its ears with its paw. The sound came and went until the farmer tried to lure the dog out, such was its realism. At that moment, everything fell silent, and even the next morning there was no sign of a dog.

When, later that same year, the farmer’s brother spent a night on the alp, the ghost roused him and the shepherds. It sounded as though all the cattle were being driven about in great commotion, amidst loud cries and the bellowing of cows. The herdsmen hurried to investigate by lantern light, but at that very moment everything was quiet again and the cows lay peacefully at their chains in the barn. Two of the animals, however, were inexplicably chained together and could not be separated for anything in the world. In the morning, though, at the first ring of the chapel bell, the chain sprang open of its own accord.

Tip: At the ‘Adlerblick 1522’ viewing and wildlife observation station on the Walder Alm, you can enjoy wonderful views of local wildlife – do take a look through the telescope!

Adapted from ‘Mysterious Hall – Myths, Legends and Strange Stories’ by Christine Zucchelli.